"How are we differentiating our employee experience?" This is a big question and one that entails a multitude of elements other than perks, but with the labor market hotter than even and a war for talent raging on, perks do indeed have an important place.
We looked at several different surveys and studies to narrow down the 10 most popular employee perks. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:
1.) Paid Time Off - who doesn't like taking some time off to relax and unwind? A paid time off program is viewed as one of the top "must-haves" for organization looking to attract top talent.
2.) Travel Stipend/Funding - one of the most well know stipends offered to employees is airbnb's at $2,000 per person per year. If you're thinking of something like this, the amount doesn't need to be in the thousands of dollars. Start with something manageable and meaningful to employees.
3.) Paid Time off for Family (maternity, paternity wedding, etc.) - We all know the importance of family and how valuable memories are. This is why this perk continues to make headlines. Netflix gives an impressive 1 full year of paid maternity/paternity leave to its employees.
4.) Paid Volunteer Time Off - what better perk to offer than a way to allow your teams to give back to the community. According to this article on Monster.com "CECP, a nonprofit formerly known as Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, reports that 61% of companies provided paid time off volunteer programs in 2016—up from 59% three years prior.
5.) Family Planning - according to Business Insider Spotify "covers the cost of egg freezing and fertility assistance for its employees."
6.) Student Loan Debt Assistance - Student loan debt repayment technologies like goodlyapp.com make it ultra simple for companies to automate a program for employees and this is a great thing as according to their website "49% of millennials prefer student loan debt benefits over 401(k) contribution."
7.) "Snow Days" - good news! You don't have to just live somewhere it snows for a snow day. Companies are opting for "surf days" too... really, anytime where a great day outside can't be overlooked. Snowboard company Burton offers its employees "season passes and snow days off after big snowfalls to go make the most of the powder," according to Fast Company.
8.) On site Massage - according to this article, Google has its own “Massage Program Manager,” who boasts that the company has “massage going in multiple massage rooms eight hours a day, five days a week.” Now, Google has tons or resources at its disposal, but companies like soothe massage on demand make it really easy to start one of these programs no matter the size of your company.
9.) Life Coaching/ Continuing Education - Life lessons aren't always easy. Offering employees coaching or help with continuing education is a great way to give your employees a way to better themselves and also a way to continuously make your organization stronger.
10.) Pet-friendly culture (pawternity, bring to work, pet insurance, bereavement leave) - Guess which company has an amazing pet-friendly culture...PetSmart of course! While they do an awesome job, there are many great companies out there that offer pet friendly environments. You can always start with 1 Friday a month (bring your pet to work) and add on from there if you're not sure how to get one started.
If you'd like to talk more about these perks, drop us a note at info@work2live.com
Ready to see the Work2Live platform in action? Set up your demo today!