Which Benefits Matter Most to Employees Now?

When it comes to benefits, Silicon Valley employers have attained legendary status. Their perks include complimentary catered meals, on-site dry cleaning and laundry services, as well as free overnight shipping of breast milk for nursing mothers who are traveling for work.

On-site medical attention, pre-school, massage specialists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, barbers, and hairdressers are provided too.

Of course, every business is not able to compete at this level, nor is there a real need to do so for most industries. Therefore, it’s useful to ask which benefits matter most to employees now — in your industry. The good news is things are a bit more down to earth outside of Oz.

The Basics

Before we go any further, it’s important to understand that federal law mandates the provision of certain employee benefits regardless of your field of endeavor. Some states have specific requirements as well. It’s always a good idea to check to see what the requirements are in states in which you have facilities.

For brevity’s sake, we’ll focus on the federal mandates here. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, these benefits are in place to ensure that workers and their families have some retirement income and access to medical care. They are also intended to provide a safety net in the event of job loss or disability.

Employers must also cover liabilities resulting from workplace injuries and illnesses. To that end, employers are required to provide Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation insurance, as well as Family and Medical leave Act protections.

What Employees Want Most

Healthcare – Expanded healthcare coverage tops the list of the most desirable employee benefit programs. This perhaps comes as no surprise, given that we’re currently experiencing a worldwide viral pandemic. However, the high cost of medical care in the United States plays a role in this as well. Health, dental and vision insurance are most frequently cited, with a desire for coverage with no, or extremely low deductibles.

Short- and long-term disability coverage, and more paid sick days come up frequently, as well as healthcare plans for children and spouses. Flexible Spending Accounts to help employees manage health care costs are also in demand, as is paid paternal leave.

Flexibility – The desire for personal time off to attend family functions and achieve a more equitable work/life balance is frequently cited. Flexible work schedules, freeing employees from the 9 to 5 grind and the commuting issues that go along with it, are looked upon quite favorably as well.

This includes the option of working four 10-hour days, rather than five eight-hour days each week. Remote work/telecommuting, particularly since the pandemic has proven it to be a viable option, registers highly with workers too. More vacation time is welcomed, with unlimited vacation time being a strong incentive to join a company.

Professional Development – Learning opportunities designed to help employees advance their careers attract a lot of attention from potential hires. This includes tuition reimbursement for continuing education courses, skills training, and webinars.

Student loan assistance for recent graduates will attract younger people to your company too. Graduate degree educational assistance is desirable as well. The good news here is that the $5,250 spent on this sort of assistance can be deducted as a business expense each year — per employee.

Just Ask

It should be noted that those Silicon Valley juggernauts mentioned earlier provide all the above in addition to the features we mentioned in the opening paragraph. However, you don’t really need to try to go toe-to-toe with those organizations to get good people.

Your goal should be to present the strongest possible offering within your competitive set. Therefore, the key is to simply ask which benefits matter most to your employees now, then do what you can to incorporate them into your benefits packages.