The Key To Attracting And Retaining Talent: Employee Benefits

Career Climbers / 23rd April 2024

Talent is getting harder and harder to attract, leaving employers to come up with innovative solutions to not only attract the best candidates but keep them. Competitive salary is a part of attracting talent, but employee benefits are necessary for bolstering your employer brand.

Employees aren’t just looking for health insurance and a 401(k), however. They want benefits that are competitive in the industry and tailored to their specific needs. Here are some of the most in-demand employee benefits top talent seeks.

Flexible Schedules

In our 24/7 society, employees want flexible schedules that give them time to address their personal responsibilities, such as attending appointments, taking their children to or from school, helping out a sick family member, and more.

Giving employees this flexibility – when possible – is a great way to attract the best candidates. Flexibility is especially important for younger generations that may be balancing their education or other conflicting responsibilities.

Your version of a flexible schedule may vary according to your industry. You may wish to give employees the ability to choose their hours or days off, or it may be more beneficial to have a hybrid schedule of remote and in-office work. The intent behind the flexibility is that you’re helping your employees adjust their work schedules.

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Paid time off (PTO) is standard in many workplaces, but it’s usually only 10 to 14 days per year. Unlimited PTO, however, is becoming more popular despite being a concerning option for many employers.

Surprisingly, research into unlimited PTO reveals that employees actually take less time off. Studies consistently show that employees use more PTO days when they have a set number, which may be due to a fear that they’ll lose any unused time they’re entitled to.

When employees have unlimited PTO, there’s no pressure to take the time off unless they want to. As a result, they take less time on average.

Unlimited PTO doesn’t work for everyone, however. Many companies unofficially limit ‘unlimited’ PTO to around three weeks – six weeks at most – even if employees don’t come close to that amount of time. If you prefer, you can increase the number of PTO days to six weeks, then calculate the time employees have taken off to see if unlimited PTO will work for you. To read the entire article, click here!To have CEO Magazine sent directly to your inbox, click here!