The strength and appeal of the employee benefits you offer can give you a competitive edge in convincing candidates to become employees, and employees to stick with you. The labour market has become candidate-driven. Workplaces have become employee-driven. So in times of unparalleled employee expectations and talent mobility, those employers that actively promote their benefits package are outfoxing the competition in the recruitment and retention wars. Here are a couple of reasons why:
- 60% of people say that benefits and perks are one of their top considerations when deciding on a job
- 78% of Britons would be more likely to apply for a job if an advert mentioned the benefits on offer
As GRiD’s Katharine Moxham told HR News: “Employee benefits demonstrate a company cares for its staff, wants to protect them and has taken the trouble to find ways to support them – plenty of reasons for wanting to work for a company. There’s little point in having them if staff don’t know they exist, and they’re certainly not working as hard as they could be for a company if they’re not being promoted as a reason to join.’
However, GRiD’s research also found that just 22% of employers communicate their employee benefits offering before day one of employment. And just 18% communicate the package before recruitment.
How deep does the recruitment problem run?
As the autumnal leaves last year turned to a blaze of orange and red, almost half of businesses were feeling decidedly cool about the recruitment difficulties they faced in hiring the right talent.
If you work in HR then you know just how tough it is to find and keep the best people – and the evidence isn’t just anecdotal.
- CIPD’s Labour Market Outlook: Autumn 2019 found that 43% of UK employers were struggling to fill vacancies due to a tightening labour market.
- A study by Aspire discovered that 51% of people were planning to move jobs in the coming year.
How else can employee benefits give you a competitive edge?
Consolidating your reputation as a strong employer brand
A unique employee benefits package can play a crucial part in building and sustaining your reputation as a strong employer brand. The package is part of the value proposition that you offer employees beyond salary and their day-to-day jobs. Investing in benefits shows that your business wants to strategically support your employees’ health and well-being and is investing time and effort to build a positive workplace culture.
LinkedIn research discovered that investing in a proactive employer branding strategy can reduce your cost-per-hire by 50% and yield 50% more qualified job applicants.
You can offer employees the workplace flexibility they look for
Workplace flexibility is a hardy perennial when it comes to employee benefits. 41% of employees say that work-life balance is a key reason why they joined their present employer according to Aviva.
Meanwhile, research by LinkedIn found that 72% of talent professionals agree that workplace flexibility is extremely important in shaping the future of talent and recruitment. Since 2016 there has been a 78% increase in the number of job posts mentioning it.
You get to keep your best people
Most businesses hire to fill existing positions. A bespoke employee benefits package tailored to the needs of individuals can go a long way in boosting employee engagement and encouraging your best people to stick with you. You have invested to bring in talent. Can you afford to let this talent become disengaged and unmotivated?
If you’re looking to introduce employee benefits or update your plan, let’s talk to see how we can help.
