6 Employee Benefits Big Brands Use to Improve Staff Retention

Staff retention is getting more difficult with every passing year.

In fact, one in seven employees resigned from their jobs in 2016, with 10% of new starters handing in their notice before completing a year at the company.

While career progression and pay are two of the biggest factors for many employees, introducing a quality benefits package is also essential to improving staff retention rates at your business.

From free sweet treats to more annual leave, a few little extras can go a long way to show your employees you truly value their contribution.

Yet, as we previously revealed, 26% of UK employees don’t receive any employee benefits at all.

This revelation is even more surprising when you consider the fact that more than a third of employees class company benefits as one of the biggest factors they consider before accepting a new job.

So, if you want to spur your employees on, attract new ones and increase retention rates, it might be worth investing in some bigger and better perks.

Here are 6 different ideas to implement, courtesy of some of the biggest brands in the world.

1. Increase Your Annual Leave.

Adding more annual leave perks to your employee benefits package can work wonders in improving staff retention and productivity.

Plus, well-rested and healthy employees are bound to be more productive and ready to tackle the day ahead.

And it doesn’t even have to be a drastic increase. Introducing the odd extra day could suffice.

For example, Rackspace offers an extra day off for employees’ birthdays, while Swinton Insurance gives their team an extra day’s holiday to do their Christmas shopping — how’s that for festive spirit?

These extra miscellaneous days are an affordable and realistic way to put a smile on the faces of your employees.

You could also consider allowing employees to actually buy extra holiday.

This is a win-win situation, because you save on tax and they are happier and better rested.

2. Food for thought.

Fuelling your employees with free food is another top way to keep them happier and healthier for longer.

It also helps to improve levels of procrastination by removing the temptation or need to make sporadic trips to the vending machine/ kitchen!

The global tech giant, Google, offer an array of culinary delights from around the world to keep their team motivated and working hard.

However, to offer such a culinary banquet may chew into those annual turnover figures, so you may want to reduce the options.

For a slightly more cost-effective solution, simply offering bacon on Thursday, hot food on Friday and an array of limitless snacks and drinks like Jive Software should work just as well.

3. Company shares and bonuses.

If applicable, handing your employees the opportunity to buy or acquire company shares is a really bold statement of intent.

This indicates that your business is on the up and that you want your employees to join you in their venture. It shows trust and respect.

The John Lewis Partnership offers employees a share of the company’s annual profits, usually equating to one juicy bonus.

Wetherspoons also compliment their weighty staff discount with shares and monthly/quarterly bonuses.

On the other hand, if you have a team full of adventurers, you could give them a generous £1,413 personal bonus to go and travel every year like Airbnb do…

Recruiter Pro Tip

Offering your employees a salary sacrifice scheme can help your business save money.

By paying out lower wages every month, you won’t have to pay as much tax and National Insurance.

Tax-free salary sacrifice benefits include:

• Ultra-low emission company cars
• Cycling schemes
• Pension saving provided by the employer
• Workplace nurseries
• Childcare vouchers

You can find out more about this in our previous blog: ‘3 Ways Employee Benefits Can Save Your Business Money’. Read here.

4. Healthy benefits.

Keeping your employees fit and active can increase their mental and physical wellbeing, plus help them to feel more content in their current role.

And providing nice health-related bonuses doesn’t always have to break the bank.

For example, Jagex offers their employees free bicycle repairs at the office.

In turn, this helps their team of developers and publishers to cycle to work and stay fit.

If it’s feasible, you could take a leaf out of Apple’s book and provide your employees with credit to pay for a gym membership every year.

Onsite fitness classes and getting a GP or dentist to come in like Allen & Overy is also a fantastic way to keep your staff in prime condition… if you can afford to do so.

5. Team bonding perks.

And before you groan, we’re not talking about cheesy trust-exercises.

Just fun things that your employees will enjoy doing together — allowing them to bond and build great friendships.

Keeping your staff happy could be as simple as hiring out a cinema every year for your employees and their families to enjoy.

This inexpensive option adopted by Holiday Extras is an ingenious way of creating a family ethos at the company.

Or if you want to save a few extra pennies, a BBQ is a viable option too.

6. Discounts.

The final option is to offer discounts to your employees.

Whether you’re a retailer or not, you can include discounts to include some of the biggest high-street names in your benefits package via a specialist online provider.

However, if you’re on the hunt for a unique way of offering a discount, you could do something cool like form a wine club like AutoTrader.

The automotive classified advertising business gives their employees the chance to receive discounted wine directly to their door every month.

Talk about a perfect way to finish a long week at work!

Summary

Whether you’ve already invested in an employee benefits package or not, there’s always room for improvement.

Implementing a few of these ideas used by some of the biggest brands can help your business stand out to new employees and enhance your odds of keeping the great ones you already have.

Get creative and think big, your team will appreciate it.

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