Employee Benefits Can Help Attract and Retain Employees

Employee Benefits Can Help Attract and Retain Employees

June 20, 2022 / 5 mins read

Other than salaries, employee benefits can help attract and retain employees especially during a labour shortage.

Here are 5 tips to guide you when setting up your employee benefits plan.

1. What are the advantages of offering employee benefits?

A competitive employee benefits package can set you apart from competitors to attract and retain employees when talent can be hard to find and keep.

It’s not just about salaries. Prospective employees will take a close look at your employee benefits package because it will show them how you value and treat your employees and that you are committed to looking after them.

As an employer, you need to build a total compensation package that stands out. The inclusion of an employee benefits package gives you a competitive edge likely attracting higher quality, motivated and dedicated employees.

2. What benefits can I offer?

An employee benefits program can provide coverage in the following four categories:

  • Dental Care (regular cleaning, fillings, crowns, etc.).
  • Extended Health Care (prescription drug coverage, massage, chiropractor, hospital, ambulance, vision, travel, etc.)
  • Life insurance
  • Disability insurance (short-term and long-term)

As an employer, you decide on the plan you want to offer and in what combination to suit the needs of your employees and your budget. You can start with dental and extended health care and build on your plan.

You can consider offering:

  • Pension or retirement savings
  • Wellness program
  • Paid time off (extra vacation/personal days)

You can also offer your employees flexible working hours, remote work, employee recognition plans and social activities to sweeten your benefits package.

3. How benefits can improve morale and productivity

A superior employee benefits package can improve morale at your business as employees will feel like you care about them. Happy employees usually contribute their best effort and will speak highly of what your business offers them.

Also, healthy employees who feel well generally work better and stay longer. A strong employee benefits package can act as a preventative measure against Illness, stress, and lack of motivation while improving overall health.

Employee benefits programs also act as a preventative measure allowing employees to take care of a small problem before it turns into a larger (often more expensive) one. For example, employee benefits such as paid sick days let employees recover when they are ill instead of coming to work, struggling, potentially infecting your team, and affecting getting the job done.

4. How a benefits package can support your employees’ mental health

As an employer you can contribute to making your workplace as healthy as possible. Looking after your employees’ mental health is now considered an important component of an employee benefits program. You support the physical wellbeing of your employees and it’s just as important to support the mental health of your employees, too.

Consider a number of wellness days per year for your employees to help look after their mental health in your workplace. You can also offer a wellness program would include counselling services and gym memberships to help your employees stay healthy physically and mentally. Wellness programs can help prevent the need to use prescription drugs and paramedical services.

Also, you can consider an employee and family assistance plan (EFAP) as part of your employee benefits plan. It’s a confidential, short term, counselling service for employees with personal difficulties that affect their work performance.

5. How big does my business have to be to offer a benefits package?

If you run a business with at least three employees, you should start offering an employee benefits package.

It works to your advantage to offer as many group benefits as you can, as soon as you can, to be able to attract and keep the employees you need to operate your business successfully.

Speak to your Western insurance expert to get the help you need to offer an employee benefits package. Let us take care of your employee benefits program so you can take care of your business.