The majority of organisations cannot afford to give their employees all the perks and benefits that we see getting so much attention on social media. Unlimited holidays, in-house massage or yoga classes, free breakfasts / lunches or onsite childcare is just not realistic for most companies. So what can you do to motivate your employees or to compete with larger companies (with deeper pockets) to attract top talent?
A research study in the US recently found that 80 percent of employees don’t read (and may not even open) the benefits communications they receive and were likely unaware of all the benefits that were available to them.
So what low-cost benefits could you introduce into your business to get employees attention and to give them a great employee experience?
1. WFH or WFA – Allowing workers Work from Home is now pretty standard especially post pandemic, but what about allowing your employees Work from Anywhere? One of the main benefits of working from anywhere for employees is the flexibility to work on their own terms with comfort and convenience. Just think what this means for young families! With some defining criteria (guaranteeing adequate WIFI connection) your anywhere workspace is not bound by residence, city or even country.
Some of the notable benefits to employees are:
· Cost Savings
· Flexibility and Freedom to choose where you work from
· Getting more work done in less time
· A better work – life balance
As an employer the work from anywhere trend gives you access to a global talent pool and will increase job satisfaction amongst current workers. With fewer employees in the workplace daily, this can also translate into money saved on operational costs, building maintenance, electricity, phone and internet bills.
2. Health & Wellbeing, encouraging your staff to become healthier while feeling like they are saving money! One of the simplest and most popular employee benefits is a corporate rate for Gym membership. FitHub from Hubex.ie allows employers to promote gyms and any discounted corporate rates to their employees, but those employees will pay for the membership in the normal way, usually via direct debit. The advantage of using HubEx is that it offers employees corporate rates for gyms nationwide. Remember healthy employees are employees who take fewer sick days, are more productive at work and help keep their organisation’s health care costs down.
3. A commuter benefits program is money in employees’ pockets The Bike to Work initiative is a tax-efficient, salary-sacrificed employee benefit that provides a way of encouraging more adults to take up cycling, by using a bicycle for commuting purposes. Employers can help employees obtain a brand-new bike and safety equipment worth up to 1,500 euro. Employees can use a salary sacrifice arrangement to pay for the bike monthly and that means they can save up to 52% off the retail price of bike and equipment. The employer also makes savings (up to 11.05% employer PRSI savings) to encourage them.
4. Staying on the theme of a commuter benefits program to help employees save money, the Taxsaver commuter ticket scheme is a tax-efficient, salary-sacrificed employee benefit that provides a way of encouraging more adults to travel to work using public transport. Employers purchase an annual or monthly Bus, Rail or Luas ticket on behalf of their staff and the employee repays the employer through a salary sacrifice arrangement over a maximum of 12 months. The employee saves on income tax, PRSI and USC enjoying savings of up to 52% of the retail price of the ticket. The employer also saves up to 11.05% in Employers PRSI contributions.
5. Employee discounts are very popular employee benefits especially with the overall cost of living rising. This could be impacting your employees' financial wellbeing and If your employees are worried about their finances, it can cause stress and lack of sleep, which can affect their mental health. As an employer there are many ways you can support your employees' financial wellbeing. From offering advice on money related worries, financial education or salary sacrifice products, you could also offer employee discounts!
An Employee Benefit Discount Scheme is popular with employees, and it’s easy to see why! You can help them save money on everyday purchases with discounts, BenefitHub from Hubex offers your employees discounts such as Kildare Village eVIP shopping discounts, Online Pharmacy, Easons, Halfords, meal discounts from Eatto or eVouchers to help them save on big ticket purchases such as Samsung for all the latest tech.
For companies not in a position to offer pay rises, employee discounts can provide the savings that can work out at far more than someone would receive from a typical pay increase – particularly one in rise with inflation. This can go a long way to improving staff retention and employee engagement.
Providing affordable benefits that employees will love can have a big impact on how employees feel about where they work. BenefitHub from Hubex will give you a single digital platform to shine a light on what you are doing to build community within your organisation. Find out more about our low cost – high value employee benefits, speak to one of our team today contact sales@hubex.ie. In no time at all you could be raising the bar within your organisation for a truly great employee experience.
