You have a strong team of employees on board. Do you wish to slog them for hours, get what you desire, and give them nothing in return? It might be your fear of not providing them with the required benefits, considering you can’t afford them. Not giving any kind of benefits or recognition to your employees will eventually lead to to jumping ship. Going without Employee Benefits can boost the bottom line for the short run, but the penny-wise, pound-foolish philosophy will choke your business chances to sustain for the long term.
Offering the right kind of benefit will kickstart your company’s growth. Giving employees the right employee benefit will keep them satisfied, value work more, miss fewer workdays, less likely to quit, and commit fully to meet the organization’s goals. Let’s dive into the kind of benefits your business can offer.
What are Employee Benefits?
The frequently asked question – What are Employee benefits? Employee benefits are indirect, non-cash or cash compensation paid to the employees above their salaries or wages. In simple words, these are perks or fringe benefits given to the employees.
Employers offer other benefits to improve the company’s retention and recruiting aspect. Some examples of these benefits might include- health insurance, flexible work hours, vision insurance, paid leaves, retirement benefits, etc.
Why are Employee Benefits Essential?
Surprisingly, employees might not want a pay increase; but desire other benefits instead. When your company offers benefits to your employees, it gives them the notion that you are not only involved and concerned about their overall health but also their future.
A solid benefits package can retain your company’s best talents. Benefits can also help you differentiate yourself from your competitors. Providing them with such benefits will increase their loyalty towards your company, keep them satisfied, improve the bottom line, and put extra effort into achieving the company’s goals and bring the best to the table.
How Do Employers Manage these Benefits?
The answer lies with benefits administration. You must know that benefits administration is responsible for creating, managing, and updating an organization’s employee benefits program. It falls under your HRs task and helps manage health insurance, retirement benefits, vacations, and so on.
The BA software helps keep benefits in place. This will help retain employees and not allow them to jump to something else according to their convenience and satisfaction. The advantage of this software is that it reduces the employer’s cost given that it’s digital and will offer other meaningful benefits.
Now that we have discussed employee benefits, what are some of the benefits that small businesses can offer?
Health Insurance
Health insurance is one of the common and most important benefits employees are looking out for. Corporations, small businesses, and even non-profit organizations provide health insurance.
The ability to increase job satisfaction and productivity are among the reasons why health insurance is provided. Studies show that employees happy with health insurance report 96% job satisfaction and are twice as productive.
Health insurance covers doctor visits, prescription medications, and the ones with emergency rooms. An employee who has been diagnosed with an ailment can avail of this benefit.
Paid Holidays
Other common benefits for the employees are paid-time-off or paid holiday. PTO is usually when you can take weeks or days away from work while still being paid. It is one of the most important benefits considered by employees.
Many employees expect paid holiday as a part of their benefit as they could refresh themselves and get back to work. Employees are most likely to choose a job where benefits are advantageous than a job with higher pay.
Business owners have also concluded that time off is important for the employees and the company.
Remote Work or Flexible Schedules
The world is technology-driven; anybody can work sitting at home, and so do employees. Some employers also offer such opportunities to work outside the office environment. This allows employees to take a break and work in a comfortable and low-stress atmosphere.
Sometimes, giving remote work opportunities can be challenging. So, employers can allow for flexible work schedules. This gives leeway for employees to work according to their convenience. Giving employees flexible work hours can also increase their productivity.
Overtime
Overtime can be tricky. Some employees enjoy working overtime which involves higher paycheque and other perks. Some may not consider this, as they have to stay late and chances that they won’t be paid.
This is one of the most important benefits that should be included. Employees put in their hard work past office time, and all they would expect is a reward for their efforts. By doing so, they are motivated to work more and contribute to the better functioning of the business.
Retirement Benefits
Most of all, a secure future is what all employees strive to achieve. Retirement accounts provide you with income when you have stopped working. Without a retirement plan, an employee has to work up to the traditional retirement age.
Having a retirement plan makes it easier to save for the future. Two common ways employers can offer this benefit is through a defined benefit plan, that is, a pension or defined contribution plan, which means employees put in most of the money, and your business contributes an equal amount.
The question lies – how do businesses keep track of all the plans, money spent, salaries are given, and so on? Payroll software plays a key role. The software manages to keep a check on making payments to employees.
The software automates things like calculating payments, depositing monthly payments, withholding taxes, along with compensation that the company has to pay to the employees. It is one among so many software’s that can reduce the instances of making errors with such delicate information.
Some of the best payroll software that can be used by employers are –
- Gusto
- Zenefits
- GoCo
- QuickBooks
- Run and so on
Conclusion
Employee benefits keep employees motivated who put their heart and soul productive enough to produce efficient and effective results. Small businesses have limited resources and have to make the utmost use of them. Smart choices like using the payroll software can help your business grow and achieve the goals without exploiting employees, while operating most functions with just one click.
