From involving your team directly with specific questions to relying on logic, here are five answers to the question, “Can you share your best tips for people struggling with how a company can balance the need to offer competitive and attractive employee benefits with the need to control costs and maintain profitability?”
- Ask Your Employees What They Want
- Invest in Total Rewards
- Stay Up to Date on Market Trends
- Offer More Low-Cost, High-Value Benefits
- Think Logically and Always Evaluate
Ask Your Employees What They Want
Consider focusing on offering benefits that are most important to your employees. Conducting regular surveys or focus groups can help you understand what benefits your employees value the most, and what benefits they may sacrifice in exchange for other perks.
You can then tailor your benefits package to include the most essential and valuable benefits while eliminating those that are less important or don’t have a significant impact on employee satisfaction and retention.
Another tip is to consider offering flexible or customized benefits packages that allow employees to choose the benefits that are most important to them. This can help reduce costs by eliminating benefits that are not being used or valued, while also increasing employee satisfaction and engagement.
Trey Ferro, CEO, Spot Pet Insurance
Invest in Total Rewards
Smart investments in total rewards are a form of cost containment and risk mitigation, and also support strong profitability. I have found that employees who are financially, mentally, and physically well are better able to commit to their roles and to the shared success of the company, as they have fewer outside stressors and distractions.
Employees who are well cared for from a total rewards perspective are happier and have positive interactions with our customers and stakeholders. Their temperament helps to establish trust, create lasting relationships, and generate referrals, all of which help maintain profitability.
Additionally, these employees typically stay employed with the organization longer. Being longer tenured allows them to become more effective and productive in their roles over time, while also minimizing turnover costs.
Tyren Thompson, Compensation Partner, Zoom
Stay Up to Date on Market Trends
At our SEO boutique agency, we understand that offering competitive and attractive employee benefits is essential for keeping staff morale high and attracting top talent. At the same time, we also need to stay mindful of our bottom line and make sure we are profitable in the long term.
Our tip for other companies looking for this balance is to focus on offering benefits that are tailored to the specific needs of their employees. This helps to ensure that the benefits provided are cost-effective, while also offering something that employees really need or value.
Additionally, it is important to stay up to date on market trends and costs to make sure that the benefits you are offering are competitive.
Lukasz Zelezny, SEO Consultant, SEO Consultant London
Offer More Low-Cost, High-Value Benefits
There are many benefits you can offer your employees at low to no cost to you. Most employees will appreciate things like flexible hybrid/remote work, professional development programs, promotion opportunities, and benefits that will support their professional and personal growth and work-life balance.
If you’re unsure what benefits your employees will find competitive, ask them! Create a survey to understand better the benefits your employees will appreciate and will support employee retention.
Inbar Madar, Founder and Business Consultant, M.I. Business Consulting
Think Logically and Always Evaluate
It is possible to offer employees and potential employees attractive benefits while keeping costs low. Focus on the most relevant benefits to employees when deciding what to offer.
Some of the more expensive benefits are not always what employees want and only sound worthwhile on paper. Doing this can help control costs while still providing attractive benefits. We also negotiate with vendors to get better rates on benefits, such as monthly vouchers. Evaluate benefits regularly and adjust them as needed to remain competitive and cost-effective.
Marco Genaro Palma, Co-Founder, TechNews180