The Importance of Employee Benefit Packages

When you’re looking to keep a business afloat, then it might be tempting to agonize over every penny that you’re spending, particularly during the early phases of a start-up. This might rule out spending on additional benefits for employees. But given the positive impact that such benefits can have on morale, retention, and productivity, it might be time to rethink that strategy.

What are Employee Benefits?

Benefits cover everything that isn’t wages. If you’re offering a company car, or a pension, or an onsite gym, then these things might all be classed as benefits.

So, why exactly should we spend money on these things, rather than simply spending that money on employee salary and giving them the freedom to make their own decisions?

Benefits do things that wages can’t

There are some things that money can’t buy. There’s no way that your employees will be able to buy more generous lunch breaks, or working from home privileges: employers have to grant these things.

Moreover, there are certain financial perks that employees might be interested in, but which they might not take the step of actually investing in. Shares in a company might be a good example – while many of us think they’re a good idea in theory, taking the step to buy them often requires that an employer provide a gentle push.

Benefits can Improve Employee Wellbeing

Some benefits actually make your employees healthier. Healthy catering and incentivized exercise will reduce absenteeism in the long term, while many employees will put any extra time they’ve granted toward pursuing these objectives.

Benefits are trackable

If you’re providing your staff with quantifiable assets, like shares in your business, then you’ll be able to provide them with regular updates on the value of those assets through your HMRC payroll software – which should naturally also calculate any associated tax obligations.

Benefits draw in New Employees

If you’re able to present new recruits with a long and generous list of perks, then they’ll be that much likelier to take up a position in your organization. Moreover, by extending benefits to your existing employees, you’ll be that much likelier to retain them.

Aligning Business Culture with Professed Values

Benefits allow you to pursue goals that have very little to do with profitability. For example, if you’ve been trying to cement yourself as a ‘green’ organization, which recycles as much as possible, implements a paperless policy for internal memos, and supports tree-planting initiatives, then you might have this reflected in your benefits packages.

You might pledge to support a nominated charity on behalf of your employees, perhaps by taking a pledge. This might provide your employees with a deeper sense that they’re contributing to a grander cause, and thereby bolster productivity.

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