Right now, the job marketplace is highly competitive. In fact, job vacancies in the UK reached record highs this year, with nearly 1.3 million openings available in the first quarter of 2022.
And thanks to the pandemic shifting the way people view work; prospective employees are clear about what they want from an organisation. Fair pay is still most important and the driving factor for recruitment – particularly as the cost-of-living continues to rise – however flexible working has become just as crucial to retaining and hiring new staff.
But what else do employees value in 2022? What are the perks that’ll turn heads when it comes to that all-important job description – that will retain staff, and increase loyalty?
Flexible working hours
While many companies have already moved to a hybrid working environment – allowing employees a better work-life balance – a study in November 2021 found that three out of four jobs advertised in the UK still didn’t offer any kind of flexible working options.
The same research revealed that nine in 10 people would like flexibility in their next role. Therefore, it’s in an employers’ best interest to consider this for their staff, current, and future. By giving employees the choice to decide how, where and when they want to work, you’re going to boost recruitment and long-term loyalty.
Budget towards work equipment
This perk became a necessity for many people during the lockdown – when working from the ironing board or breakfast table got tiresome. But it’s an important consideration nowadays too.
Employees want to be productive and efficient whether this is in the office or at home. And as an employer you should boost this by providing the right equipment and amenities to do their job to the best ability. A small budget towards resources shows how supportive you are as an employer and in turn, employee output will improve.
Health insurance schemes
Health benefits are a massive incentive to join or stay at a company. This makes staff feel valued and comforted by their employer by giving them access to services or treatments that might not be available through the NHS.
This also benefits the organisation as it will reduce employee absences due to sickness or waiting for treatment.
Mental wellbeing support
Good mental health is essential for the wellbeing and overall productivity of your workforce.
It’s been a testing couple of years and the effects long-lasting for some. Although lockdown is over, employers should continue to support employee’s mental wellbeing to prevent burnout.
Access to free counselling sessions or helplines can encourage staff to talk to someone when they previously hadn’t thought about doing so. Mental health days off are also a good way to show staff you care about the way they feel.
Additional holidays
We’re sure you can agree that we all live for holidays. This is an important part of our work-life balance to take a break and refresh.
Some companies choose to offer unlimited holidays for staff. However, interestingly some have found that employees were taking less holiday than they would if they had a set number of days, as they didn’t want to look cheeky.
If offering unlimited, it’s important to make it clear that holidays are there to be taken. Why not put a minimum threshold in place to ensure your teams take enough leave?
If offering a set amount of annual leave per year, bump it up by a couple of days or five. You’re only going to make employees happy and retain loyalty. What’s to lose!?
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Organisations should also consider offering a ‘Total Reward Statement (TRS). This highlights all their additional benefits, their monetary value, and their salary all in one statement.
Too often, employees only compare jobs against salary alone, whereas the TRS demonstrates the true value of the package — helping to boost recruitment — and long-term staff retention.
Find out how you can improve employee engagement with HR software, like Natural HR, by providing Total Reward Statements online, here
