Beyond the job responsibilities, deadlines, salaries, and appraisals, it is really the benefits that an organization offers its employees that show them how much its cares about their well-being outside of the simple normal employee-employer relationship. Benefits come in a variety of sizes and shapes, some of which the organization is legally mandated to provide while some are offered by the organization and can vary from one organization to another. Some organizations offer their employees free concierge/crèche services, others paid holidays, and some even go to the extent of offering their employees productive office hours to work on their pet projects. Benefits work for the company as well. Once they show the employees how much they care, employees start reciprocating that feeling and start doing more for the company as they start feeling that it’s their own.
However, starting a benefit administration program is no easy task. Everything has to be taken into account, starting from employee needs to program continuity to long-term costs and impact on the productivity. Here are some benefits that are commonly offered by many organizations around the world that you can appropriate for your company:
Free food: Who doesn’t welcome a free lunch, right? Offering catered meals is a great way to show your employees that you care. Not only does it save productive time for the employees but it also gives them a chance to sit and eat together. We all want our organizations to be one big happy family, and hey, the family that eats together stays together, right?
If free lunches are too heavy on your bottom line, you could at least look at organizing weekly luncheons with themes like Pizza Days or Chinese Afternoons.
Sponsoring education: This is a great way to train and retain talent. Many employees, especially the younger ones, join with a view to gain some work experience after which they would like to pursue higher studies. Organizations could look to foot such employees’ college fees with the caveat that they either work part-time while studying or join them back once they finish education. Not only does it serve to improve the skill level of the employee but it also helps the organization improve and retain quality talent.
In the next episode of this blog, we will look at some more benefits that organizations can offer their employees to keep them happy, content, and motivated.
To know more about an online HR solution that helps you with your benefit administration process, click here.
