Employee benefits ideas for 2021
If you’re one of the many HR managers expecting to have a proportion of their employees working from home permanently for the foreseeable future, you need to take a fresh look at the benefits packages offered. No longer being part of an office-based team is a dramatic change in working circumstances and some of the benefits offered previously as standard may no longer be suitable. It’s time to think creatively about employee benefits for 2021 and beyond.
Times have changed when it comes to employee benefits. In 2021, the benefits packages your company offers are no longer simply the pleasant extras that take a back seat to job role or salary – it’s far more common in today’s labour market for benefits to make all the difference between accepting one job over another, or staying in a job for longer. When the recruitment market is highly competitive – especially for talented employees – it’s important to ensure your benefits package is up-to-date and competitive too. Otherwise, your business risks losing out.
This year, there is another important reason to refresh the benefits your company offers. The home-working revolution has finally happened (albeit unintentionally thanks to the pandemic) which means that the circumstances some of your employees now find themselves in on a day-to-day basis will have changed. For your home-workers, standard benefits such as a company car or travel allowance discounted membership to the gym next to the office, or local coffee shop perks will all seem pretty useless for those powering up their laptop from home. But it’s still crucial to ensure these homeworkers still feel as valued as those who are working at the company office.
The option to work from home used to be seen as a perk in itself for those that occupied roles that could support it. But now views have shifted. As a result of the pandemic, employers and employees alike have seen that there is plenty of evidence to prove that working from home is not just a positive for some employees – it can benefit the business too. So the HR mindset needs to move away from seeing flexible working as a perk and presenting it as standard for those roles that can support it.
This means that the benefits package for home worker roles needs to change. Take a look at the suggestions below for potential benefits and incentives that will appeal to home workers.
- Welcome, hamper for new home-based employees joining the team.
- Zoom free Fridays to give a break from online meeting fatigue and allow for individuals to catch up on the activity of the week and prepare for Monday.
- ‘Al-desko’ lunch – encourage staff to use video conferencing informally to share their lunch break with others as they would have done if in the canteen.
- Financial assistance with their remote working set up to cover elements such as new hardware, a dedicated desk and supportive chair, a good internet connectivity plan, etc.
- ‘Switch off’ subscriptions to help your remote workers relax e.g. Netflix, Amazon streaming, a choice of magazine etc.
- An online fitness subscription such as yoga or HIIT to support and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
- A cake delivered to their home on their birthday.
- Free access to mental health support such as a helpline or online provision.
- Subsidised childcare can be used at a childcare provider of their choice.
- An allocated amount of meal delivery vouchers.
- Surprise day off / Birthday day off
- Access to a co-working space for the odd day when collaboration with others (or a change of scene) is necessary.
- Paid hours for volunteering
- Gift vouchers
- A dedicated virtual mentor – someone else within the business (perhaps also working from home) who can offer guidance and support if needed.
It’s important to make sure your homeworkers feel looked after and valued by your business. By being creative with the benefits and incentives offered, you could see improvements to your recruitment and retention performance too.
One last thought: whilst you’re thinking about refreshing your company benefits package, why not conduct an employee survey to find out what ideas your workforce would like to see introduced? This is the ideal option to utilise the ‘pulse survey’ option on your HR software package if you have one. It’s also a great way of demonstrating that the business leadership cares about what staff want and is listening – a timely approach to take as we emerge from the difficult days of the pandemic.
For further information on cloud-based HR software which makes surveying staff and managing tiered benefits easy – talk to Access. Our HR software specialists will be happy to help.
