What benefits should all employers consider offering to employees?
To help your company decide what benefits they should offer to their employees, we asked financial experts and business leaders this question for their thoughts. From dental benefits to paid parental leave, there are several great ideas that may help your company decide what benefits to offer their employees.
Here are eight benefits all employers should consider offering:
- Dental Benefits
- Work From Home Stipend
- Offboarding Resources
- Mental Health Support
- PTO Dedicated To Volunteerism
- Wellness Programs
- 401k
- Paid Parental Leave
Dental Benefits
Dental benefits are something that most employees expect of their employers. Whether it’s a millennial employee starting their first full-time job, or a baby boomer later in their career, employers should consider offering dental insurance to their employees. If you do not currently offer dental insurance, perhaps it’s time to give your employee benefit plan a check-up.
Henry Babichenko, Eurodenture
Work From Home Stipend
We’ve decided that we’ll be a remote-first company even after the pandemic. To help employees and new hires get established in working from home, we recently decided to offer a work from home stipend to help employees get their workstation set up. We add the stipend to payroll so that every full-time employee automatically receives a $250 deposit to purchase whatever items they need to build a workspace.
Brett Farmiloe, Markitors
Offboarding Resources
Any company that touts having a great company culture but does not provide resources that can be accessed by all transitioning workforce members has failed. All employees, no matter what their position, become your alumni when they exit the building. COBRA is nice if it is used but does not help those who do not have a need for it. ‘Empathy is the new black.’ Choose to close the employee lifecycle with resources that will help those transitioning and move forward as “viable candidates.” Offboarding resources are a great investment because it protects your overall company’s brand.
LT Ladino Bryson, vCandidates
Mental Health Support
For years, mental health has been ignored by employers as a health benefit to workers. However, one of the silver linings driven by the pandemic has been the focus on mental health. Turns out, working from home, dealing with tragedy, dodging a deadly virus, facing extreme loneliness, and providing at-home child support, including homeschooling for the past year, have been really stressful for a lot of employees. Companies who have added mental health support for workers in light of this reality have come out on top, while those who haven’t look out-of-touch.
Joel Cheesman, Poach
PTO Dedicated To Volunteerism
One of the most valuable benefits that employers can provide to their staff is paid time off dedicated to volunteerism (VTO). This is an advantage that not only entices top talent and helps retain the best of those you already have on your teams, but it also aids in developing a positive brand reputation and activates societal change within the communities you serve. Providing VTO has become an essential component of corporate responsibility efforts. Research done by Glassdoor showed that 75% of millennials expect their employer to participate in social good in some way. Additionally, this study found that 51% of workers expect their employers to allocate work time and resources to their employee’s volunteer efforts. Having a structured VTO program serves a business in many capacities and adds value for your employees and the communities where they work, live, and play.
Tyler Butler, 11Eleven Consulting
Wellness Programs
Since burnout is a rising occupational phenomenon, it’s important to consider offering benefits that focus on the overall wellness of your employees. In addition to flexible PTO and equitable insurance policies, benefits that take the care a step further can make a big difference. Offering reimbursements for fitness programs or gym memberships encourages team members to prioritize daily physical activity. In addition, providing access to mental health tools, such as Headspace, is a great way to combat stress and burnout in the workplace.
Emily Whalin, TechnologyAdvice
401k
The one benefit that all employers should be offering to employees is 401k and health benefits. I pay 2% into 401k, and we pay 50% of the insurance—not a lot of video production teams do this in the US. I do this as I want to stand out, retain my team and let them know I am with them for the long haul. Loyalty goes both ways—as a business, we have to first be loyal to our employees.
Trevor Rappleye, CorporateFilming.com
Paid Parental Leave
When we surveyed employees at small businesses about which benefits were most important to them, the top of the list wasn’t too surprising: health coverage, PTO, and a retirement plan were on top. But paid parental leave was next on the list. It stood out to us because a parental leave benefit would only benefit a fairly small proportion of employees. Because a relatively small number of employees take parental leave, it’s a relatively small investment that can generate a lot of goodwill.
Elliot Brown, OnPay Payroll
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