Companies that want to attract top talent employees have to go above and beyond the typical workplace benefits. When your hiring pool is looking for something special in the ways of perks and benefits, consider ways to extend a helping hand to the family with an EAP.
Learn some ways companies offer employee perks and benefits that the whole family (pets too!) can enjoy.
Family-Friendly Employee Perks and Benefits with an Employee Assistance Program
Once upon a time…a long, long, time ago (ok, maybe it just seems like a long time ago) employee benefits used to be pretty straightforward. You got your doctor visits covered. If you were lucky, vision and dental were included. There wasn’t much discrepancy between what you were offered beyond co-pays.
Today employee benefits are completely different. Your parents probably wouldn’t recognize them. Heck, I barely recognize them. The change isn’t surprising, though. Employee benefits have become so varied to keep up with a new, competitive market.
As our work and personal lives continue to blend (thanks COVID & working from home), employers have to find a way to bridge the gap in benefits. What’s more, there has never been a higher premium placed on attracting and retaining top-tier talent. Hiring people who can do more with less is the new M.O., and those people are rare. The idea is to extend benefits that aren’t just mere perks—benefits that set companies apart and give them a competitive advantage.
What’s particularly interesting is how employee benefits are extending beyond the actual employee as well as the office walls. If you want to make a big difference in the lives of your employees as well as the marketplace, here are a few ways you can begin to extend some amazing benefits.
7 Employee Perks and Benefits for The Whole Family
1. Onsite Childcare
Offering childcare at your office doesn’t just save your employees a lot of money, it helps your build a family-friendly environment at your company. Instead of worrying about finding a babysitter, taking time away from work, or paying for childcare, letting employees bring their kids to the office creates more than just convenience. It also allows them to spend lunches together, and your employees might actually work more productively when they don't have to shuttle kids back and forth to daycare.
Plus, having an onsite childcare facility isn’t just a “nice” thing to do for employees. It makes business sense, as it increases job satisfaction and decreases turnover. Everybody wins. At the very least, employers should consider allowing employees to bring their children to work in a childcare emergency or offer a childcare referral service.
2. Educational Assistance
Several companies offer educational assistance, but not too many companies extend that benefit to their employees’ families.
College is expensive. Even preschools are expensive now. Considering that less than 2% of companies offer educational assistance in the first place, helping out family members goes a long way towards setting your company apart. And when your employee doesn't have money stress on the mind, they're liable to be happier and more productive workers.
Related: The New Employee Stress Relief: Financial Wellness Programs at Work
3. Community Benefits
Offering your employees' family members benefits that allow them to enjoy their community creates a stronger family-oriented company while strengthening community ties as well.
Consider offering park passes, museum or pool memberships, or local event discounts as part of your employment package. These are services that your employees will actually use and appreciate and being the only company in town offering pool passes doesn’t hurt when it comes to putting your business on the map.
4. Paid Parental Leave
When it comes to really helping out your employees’ family members, nothing is quite as appreciated as generous paid maternity and paternity leave.
To provide employees with a better work-life balance, more companies are offering various forms of paid family-related leave, ranging from maternity and paternity leave to adoption, family and medical leave.
When it comes down to it, employees are far more likely to take advantage of leave benefits when they’re paid. Giving employees a set amount of paid leave time for family medical emergencies or child-related welfare encourages employees to make the most of what’s being offered.
Related: Workplace Benefits 101: Are Your Employees Covered?
5. Canine Comfort
Who says family has to be human? More and more, companies are letting their employees bring their dogs to work.
Whether it’s limited to certain days of the week or you go full blown kennel mode, dogs can be a great addition to any office. More importantly, it lets your employees connect with their four-legged family members during the day. And since they don’t have to go home early to walk and feed their dogs, they can reinvest that time into doing amazing work.
And don't forget about pet insurance. You read that right. Health insurance for your furry friends. Pet insurance will help your employees manage the cost of vet bills, spaying/neutering, flea, tick, and heart worm medicine, and other pet health issues.
6. Dial Up the Amenities
All of us have those day-to-day responsibilities we’d rather not be responsible for. And when we work long hours, responsibilities like dry cleaning, oil changes, car washes, and taxes often fall on family members at home -- or squeezed into our weekends.
Setting up a family benefits plan that takes care of some of these responsibilities can lead to more employee satisfaction, more family happiness, and it can also serve to help you attract and retain exceptional talent.
Plus, letting your employees drop off and pick up their dry cleaning from the office can reinvest valuable time back into your business. And thanks to new, amazing technology, you can get extremely creative with the benefits you offer.
6. Employee Assistance Program
The ultimate employee perks and benefits package offers free mental and physical health counseling 24/7. From relationships to financial hardship, your employees should have the care they need. Our EAP isn't your traditional EAP, our focus is keeping your employees and their families healthy and happy. Offering virtual yoga classes, guided meditation, and onsite and virtual massage is going above and beyond.
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