A good employee benefit package is no longer only reserved for big companies. Smaller businesses are increasingly starting to offer benefits that really do help their employees, and boost employee retention. In this article, we are going to explore different benefits for a small business that deliver maximum value without breaking the budget.
What are employee benefits?
Employee benefits are offered by employers to their employees in addition to their normal salaries. They are incredibly useful tools for businesses to recruit and retain staff, as they can help staff members build a long-term positive relationship with their employer, making them less likely to look elsewhere. When we talk about small business employee benefits, we’re referring to smart, scalable perks that help level the playing field with larger competitors.
Why isn’t a good salary enough?
In the past, the main thing that drew applicants to particular positions was the salary. But times are changing, and it’s starting to swing in the opposite direction. In fact, a survey by The Glassdoor survey found that 80% of employees prefer extra benefits over salary increases.
A fair salary remains of high importance, however employee benefits are a strong way to boost your company’s perception among your employees, without raising their salary. Building a compelling small business benefits package can make everyday life that little bit easier and more enjoyable for everyone in your team.
What are the small business employee benefits?
You may be thinking that you want to increase your employee benefits package, but you don’t have the budget. But actually, employee benefits don’t have to cost the earth! We’ve touched briefly on employee benefits that you might not have thought of, but we are going to lay out some of the benefit packages for small businesses.
According to financial planning company, Drewberry, the top 10 requested benefits from SME employees are:
-
Flexible hours (42.3%)
-
Private Medical Insurance (31.3%)
-
Work-from-home options (29.2%)
-
Life Insurance (29%)
-
Free snacks (24.1%)
-
Income Protection Insurance (23%)
-
Critical Illness Insurance (22.1%)
-
Additional pension contributions (21.5%)
-
Gym membership discounts (17.4%)
-
Retail or leisure activity discounts (15.6%)
It is particularly interesting to us, being an insurance company, that a number of these benefits are insurance policies!
We’re not going to run though all of these as some of them are pretty self explanatory, but we are going to explore some of these benefits and why they are so highly requested.
Flexible hours
We need to mention this benefit, as almost half of the people asked wanted flexibility in their working hours. Flexible hours is the option to work outside of the standard 9-5 schedule.
Flexible hours helps employees to gain a better work-life balance, increasing morale and relieving the stress of balancing home life with work.
The option to work from home, requested by almost 30% of those asked, would also help with this common employee request.
Income protection insurance
You may not have thought about it as a benefit, but clearly a lot of employees do. Rolling in at number six on the list, income protection insurance or Group Income Protection insurance is an insurance policy that ensures employees continue to receive a regular income if they’re unable to work because of an illness or injury.
Group Income Protection insurance is arranged and paid for by the business, making it a cost-effective way to protect your workforce and enhance the overall benefits for a small business. For a small business, this type of insurance not only strengthens recruitment and retention but fosters a more resilient and supportive culture within the workplace.
Offering Group income protection insurance to your employees allows them to relax knowing that, should the worst happen, they would still get some of their salary paid, therefore taking the pressure off their mortgage, rent and bills.
How Wiltshire Friendly can help
Wiltshire Friendly specialises in delivering income protection and Group Income Protection insurance tailored for employers and their employees experiencing a loss of income due to illness or injury.