The success of just about any business rests on attracting and retaining the right talent. To do this, we need to offer the right incentives. This might be a simple matter of offering more money, but additional perks can also help to sweeten a particular deal, and encourage the employee to view the company in a positive light.

Done badly, perks can look like a gimmicky fig-leaf for low pay. Done the right way, on the other hand, and they can encourage employees to value the company, and to stick around for longer.

Let’s look at some of the more effective, valuable perks.

Flexible Working Hours

When a job gets in the way of an employee’s home life, they may feel that they have to choose one or the other. This generates resentment, and a long-term desire to switch to a job whose hours are more manageable. Not having time to see your children because you’re working every evening is a definite downer – especially if you could really be doing the same work at a different time of day.

Working From Home

A related perk is the ever sought-after ability to work from home. This will allow employees to get the job done under their own motivation. But, perhaps more importantly, it demonstrates a level of trust on the part of the employer, which employees value.

Vacation Time

Granting paid time off is always a trade-off. If employees are to remain productive and focussed, then they’ll need to have the time put aside to unwind. If they’re not given it, then they’ll seek employment elsewhere. It’s important that vacation time is not only allocated, but that there are no cultural barriers to actually taking it. If employees are given reproving looks and excluded from lunchtime trips to the pub every time they decide to go on holiday, then the effect might be much the same as if they weren’t granted any extra holiday at all!

Employee Loans

Sometimes, employees might need short-term finance. That’s where employee loans come in. You’ll link repayments to the salary you’re paying out each month, and improve credit scores in the process. Loans of this sort are safer and carry a lower interest, and will effectively allow employees to earn an advance on their pay-check whenever they like, which can help them to manage short-term finance.

Health Insurance

This is something that’s often-cited in polls of American employees. But even in the UK, with our nationalised healthcare, employees might look for financial support so that they can go private when an emergency arises. When you pay out to one employee, you’ll demonstrate to the rest of your workforce that they’ll be looked after if they should find themselves struck by sudden illness or injury.