3 minute read
Rethinking Employee Benefits
Reimagining flexible options is fast becoming the method to retaining the best talent.
Employee benefits have been vital means used in the competitive marketplace for years. Benefits such as 401(k) plans, cell phone bill pay, or above average vacation time have been used as bargaining chips by employers to distinguish themselves to top talent.
Skip ahead to our current situation, where so much about today’s workforce has radically changed. Organizations are nevertheless using employee benefits to entice and maintain employees, but now those benefits look quite different. The coronavirus has triggered years of change in just under a year. Understanding what current and potential employees want and need is crucial for organizations of all sizes to efficiently use employee benefits as a competitive advantage during the pandemic talent war and beyond.
The latest perks and benefits In the past, progressive organizations used benefit options such as above-average vacation time, flexible schedules, or even home offices. In our current environment, flexibility has become the most critical issue that each organization needs to accommodate to stay competitive. The workforce is coping with vastly different conditions and personal obstacles, which involve varying degrees of flexibility. For example, let us review the current school year. Employees with grade school-age children seek flexible schedules or work from home options, as kids are
experience. community. perspective. attending school virtually, while some are in a Every organization will have distinct subtlehybrid model. ties and specific needs of individual employJust over half of small business leaders recog- ees. Moving forward, those organizations nized that school reopening preparations would that figure out the equation of assisting affect their operations and workforces. Also, employees with personal responsibilities due over half noted they were setting up work from to the coronavirus, doing so in a fair way home arrangements for their employees. On across the board, and that supports compathe other sign of the coin, only a low percent- ny culture will have a significant advantage age of small-sized organizations ask employ- over those that do not. Listening to employees to return to the office environment. C-level ee’s needs and updating clear-cut policies executives should focus on making flexible and procedures will be essential in retaining working conditions impartial and justifiable for employees. everyone, regardless of their circumstances. Post-Pandemic Personnel Separate from childcare, most of those allowed Executives must confront and face the to work from home have become used to it. changing aspects of their operation and Many have upheld or even improved their out- make determinations that are in line with put without having to deal with getting ready their company culture and tackle virus-relatand out of the house on time, traffic jams, and ed situations of their employees. Expectaother disruptions that occur as part of the tions for many employees have shifted, and typical office environment. Likewise, countless when the economy bounces back, they will employees favor working from home as they have options. The battle for talent began feel safer there, not having to worry about awhile as strong organizations have asserthealth and safety in an office ecosystem. Some ively pursued talent from furloughs, layoffs, employees wish for a mixed model option, and financially downtrodden organizations. working part-time in the office setting for the social aspects and part-time from home. These Solid benefits, like work from home arrangenew challenges create essential management ments, have long been deemed viable perks. decisions, looking to retain employees while Appealing talent, along with younger genernot affecting production or morale. ations, are averse to accepting the traditionally designed office environment. Flexibility Crafting a consistent corporate culture will be necessary to sustain and vie for top It can become a challenge for management to talent in the post coronavirus. sustain and cultivate their corporate culture while meeting their employees’ varied needs. While we have never faced challenges such as these, managers’ goal is to safeguard their corporate culture. This can be done by maintaining their principles, emphasizing their organization’s mission and vision, and shaping their corporate culture’s customs and beliefs for remote employees.
Leaders must ask themselves what the right thing is to do for the organization and fair for the workforce. Additionally, what leads to maintaining production levels and, of course, what aids in retaining employees.
As we are in uncharted waters, these are not easy questions to answer. We have no road map. The guidebook has not yet been written.
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