Employee Benefits, What Staff Want & What Workplaces Can Offer

Following on from our previous article regarding the importance of workplace culture, in this blog, we take a closer look at Employee Value Propositions, and how employee benefits are a critical component of that.

Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) represents the distinct array of benefits and incentives an employee obtains in exchange for their skills, expertise and tenure within a company. Essentially, it outlines the mutual agreement between employer and employee, detailing both the anticipated contributions employees will make and the corresponding rewards they can anticipate from the employer.
A company’s EVP often consists of components such as salary, career growth prospects, workplace culture and additional workplace perks or benefits. An EVP serves as a selling point for talent acquisition and aids in the retention of current staff. Moreover, it serves to increase engagement levels and productivity amongst the team aswell.

Employee Benefits

In essence, employee benefits are the additional perks beyond salary that form part of your employee’s total compensation package. These benefits stand apart from obligatory offerings like paid time off and serve to add value to the employees professional, and sometimes, personal lives.However, employee benefits serves a more profound purpose than mere compensation. It serves as a reflection of your company’s ethos and demonstrates how you value your employees and their contribution to the team and the wider business. 

Understanding what employees want

As we’ve previously discussed, a positive team culture is an important consideration and motivator for employees, but what else are people looking for when it comes to employee benefits?

In an Australia-wide study conducted by YouGov Galaxy, employees were asked what benefits they’d most like for their workplace to provide.
This list is as follows:

0 %
Flexible
working
0 %
Discounts on electricity, gas and water
0 %
Continued Education Options
0 %
Petrol
Discounts
0 %
Free
Mails
0 %
Supermarket
discounts
0 %
Mental Wellness Initiatives
0 %
Subsidised massages, yoga and gym memberships
0 %
Company Deals on loans, mortgages or health insurance
0 %
Discounts on mobile phone and data services

When we collate this data with other survey results we see clear trends in what is important to employees when it comes to company benefits and these can be broken down into four main themes. Let’s take a closer look at these trends, and find out what initiatives you, as a leader, can implement to add value to your employees.

What can you offer?​

Flexibility – Flexible work arrangements have become the norm for Australian employees and it is one of the most sought-after benefits staff are looking for and expecting from their workplace. This includes remote working options and flexibility in working hours, which is now often seen as a minimum expectation as we move through 2024.

Remuneration and Rewards – On top of salary, we see that discounts and lifestyle benefits are of clear importance to employees. This could include things such as:

  • Subsidised childcare
  • Product discounts
  • Additional Super contributions
  • Purchased leave options or tenure-based bonus leave
  • Free parking
  • Access to complimentary further education resources
  • Offering a profit share scheme

Wellbeing & Wellness – Supporting your employee’s mental and physical health is certainly becoming more and more prevalent in the current times. Providing access to services and initiatives such as:

  • An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • An onsite gym, online wellness classes or a subsidised gym membership
  • Providing complimentary healthy breakfasts or lunch options on-site
  • Offering stand-up desks in the office
  • Running in-house wellness sessions (yoga, meditation, breathwork, mindfulness etc)
Experiences – We can refer back to our previous blog on culture here, but to summarise a few examples of experience-based initiatives to offer these could include:
  • Providing formal and informal networking opportunities (both with the direct team, wider business and outside of the company)
  • Promoting social events and corporate retreats for the team
  • Engaging in team bonding activities
So, we’ve looked at a broad overview of what Australians are looking for when it comes to employee benefits. We know that having a strong EVP and tailored employee benefits improves employee engagement, increases retention and is attractive to new hires which ultimately all leads to improved workplace culture and happier employees.In saying this, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, so we will leave you with a few questions to ask yourself to evaluate where your business currently stands, and what action steps you may consider moving forward.
  • What are the ones that you already have?
  • What are the benefits that can be implemented quickly and easily?
  • What issues do you and the team have at the moment?
  • What do your team members want?
This is a simple way to capture a snapshot of where you and the team currently are, so the initiatives you do seek to implement are targeted to your employees and add real value to them.Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog about conducting employee satisfaction surveys, which can help you deep dive into how your employees are feeling and what is important to them within the workplace.

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