How to Build a Competitive Employee Benefits Package: A Guide for SMBs

Employee benefits can give you an edge when competing for top candidates and employee retention. When creating your employee benefits package, it’s not necessarily about who offers the best benefits in every category, but focusing on what’s important to candidates and employees. Take a look at which benefits are most highly valued.

Health Benefits

The first perk that companies typically look to offer in their employee benefits package is health insurance, such as medical, dental, and vision. The Harvard Business Review completed a study that showed health benefits as one of the most sought out by employees choosing a new company to work for. Promoting good health also has a positive impact on company culture and productivity.

Flexible Hours

Recent studies show that flexible work hours are often just as important as health benefits to employees. This benefit doesn’t require any cost to the employer and has a high perceived value to staff. Flexible hours can be structured in several different ways. One option is allowing employees to work various shifts during the day. Not everyone is a morning person, so a 7 o’clock AM start time won’t appeal to everyone, though it may appeal to some.

When implementing a flexible schedule remember to ensure employees can serve your customers and have some overlap in start times to allow for team collaboration.

Work-Life Balance

In recent years work-life balance has morphed and become less binary. The phrases “work-life fit” or “work-life integration” are also popular terms that describe this concept. The ability to fit life and work together by working from home on occasion to accommodate a child’s school schedule or leaving work early for a personal appointment are great examples of work-life balance benefits. This benefit also comes at no additional cost to the organization and can increase productivity and employee morale.