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Creating an attractive benefits package for a changing workforce

By 2020 the global workforce is set to be dominated by millennials and, as with every generation, the demands and requirements of employers changes. Millennials have become known as the “job-hopping” generation mainly due to lack of incentives to stay loyal, the growing ability to work nomadically, and widespread lack of faith in job stability and company fidelity (better to make the jump than be pushed.) So what is the modern-day employee looking for in their benefits package? How can your company go about persuading talent to not only join your company but also to stay?

Here are some options that don’t need to break the budget (well, all except the last one.)

Paid Volunteering Opportunities: It feels good to do good. Let your employees scratch the charity itch and give back to the community with paid volunteering hours. Not only does this make your company look good; it does wonders for employee morale and can also be used as a team-building exercise.

Social Opportunities: Organising non-compulsory social activities out of hours can have a real positive impact on employees. With an epidemic of loneliness gripping younger generations who have fewer family responsibilities and opportunities for face-to-face socialisation, this can offer a much-needed sense of community and wellbeing. Be it putting on a quiz or arranging an after-work pub meet; there are plenty of cheap and free options available.

Gym Membership: Healthy body, healthy mind, so the adage goes. After a long day spent sedentary at a desk, a bit of physical activity is imperative. Offering gym membership (and incentives for attending) can encourage people who would not usually take the plunge to get their heart pumping. Your employees will benefit from being less sluggish, happier and, of course, healthier (less sick days can only be a good thing for your company.) You can also supplement this healthy-living by offering fresh fruit in the staff kitchen or perhaps giving employees a reusable water bottle, company-branded of course.

Goal-Based Incentives: ‘Gamification’, the application of game-design and game-principles to non-game activities, has found a way into everything from eLearning, to project management to marketing. You can harness this to your ends by offering perks based on the completion of goal-based tasks. The information scraped from this process can also be valuable to your company.

Remote Working Opportunities: Most work these days can be accomplished on a laptop, and there has never been better online connectivity. Of course, nothing beats a bit of human contact, and endless emails are never a good thing, however, rewarding your employees with “home office” days or even allowing a bit of freedom of movement doesn’t hurt, and studies have shown it can also increase productivity.

And the not so cheap, but guaranteed winner of a benefit:

Student Loan Repayments: Members of the workforce who attended UK universities since 1998 have had to pay off exorbitant student loans which only seem to increase in size with every passing year. Helping to lessen the burden and making contributions towards loan repayments is bound to keep employees loyal and very, very happy.

Of course, every company has different requirements, capabilities and aims; this is why Zest gives you the flexibility to choose your offerings, engages employees on your behalf, controls costs and implements all of this without the burden of administration for you. For more information about what Zest can do to revolutionise your benefits programme, click here.

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Zest

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