Simple employee benefits to promote satisfaction and wellbeing

What are employee benefits?

In short, employee benefits are perks or additional rewards that employees are offered over and above their basic salary. They could be monetary, as in bonuses, or offer a benefit equivalent to a monetary value, such as discount voucher schemes.

We have highlighted below some company benefit examples that you might want to consider, with a focus on improving overall employee wellbeing. Whatever you choose to implement, they will form part of your overall reward strategy and should therefore be designed with your employees and what will help improve work satisfaction in mind.

Company benefits examples

Recognition of commitment and achievements

The average employee will spend around one third of their life at work. In fact, while you are working, it probably feels like much more than that. One of the biggest issues impacting employee satisfaction is not being recognised for the time, commitment, and achievements that you contribute during that time. That recognition does not have to be a major issue. The simplest structure of encouraging everyone to say please and thank you - the most basic of civilities - can go a long way to making someone feel valued in the workplace. Yet expecting basic civility should not be one of your employment benefits. It should be a matter of course. Instead, focus on integrating a system of rewards and recognition framed around a defined set of KPIs or goals. Using such transparent goals can encourage your workforce to focus on achieving the necessary results, with the additional reward at the end of the journey.

Understanding and compassion

Another area that should also be part of your company culture, and not a benefit, is fostering an environment in which the ups and downs of life are treated with care and compassion. With mental health affecting one in four of us in the UK, that percentage will seep through into the workplace. It is important that you are both aware of, and responsible for, the way in which employee mental health is cared for during working hours. There are many EAPs (Employee Assistance Programmes) on the market which are perfectly placed to offer mental health and counselling support to employees. Such schemes help to give your employees a safe space to seek help without worrying about the cost. Many have extended support to private doctors and dentists too, to offer a much more rounded health offering.

Flexible working practices (family commitments)

How many of your employees have family dependants? How many have young children of nursery age or teenagers doing exams? How many are part of the sandwich generation, looking after elderly parents as well as young children, all while working full time? For many, the stress of getting through week by week can take its toll.

Depending on the job role, there is one thing that the pandemic did teach us - and that is to encourage people to find a much healthier work-life balance. Although there is no real monetary value to incorporating an emotional and physical health scheme as one of your employment benefits, the overall benefits to an individual’s well-being are immeasurable.

Subscription to a comprehensive perks scheme

An additional benefit that does have a monetary value is the integration of a dedicated employee perks scheme. There are a number of schemes available on the market, offering a range of employment benefits, such as discounted supermarket vouchers, vouchers for other high street and online retail brands, Amazon vouchers, discounts on flights, nights out, and meals in restaurants… the choice is endless.

Over time, your employees could substantially benefit by actively participating in an employee benefit voucher scheme.

Structured framework for professional development

Research indicates that a happy and thriving employee is someone who feels as though they are learning and progressing. Establishing a structured approach to professional development as part of a dedicated employment benefits strategy will help keep your workforce on track and working towards a defined goal for their own career and aspirations. Incorporating both emotional and financial wellbeing provides a balanced and measurable approach to developing a rewards strategy. Talk to us today if you would like support in crafting a rewards strategy that supports and motivates your workforce.