As an employer, you will agree people are your most valuable assets. That is why employee experience is critical.

Unfortunately, many companies focus more on customers and business results. In return, they lack employee experience. Employers fail to realize that salaries are not all about the scoreboard but a threshold.

If you think you are failing in keeping your employees engaged and happy, it’s time for you to offer them various benefits and perks. Providing these things helps enhance the quality of the employees’ lives, resulting in a positive employee experience.

Here are the benefits and perks your company should start offering now:

Benefits

First, let’s talk about the benefits your company should invest in to help employees feel more focused at work and feel appreciated.

Health Insurance

Uninsured Americans often pay thousands of dollars even for just an ambulance ride. This financial burden makes it hard for most workers in the US to acquire the care they need.

If you want to ensure that your employees feel happy and comfortable at work, you should include healthcare coverage in the benefits you offer. In fact, it is a requirement for businesses with over 50 employees.

By providing them vision, dental, and health insurance, or health reimbursement arrangements, your employees become covered and take care of various health issues.

Life Insurance

When it comes to employees’ family’s future during unfortunate situations, life insurance is an excellent benefit to offer. If something horrible occurs, life insurance enables your employees’ families to be protected.

It is also recommended to educate your employees regarding the benefits of purchasing their own plans. That is because most of them are underinsured and underprepared regarding life insurance.

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Every employee needs time away from work. That way, they can recharge their minds and bodies. PTO helps them boost productivity, batter burnout, and rediscover their passion for your company.

Additionally, you should also offer them paid sick days. Remember that sick employees go to work because they do not have enough vacation days or do not want to lose a day of income.

Family Leave

Having a new family member is both an exciting and exhausting experience. So, offering a family leave for fathers and mothers can make a huge difference in their personal lives.

The Family and Medical Leave Act allow employees to take unpaid leave for particular life events. However, you can get ahead of the curve by providing them paid family leave. It will not only make you stand out as an employer but also show that you support their personal lives entirely.

Retirement Plan

As you know, retirement is part of every employee’s lifecycle, even if you do not want to see them leave. What’s harder is when they do not have enough savings for retirement. That is why you should inform them about retirement savings. You also need to help them match their contributions.

Since most people are underprepared when it comes to retirement, giving your employees helpful advice regarding retirement savings helps them prepare for life after they leave your company more effectively.

Perks

Now, it’s time to reveal the perks that your employees will surely love.

Student Loan Assistance

The majority of employees deal with student loan debts. You should determine if your employees pay high monthly debt amounts because it can stop them from giving their best at work due to stress. Some employees even have multiple jobs just to pay off those debts, making them exhausted and unproductive.

You can offer them student loan assistance to help them pay the debt faster. This will allow them to acquire more money for their retirement savings. Plus, they can focus on their work and bring back their high productivity level.

Remote Work

Working in an office environment is an excellent way to bring employees together face-to-face, but more and more employees look for work-from-home opportunities or flexible scheduling. Some employees tend to be more productive and motivated on their schedule than following the traditional 9 to 5.

You can allow your employees to work remotely every workday or a few times a week. This perk promotes flexibility while showing trust in your employees.

Career Development

Every employee aims to do their work more effectively and efficiently. They also want to determine whether they have advanced or not. Many employees are hungry for career growth opportunities.

Remember that professional development and the ability to take additional responsibilities within your company and make more money have a massive effect on employee experience. You can offer them the following training opportunities or continuing education:

• Conference tickets
• Mentoring or coaching programs
• Tuition reimbursement
• Professional organization dues
• External speaker engagement to host learning for your company
• Providing training for newly promoted employees
• Wellness Programs

While health insurance is a great employee benefit, offering them wellness programs can boost the value of health insurance. With wellness programs, you can promote an active lifestyle within their working environment while filling in any gaps not covered by the health insurance.

You can include standing desks, gym membership, and healthy snacks at work in the wellness program. Ensure those wellness programs are inclusive and help address healthy lifestyles’ full spectrum. Since wellness and health look different from employees’ perspectives, you should provide variety.

Recognition and Reward Programs

Another fantastic way to keep your employees engaged and happy is to create employee recognition and reward programs. As you know, employees do great every day on their tasks, so give them the recognition they deserve.

With employee rewards, you can thank them for their hard work in a simple way. You can reward them with things like laptops, tickets, basketball tickets, and more. Recognition and rewards can even motivate them to do their best.

Final Thoughts

While creating the right employee benefits and perks package takes time, effort, and experiment, it comes with significant advantages. As your company continuously grows and your team moves into different career and life stages, they require varying things from you. So, ensure to survey them regarding their perks and benefits preferences to stay ahead of the curve.

HR Future Staff Writer