It turns out that employees actually enjoy perks other than money! Who knew? For instance, Glassdoor reported back in 2015 that “Nearly four in five (79 percent) employees would prefer new or additional benefits or perks over a pay increase.” Three years later, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of people are expecting employee perks and benefits before accepting any position.
It goes without saying that businesses are going out of their way to make sure their employees are happy because happy employees are successful employees. If it wasn’t the case, the biggest companies wouldn’t waste their money offering their employees benefits and perks. Ask Amazon and Apple warehouse employees what their work experience is like if you don’t believe employee perks make a difference!
Why Employee Perks Matter
Here are some other significant statistics from that same Glassdoor report that make the case for offering incredible employee perks. Employees who saw a positive change at their place of work reported:
- Sixty-four percent say they were awarded new perks (option to work remotely, casual dress, flexible work hours) or new stock or other compensation, up 3 percentage points since last quarter (61 percent).
- Two in five (40 percent) employees report their organization has initiated large-scale hiring, reflecting little change since last quarter (39 percent), however, this is up 6 percentage points compared to the same time last year (Q3 2014, 34 percent).
- Twenty-seven percent report that health and dental benefits, as well as pay and perks that had previously been cut, have been restored, is down 7 percentage points since last quarter (34 percent).
Things Don’t (Completely) Revolve Around Money
What a strange world we live in where things aren’t revolving entirely around money. Then again, it typically pays to have strong benefits in place. It not only encourages current employees to work harder, but encourages potentially-more-qualified applicants to take a pay cut. Regardless, we spend so much time at work; we might as well enjoy it, right?
Successful companies credit offering all kinds of incredible employee perks for their success. Companies that look after their employees should expect a stronger morale and the desire to improve to rub off on everyone.
According to SHRM, employees cite the following as extremely important regarding company culture: respectful treatment of all employees at all levels (67%); compensation (63%); benefits (60%); job security (58%); trust between employees and senior management (55%). These numbers are much too high to ignore.
Compensation clearly matters to many people, and it will always be a significant deciding factor in terms of whether or not employees will ultimately accept a position or seek more money elsewhere, but respect, job security, trust, and benefits are all just as important.
Some Important Examples
There are plenty of ways to go about changing the company culture to emulate what employees are looking for. In fact, plenty of huge companies like Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, Patagonia, and Airbnb all offer their own unique employee perks. Goldman Sachs offers gender reassignment surgery in their insurance coverage; Salesforce offers employees paid time off for volunteering; Patagonia has on-site child-care services; AirBnB offers employees a $2000 travel budget.
Businesses all over the world look to these companies for inspiration in all aspects of the business. The fact that they’re all offering employee perks and benefits says a lot about their feelings on what it means to be successful. Companies can get by treating their employees poorly, and some will even be extremely successful, but there will always be looming thoughts over each applicant’s head: Is it worth it?; Do I really need the money?; Will they actually appreciate me?.
Here, we’re going to break down 17 incredible employee perks of successful companies. If you’re a business owner, you should take these into consideration if employee experience is a top priority; if you’re an employee, you should take these into consideration when deciding on whether or not to stay at your current job, or what your minimum requirements while looking.
About the author: Reuben Yonatan is the founder and CEO of GetVoIP — trusted VoIP comparison resource that helps companies understand and choose a business communication solution for their specific needs. Reuben assists SMBs to align business strategy with culture and improve overall corporate infrastructure.
