What Benefits Should You *Really* Invest In For Your Business?

What Benefits Should You *Really* Invest In For Your Business?

Intrinsic to talent attraction and acquisition. Key for employee wellbeing. Absolutely essential to give any brand a competitive edge. Hardly a day goes by when we’re not discussing benefits packages – whether that’s providing consultative guidance to our clients, or debating some of the newer, more unique offerings we’ve seen in the market.

Benefits have always had a place in negotiations with talent, and can provide a real differentiator for brands wanting to attract quality, skilled candidates. More recently, they’ve become a much stronger talking point, and what a business offers its workforce is under the microscope.

Regardless of whether you’re a leader in an established business, or a startup founder looking for their first hire, it could be time to rethink those employee benefits.

‘Hard’ vs. ‘Soft’ Benefits

Just as you might be looking for hard and soft skills from talent, talent often looks for so-called ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ benefits.

‘Hard’ benefits are the fundamentals that will shape your package. Healthcare, dental plans, annual leave allowance and so on. These are essential, and can add high value to remuneration and your desirability in the talent market.

‘Soft’ benefits will help diversify the package you offer. Gym memberships, workplace flexibility, savings on entertainment and so on. These can be hugely influential in talent attraction, and in how your business is perceived (more on this below).

How you balance the two will depend on the type of business you are, and the type of talent you want to attract. As a rule of thumb, value should take precedence. A long shopping list of benefits might look appealing, but most candidates won’t care about free snacks if you’re only offering statutory pension contributions.

Stepping out of the status quo…

An important thing to remember about benefits is how quickly they can transition from a great offer, to an industry standard.

Working structures being the prime example. Pre-2020, the ability to work from home or shape your days was a big attractor for candidates; no longer the cutting edge benefit it used to be.

For all the standard offerings you may want to consider (i.e. parental leave and a dental plan), standing out in a competitive market means your benefits working for you as well as for employees. These could be something entirely out of the box like home buying assistance. Or it could be extending typical offerings, like making annual leave unlimited.

Benefits that reflect them and you

Thinking about the priorities of your existing talent – and the talent you want to pursue – is key. If a heavy percentage of your workforce has a young family, you might want to invest in enhanced childcare benefits. Or, if you want to attract innovative thinkers for your startup, advanced development plans or working vacations will help attract ambitious talent from diverse backgrounds.

It’s just as important to remember that your benefits play a huge role in communicating your brand and culture to the wider market. Packages can paint a vivid picture of your company values, and give an insight into the priorities and policies of any business – directly or indirectly.

For example, healthcare plans that include gender affirming care or fertility support demonstrate are becoming more widespread. As are benefits that support candidates living with a disability or who participate in faith-based fasting. These all demonstrate core values like inclusivity, equality, and respect. 

In short: they show that your leadership walks the walk.

Spend isn’t everything

Defining or redefining your benefits isn’t always a simple task. There are a lot of variables to consider – from demographic, to the talent landscape, to the type of employer you want to be. Plus, workforce priorities can be susceptible to social and economic change.

An important thing to remember is that shiny or exotic benefits may attract attention, but they won’t always attract the right candidates for your business. And, they’re not always a priority.

Many candidates who are looking for a long-term position are also looking for long-term benefits too. Enhanced pension contributions, performance-based bonuses, excellent healthcare, and so on. A company retreat is wonderful for a few days, but an extra day’s holiday each year will stack up.

If you want to discover more about talent wants and demands right now, download our Marketing & Communications Salary Guide today – your ultimate guide to benefits and salaries in 2023.

Author: Amy Hayer – Partner, Healthcare