In today’s competitive job market, attracting and keeping top talent is more crucial than ever. Employees are being offered more opportunities and, as a result, have higher expectations of their employers.
Being proactive about what you offer your staff can make all the difference in terms of talent acquisition and retention. This comes down to compensating your people properly—not just with money, but with other important perks and benefits.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- The key factors that have created an “employees’ market”
- The benefits of a comprehensive compensation package
- How to effectively perform an analysis of your employee perks and benefits
- Tips to help improve your current remuneration package
The Rise of the Employees’ Job Market
It used to be that employers were in the driver’s seat when it came to the hiring process. Interviews were primarily seen as a way for companies to evaluate candidates—assess their personalities, capabilities, and abilities to fit within a business.
Potential hires were definitely at a disadvantage within this dynamic. While they were encouraged to ask hiring teams questions, companies typically saw the opportunity to work for them as a privilege.
Now, however, the power has shifted dramatically to the would-be employee. Quality candidates are being presented with multiple offers and people are able to pick and choose who they want to work for.
The pace of this shift is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expedited pivot towards remote work. Working from home has allowed employees to apply for roles not just outside of their city, but their province, and sometimes, even their country. And this has provided people with a huge influx of employment opportunities.
In fact, this shift has been a catalyst driving the “Great Resignation,” a mass exodus of employees leaving their roles in search of new opportunities, whether employed or self-employed.
In addition to the overall professional outlook of the average employee, inflation is at a 40-year high. This means that employees are not just expecting higher-paying offers—they actually need them to survive.
As a result, we are seeing one of the most competitive markets for top talent in decades.
How Comprehensive Benefits Can Give You an Advantage
Money is an important form of compensation, but it’s not the only one. And today, it’s not always the most important either.
In the face of budget constraints and rising operational costs, offering more money isn’t always an option.
But with a well-rounded remuneration package that includes worth outside of an annual salary or hourly wage, you can help make your employees feel valued.
And when your team feels appreciated, they’re less likely to leave and more likely to become ambassadors for your company. In turn, this can help you attract more top talent.
Companies need to conduct their own form of compensation analysis to make sure they’re meeting the expectations of their current and future people.
Analyzing Your Employees’ Compensation
Key Remuneration Factors to Consider
First and foremost, when it comes to your employee perks and benefits, you need to be proactive. If your actions in terms of compensation are reactionary, you are likely already losing valuable team members–and dealing with the employer brand challenges and astronomical monetary costs that come with high levels of employee turnover.
In order to be proactive, you must first evaluate your current offerings. Conducting a compensation analysis is a great first step in identifying whether or not your employees are getting what they deserve.
Here are the key factors to consider when evaluating your remuneration package:
- Competitor Analysis: Compare the compensation you’re providing with what other companies are offering in your industry and region.
- Company Budget: Take a look at what money you can put towards employees’ salaries and compensations. This can also help you identify salary benchmarks.
- Benefits Packages: Evaluate what health benefits you’re offering. Is it a package you would be satisfied with? Is it competitive?
- Employee Perks: Identify what you can offer employees in terms of paid time off or flex days. This can include their vacation allowance, personal days, volunteer days, or work-from-home policies.
- Office Space: If you expect employees to work in the office, even part time, consider the quality of available workspace. Do you have flexible and dynamic seating that accounts for different manners of productivity? Is your space an enjoyable place to work?
- Workspace Amenities: Your office space should also offer amenities, such as close proximity to coffee shops or lunch places. Offering employees access to additional facilities like a gym or place for medication can also help your offerings stand out.
Tips to Scale Your Perks and Benefits
After you’ve conducted your compensation analysis and have identified where you can improve your employee offerings, here are some tips to help you implement your findings.
- Flexible Office Space: Providing your employees with a beautiful place to work can seem like an expensive commitment—but it doesn’t have to be. Shared workplaces like And-Co offer you dynamic office spaces that provide employees with things that will have them wanting to come to work—like spatial diversity, the opportunity to network and socialize, amenities that improve their quality of life, and conveniently located dining—but at a fraction of the price of a hefty 10-year office lease.
- Transparent Pay: Consider making salary ranges known and available to your team. This can help instill confidence in your staff members regarding the integrity of your company and your leadership team. Transparent pay initiatives also help keep promotions and raises from being biased, and provide realistic expectations for your employees.
- Employee Testimonials: Ask your team members who are happy with your compensation package to share their experience working at your company. You can include testimonials like this on social media, within your external newsletter, or even directly in your offers to potential hires. These can either be written or taken as a video.
- Retention Interviews: While exit interviews are a common component of offboarding an employee who is resigning from your company, retention interviews are not. However, they can be equally—if not more—valuable. Schedule annual or bi-annual interviews with your employees to uncover what they love about working for you, what’s keeping them at your company, and improvements they’d like to see. This can help you easily identify ways to keep your staff happy and feeling valued.
If you’re in search of a modern, full-service, and flexible workspace and community with sustainability at its core, book a tour of And-Co today.