Professional development is incredibly important to today’s workforce. Employees often come in for one position already knowing what they’d like their next position to be. Millennials in the workforce are an especially ambitious bunch. Eager to move up the ladder consistently, millennials always want to feel they’re moving forward.
Companies can leverage this hunger for growth to attract a loyal, ambitious workforce. By demonstrating a commitment to each employee’s professional development through creative, intentional benefits packages, companies can build and empower their ideal workforce. Oh, and employees will be happy too! Employees will be more inclined to stay longer and truly be invested in a company that wants them to grow and succeed professionally.
As the tech industry strives to be on the cutting edge of business, innovation and workforce development, great benefits are a must.
Here’s a look at some of the edgy ways tech companies are using perks and benefits to prioritize professional development:
Yearly Conference (All-Expenses-Paid Of Course)
WillowTree, Inc., a mobile application development company, believes professional development should be continuous. The company foots the bill for all team members to travel to one conference each year. Upon return, employees must share what they learned with the company. Additionally, weekly Lunch & Learns, conference speaking opportunities, code and design reviews, and hackathons occur frequently within the organization.
Cash For Learning Opportunities
Everybody loves extra cash. However, customer service software company Zendesk, Inc. gives their employees extra cash with a specific purpose: to pursue external learning opportunities. Full-time employees receive $1500 annually to use towards learning pursuits like professional conferences and courses developing new technical skills.
Massive On-Site Library Complete With Librarians and Access to Skills Courses
Analytic software company SAS supports employees with formal continued learning and development through tuition assistance and reimbursement. However, the company creates an environment that encourages continuous, informal learning as well with an on-site library! The library contains more than 10,000 books! Librarians assist employees with research projects and everyone has access to lynda.com, a website by LInkedIn with more than 6,000 online skills courses!
Support In Finding New Positions Within The Company
Eventbrite helps employees (called Britelings) find their next career opportunity within the company through a specially dedicated program. The organizational leadership program, called Inside Jobs, helps hiring managers identify talent internally for new positions. It also provides discussion templates for employees wanting to chat with their current manager and the hiring partner about a new opportunity. Furthermore, Britelings also receive weekly opportunity roundups.
Pre-paid Tuition For Non-Work Related Educational Courses
E-commerce giant Amazon wants professional development opportunities to be accessible regardless of your level within the company. Due to this value, the company offers employees at its fulfillment and customer service centers the opportunity to take courses in non-work related fields through a program called Career Choice. The company pays 95% of the tuition for the courses. Additionally, Amazon pays 95% of textbook costs.
In-House “University”
AT&T offers an executive-led program called AT&T University. The program focuses on leadership and management development. Housed at the company’s Dallas headquarters, Employees can take class onsite or virtual classes, earning “nanodegrees” (self-paced, fast-tracked technical creditials) or an online master of science in compeer science degree.
Regardless of whether or not your company has the resources the create an in-house “university,” you can prioritize your employees growth and professional development through benefits. Not sure how to get started? We can help! At Beni.fit, we believe benefits don’t have to be boring. Benefit packages can be an incredible way to communicate your company’s values to talent both inside and outside your company. Contact us today to see how we can partner with you to create a benefits package that aligns with the company and workforce you desire.