According to data from Gallup, more than half of employees are open to leaving their organization. Of those who already made the decision, 30% indicated that providing additional employee compensation or benefits could have prevented them from taking the leap.
Still, building relevant and attractive benefits into your retention strategy is often easier said than done.
Today’s employees expect employers to think outside the box when it comes to providing the right support. With healthcare and sick time now considered the bare minimum, organizations will have to get creative if they want to increase morale and reduce turnover.
Go beyond higher employee compensation or surface-level office perks to help you achieve that goal.
Why Are Creative Employee Benefits So Important for Retention?
While traditional benefits packages assume that everyone has the same priorities, creative benefits acknowledge the individual needs of a diverse workforce.
Gen Z and millennial employees get the mental health stipends or student loan assistance they want, while Gen X’ers and baby boomers receive the eldercare or family leave benefits they need.
In turn, these robust programs combat workforce burnout by supporting the whole person.
Increased employee compensation is great, but creative benefits alleviate stressors in your employees’ personal lives, which results in more physical and cognitive energy, higher productivity, morale, and engagement, and less need to go looking elsewhere for support.
4 Creative Benefit Ideas to Help You Keep Your Best Employees
For those who are unsure of where to begin in selecting the best creative benefits for your workforce, four solid ideas can get you started.
1. Schedule and Location Flexibility
For the first time, work-life balance now outranks employee compensation as the top motivator for choosing a job. For many, a remote or hybrid work model allows them to save time and money on commuting, which translates to more hours in the day to tend to personal business.
Fortunately, there are a variety of ways you can offer this benefit, including scheduling asynchronous work time, shifting to a four-day workweek, and simply allowing employees to work wherever they choose for several weeks per year.
2. Personal Financial Coaching
Financial security is top of mind for today’s employees. A recent Handshake survey indicates that 56% of graduates expect to hold student loan debt, and 69% said it influences the jobs they consider.
For this reason, many employers have begun to offer financial assistance to help their workforce navigate economic uncertainty.
Beyond student loan repayment assistance, many employees value personalized financial coaching that can help them map out a plan to reach their individual lifestyle goals. From buying a home to saving for retirement, these perks can ease employees’ minds about their futures so they can better focus on today’s tasks.
3. Skill-Building Grants
Employees value professional development opportunities because they signal your investment in their future. You may consider paying for employees to attend a workshop or conference or offer them access to online certification programs.
If you have the resources, consider building your own cross-functional mentorship program to help connect veteran and entry-level employees and allow for knowledge transfer.
4. Health and Wellness Support
Investing in your employees’ mental and physical well-being can pay dividends when it comes to increasing engagement, productivity, morale, and loyalty.
You can definitely consider gym or fitness app memberships. However, offering PTO for mental health days, allowing employees to bring their pets to the office, or even bringing in a licensed mental health professional for access to additional support can also be helpful.
Tips for Building and Implementing Your Creative Benefits Package
For organizations looking to build and execute a modern, high-impact employee benefits program, make sure to:
- Survey First: Ask employees to rank potential benefits, which gives you concrete data on which benefits employees prioritize
- Offer Choice: Build flexibility into your benefits framework where possible, giving employees the freedom to choose what fits their lifestyle and needs
- Communicate Well: Create a multi-channel communication and education strategy that includes lunch and learns, short videos, and reminder messages
These best practices create the right foundation for a successful rollout.
Raise Morale and Lower Turnover With the Right Employee Benefits Strategy
Today’s employees want benefits that support their whole lives, not just their office hours. By ditching one-size-fits-all perks for creativity and flexibility, your organization can reduce burnout and protect the bottom line from costly turnover.
Are you ready to build a workforce culture that more easily retains top talent? Contact our team at Benefits Advisory Group today to design a customized, high-impact strategy built for the modern business landscape.