Recruiting and retaining great people is a challenge that companies across the globe and in all industries are grappling with. In the US, skills shortages have more than tripled in the last ten years, with 69% of employers currently struggling to fill positions, up from just 14% in 2010. By 2030, it’s estimated that the global talent shortage could reach 85.2 million people.

A recent report indicates that frontline workers saw the sharpest fall in engagement during the pandemic. Retail, hospitality, travel, and healthcare employers must work hard to attract and retain people.

All this means that the relationship between employers and employees has fundamentally shifted. In particular, hospitality and retail workers have more choices than ever about where they work, and companies need to understand people’s priorities and reexamine their employee value propositions to compete.

In this article, we’ll share some thoughts on how you can enhance your organization’s employee benefits package to ensure you stand out.

What Is a Benefits Package?

Most organizations offer some form of benefits package, but the perks and extras that make up these packages will vary depending on the employer’s industry, budget, and values.

Benefits programs vary greatly, but they typically include medical, life, and disability insurance, retirement income plan contributions, paid leave, an employee stock ownership plan, and educational assistance programs.

How to Evaluate Your Benefits Package

If you want to augment or extend your employee benefits package, you must ensure that your investment delivers results. Here are some tips for assessing and selecting your benefits package:

• Focus on programs that save you money upfront and are easy, quick, and inexpensive to implement. How many of your HR team members will need to be involved? How many steps are involved in the launch? What services does the benefits vendor include or charge extra for?
• Where possible, look for benefits vendors that offer performance guarantees or performance-based pricing.
• Ask for employee referrals and testimonials from potential vendors.
• Invest in benefits that complement other programs and fill gaps rather than duplicate existing initiatives so you create the most comprehensive benefits package possible.

Top 5 Best Benefits to Offer in 2022

How do you decide on the best benefits for your employees? The first step is to analyze your workforce demographics to determine the needs of different categories of employees.  Employees are looking for emotional, physical, and financial stability from their employers. A 2021 workplace wellness survey found that around seven in 10 believe employers are responsible for ensuring their employees’ mental, physical, and financial well-being.

Here are some of the most popular benefits that allow you to help your employees build holistic well-being:

1. Health Insurance

Healthcare premiums and deductibles have been rising for years, and premiums for a family rose 4% in 2021. So, if you can only afford to offer your employees one benefit, you should make it health insurance.

2. Employee Assistance Programs

Mental illness continues to be an issue plaguing the country’s adult population, affecting the daily lives of nearly one in five Americans. The number is equivalent to almost 50 million US adults.

Mental illness – including stress, anxiety, and depression – can lead to poor outcomes in the workplace, including absenteeism and productivity losses. While mental health problems need to be taken seriously, workers’ healthcare plans do not cover all mental issues. An employee assistance program (EAP) that includes employer-sponsored counseling can help employees manage their mental health problems and improve their productivity at work. 

The best EAPs include initiatives to educate employees about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, how to seek help if they need it, and ways to support a struggling co-worker.

3. Financial Wellness Support

The 2022 Stress in America survey revealed that most American adults are emotionally overwhelmed and fatigued. Another survey found that 65% of workers say that their debt is a problem, and almost half say that worrying about their finances distracts them from work. Payactiv’s 2022 Impact Report found that half the working population in 48 out of 50 states cannot afford basic living costs for part of the month. 

Benefits like Earned Wage Access (EWA) help workers pay for food, transportation, and utilities, to close the livelihood gap and reach financial wellness. Financial wellness is a critical factor in employees’ overall wellness, enhances productivity, and when employers help employees achieve financial confidence, everyone benefits.

4. Career Growth and Development Opportunities

The Great Resignation has given people more reasons to prioritize professional development opportunities. If employers don’t provide these opportunities, employees will find a company that will.

The good news is that professional development needn’t be expensive. On-the-job training, classes, webinars, podcasts, and job shadowing can be just as beneficial.

5. Flexibility

The last few years have changed how employees view and approach work, and people of all ages and roles are seeking increased work flexibility. Consider these statistics:

• When considering a job move in 2022, more than three-quarters (77%) of employees think flexible working is the most crucial benefit.
• In the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, more than half (54%) of employees surveyed globally would consider leaving their job post-pandemic if they aren’t provided some form of flexibility in where and when they work.

Many employers are introducing Earned Wage Access (EWA) as a means to offer people flexibility as to when they get paid. EWA allows employees to access the money they’ve already earned before their regular payday. The funds can be loaded onto a debit or prepaid card, transferred to their bank account, or picked up as cash at Walmart. The best EWA providers allow employees to access their earned wages through a handy mobile app with secure direct deposit features like Payactiv’s all-in-one digital wallet.

Digital solutions such as that offered by Payactiv allow employers to give their shift workers more scheduling flexibility. Our app allows employees to access the company’s shift management system to immediately see available shift openings or who they might be able to swap shifts with if they have to attend to a personal matter at short notice.

Get Creative with Benefits to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Organizations that want to win the war for talent need to evolve with the changing needs of their employees. Those that get creative with their benefits will reap the rewards.

Payactiv is the partner of choice for companies seeking to augment their benefits package, improve employee morale, and help their people move closer to achieving all their goals – physical, social, and emotional. Our all-in-one Livelihood benefits platform takes a holistic approach to improve employee wellness and overall satisfaction.

Learn more about how Payactiv can help boost employee benefits or book your demo now.