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Child Care Benefits To Add To Your List This Year

Being a parent is a rewarding and exciting part of life, but it also comes with responsibility and added costs. In fact, fifty-seven percent of working families spent more than $10,000 on child care in 2020. As an employer, there is more that can be done to support your hard working employees entering a new chapter in their lives. We’re highlighting a few of the different benefits that employers are adding to their list this year. 

Onsite Child Care 

Although not a new benefit, companies are implementing onsite care in growing numbers over the recent years. There are plenty of benefits to providing this option, especially if your team is in office. Employees have reported a sense of security having their children close by, and time savings with less time spent on drop off/pick up, an increase in productivity due to less days off caring for their child, and an increased sense of community with other employees with children. 

Paid Parental Leave 

Paternity leave policies have improved, but a reported 70% of men in the US take fewer than 10 days parental leave, according to a Department of Labor survey. It’s been shown that paternity leave provides lasting benefits, not only for fathers but children and mothers too. With businesses around the world jumping on the bandwagon and providing paternity leave policies, make this the year that your company joins the movement. 

Impactful Child Care Discounts 

Child care is pricey. There are a lot of new expenses when you add a new member to your family including healthcare, transportation, food, clothing, housing, daycare and so much more. A simple and effective way to provide support for your employees is to implement an employee discount program that provides your team access to steep discounts including savings on apparel, baby supplies, toys, child care, and education. 

Offer Flexibility

As a human resources professional, you know the difficulty of securing and managing benefits that meet your diverse workforce’s needs. But that shouldn’t get in the way of offering support to the working parents at your organization. Work closely with working parents to come up with a schedule that works for them. In addition, try to place less emphasis on the regular “9-5” working day. If your organization relies on strict hours or scheduled time tables, give employees the opportunity to edit their scheduling preferences based on their child-care needs. 

With PerkSpot, your employees can save up to $4,500 per year with exclusive access to thousands of discounts. Are you ready to improve your child care benefits with a no-cost, easy to implement program? Get started today!

5 Questions Answered About Employee Discount Programs

One of the benefits that has gained traction in the recent decades is employee discounts. It’s a great way for employers to contribute to their team’s financial wellness and it helps employees save on the things that matter most. Whether your company manages their discounts in-house, relies on seasonal promotions, or doesn’t provide discounts at all, an employee discount program is a simple way to improve your employee experience. But how do you get started? Which discounts do you provide? There are a lot of questions when it comes to employee discount programs and we are here to provide you with answers! 

What Is An Employee Discount Program? 

An employee discount program is a marketplace of exclusive discounts, negotiated by our team of experts, from top brands and local businesses. Employees can access their discounts through their discount portal and browse deals or search by brand or category. They can also discover curated and personalized discounts relevant to their interests, and enjoy savings on a variety of products and services. PerkSpot’s program drives financial wellness for your employees, putting money back into their pockets.

How Often Are New Discounts Added For Employees? 

PerkSpot negotiates directly with top brands to secure leading offers everyday. We are constantly adding new ways to save from local establishments to big-name nationwide brands. Not only that, but employees have the opportunity to suggest their favorite businesses and we will do our best to secure an exclusive offer! 

What Management Is Needed To Keep The Program Up To Date? 

We handle the management of your discount program. Your perks and discounts will be up and running in a matter of days.  We’ll help with custom branding tailored to your unique organization and a built-in employee communication plan. Additionally, our team of client success managers are here to help you with anything you need. We help devise engagement strategies, create marketing materials, and more. 

What If Employees Have Questions or Run Into Issues?

Our customer support team is always available to help your employees with any questions. We are dedicated to making their experience smooth and problem-free. 

How Much Does It Cost Per Year To Provide An Employee Discount Program? 

PerkSpot is a cost-free program. With 25+ savings categories, there are endless opportunities to save with no hidden fees. 

Providing employees with impactful discounts is the quickest, easiest way to contribute to your team’s financial wellness. With a discount program like PerkSpot, you not only are able to provide unbeatable savings, but you have a program that does the work for you. Start your team’s savings journey today!

5 Trending Benefits To Implement In 2023

Benefits are always evolving and adapting, especially with new generations joining the workforce and work environments becoming more flexible. Whether it’s the option to work remotely or commuter benefits, there are endless ways to help your employees feel valued. With the new year right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to consider what benefits you’ll be providing employees in the upcoming months. 

To make things easier, we’ve laid out a list of the benefits employees are looking for out of their current or future employer! 

1. Financial Wellness Contributions

With record high inflation rates in the past year, employees have been challenged financially to keep up. To mitigate the effects, it will be crucial to provide benefits that help your employees stretch their paycheck. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to provide financial value to your team. A few examples include financial reimbursements 401(K) contributions, a flexible spending account, financial planning and coaching, and implementing or upgrading your employee discount program. 

2. Voluntary Benefits 

Healthcare costs only continue to increase causing employees and their families added stress. A few of the trending voluntary benefits that companies are taking advantage of are accident insurance, critical illness, hospital indemnity insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, identity theft protection, and pet insurance. By including these benefits at no-cost to employees, it’s a great way to provide protection and security. 

3. Family Planning Support

According to Mercer data, 70% of employers are already offering or planning to offer parental leave in 2023. Additionally,  53% are providing or planning to provide paid adoption leave. Not only that, but companies are starting to provide surrogacy benefits, fertility treatment coverage, on-site or backup childcare options, and extended leave for both parents

4. Mental Health Benefits

With the recent pandemic, increased inflation, and a rise in layoffs, employees have been not only challenged physically but also mentally. Now is a great opportunity to add or improve your benefits around well-being. A few examples you can provide include online resources like classes or apps, employee assistance programs, employee training and workshops, and discounted therapy access. 

5. Unique, Outside The Box Perks

Employers across the nation are starting to implement fun, exciting benefits that employees are loving. Whether it’s extended time off for holidays, volunteering days, unlimited PTO, lunch stipends, pet-friendly workspaces, or home-office contributions, there are plenty of ways to increase employee engagement with new perks. 

When it comes to employee benefits, there are plenty of opportunities available to help your employees feel valued. Ready to get started today with a financial benefit that helps employees save on the things that matter most? Sign up for a demo and provide your team with exclusive access in a matter of days. 

Why You Need Voluntary Benefits

girl at computer voluntary benefitsEmployee benefits are, by their very nature, a highly personal thing. Few things are more important than having reliable health and vision benefits, for instance, across a huge range of varied personal situations. That’s why it’s critical that any competitive benefits package allows for meaningful customization for the things that matter, so employees can opt-in towards retirement, time-off, or whatever else is important to them. In other words – you need a benefits structure that works around the unique needs of your unique employees!

Ideally, your voluntary benefits should be more than just “skin deep”.  The kind of benefits program that attracts top talent is the kind that offers meaningful solutions to major hurdles experienced by your employees – like, for instance, providing financial well-being tools such as financial education resources or 401k guidance as part of an employee benefits package. It makes a huge difference to the growing number of employees concerned about their financial health. But even something as simple as separate voluntary benefits for commuters and motorists getting to the office can make a big difference in the positive cultural impact of your program.

Productivity, Loyalty, and Voluntary Benefits

Studies show consistently that incentive programs have a strong positive impact on productivity and loyalty. For example, a recent Incentive Research Foundation study indicated that a well-run incentive program can improve loyalty by up to 44%, showing that employees want to be recognized as individuals for their work. Providing voluntary benefits functions just the same; when employees feel like their efforts are being recognized and rewarded on an individual basis, it acts as a strong productivity driver. That’s because personalizing your benefits demonstrates that you care about your employees – and there’s nothing that ensures employee loyalty more strongly than showing you’re loyal to them right back. 

From parking vouchers to cutting-edge telehealth benefits, giving employees a comprehensive and customizable benefits suite is among the top ways to stand out from competitors and attract fiercely competitive best-in-class talent. That’s how PerkSpot helps you build loyalty and reduce turnover; providing your employees with discounts tailored around their interests. Through the hundreds of national brands who work with us, PerkSpot is able to selectively highlight the programs and discounts most applicable to individual employees; whether it’s a frequent traveler in need of cheaper car rentals or an amateur gardener looking for new tools, we’ve got the deals to help your employees save on the things that matter to them. That’s why PerkSpot is such a powerful employee productivity driver.

The Value of Personalization

When you recognize your employees as individuals and format your programs around individual needs, it never goes unnoticed. In many cases, even if the monetary benefit is the same, giving employees the choice to opt-in to relevant programs instead of a “one-size-fits-all” approach improves productivity and loyalty metrics. As far as benefits go, it pays to realize that one size does not fit all; and the more you can provide employees with benefits that match their individual needs, the happier they’ll be. That’s what makes PerkSpot different; our wide range of discounts has something for everyone, no matter how unique. Catering to that uniqueness is our priority.

Interested in learning more about the benefits of a customized discount program? Request a demo for a free overview of how PerkSpot can help your organization!

The Benefits of an Employee Discount Program

When it comes to benefits and perks, it can be difficult to find solutions that employees not only engage with but also find value in. With financial stresses high due to inflation and other economic factors, it is an especially crucial time to offer a perk that stretches your employees’ paycheck. An employee discount program could be the benefit you’ve been searching for, with exclusive discounts for your teammates on the things that matter most. We’ve laid out a few reasons why you should join the thousands of employers taking advantage of steep discounts. 

What is an Employee Discount Program? 

An employee discount program is a marketplace of exclusive discounts, negotiated by a team of experts, from top brands and local businesses. Employees can access their discounts through their Discount Portal and browse deals, search by brand or category, discover curated and personalized discounts relevant to their interests, and enjoy savings on a variety of products and services.

No Impact on Your Budget

Employee discount programs are often an affordable way to provide financial benefit to your team. Not only that, but it’s much more than exclusive access. With PerkSpot, you’ll get an easy-to-use portal, optimized for all devices, that ties in with your company’s unique branding, creating a one-stop shop for employees’ perks and discounts. The best part? It’s free. What’s the catch? There isn’t one. It’s a no cost solution to help stretch your employees paycheck. 

Easy to Maintain 

One of the best parts about an employee discount program is the low maintenance. The portal is managed for you and discounts are regularly updated. Leslie Sells, Benefits Analyst at Humana, shared, “It’s always been easy. This is one of the programs that almost runs itself. It’s not one I have to spend a whole lot of time on.” With a dedicated Client Success Manager, we are here to create a communication plan that builds program awareness and helps employees maximize their valuable benefit.

Exclusive Savings

Another great benefit of an employee discount program is the exclusive access to meaningful savings. With PerkSpot, employees save from 25+ categories including electronics, travel, home goods, cars, health, and so much more. In addition, savings with PerkSpot are personalized. In comparison to other discounts available, these savings are tailored and relevant. It not only saves time for your employees, but also provides discounts your employees may not be aware of. Another great benefit of PerkSpot is the access to Premium Perks. Premium Perks are verified to be the best available discounts on the market by your PerkSpot team

Exceptional Employee Retention and Engagement 

It’s estimated that turnover costs employers over $1 trillion annually. So, how do you minimize these costs and setbacks? It all starts with the employee experience. With PerkSpot, you can lend your employees a hand with their financial wellness by offering exclusive discounts on tax services, loans, mortgages, and more. Not only that, but we’ve built our platform to encourage engagement by allowing employees to save when and where it matters to them by showing the most relevant and meaningful offers. 

With a multitude of benefits and perks to choose from, offer a solution that is affordable, easy to maintain, exclusive, and engaging. Not only that, but it’s valuable for your employees. With a potential of $6k in savings, you’re not only offering impactful discounts but you’re providing a financial wellness benefit. Ready to start the savings journey for your teammates? Sign up for a demo today

Mayo Clinic Centralizes Their Discount Program

Mayo Clinic is home to 73,000 employees with major campuses located in Rochester, Phoenix, and Jacksonville, with smaller satellite locations across the country. As one of the top healthcare providers in the nation, patients from around the world travel to Mayo Clinic seeking top-notch care. With employees located in different regions, Mayo Clinic was in need of a discount provider that could bridge the gap in their discount offerings.

Prior To PerkSpot

Mayo Clinic previously had their own discount portal but it was a heavy lift to manage and had strict requirements. To be listed, vendors needed 3+ years as a business, 20% discounts or higher, and needed to commit to a year of service. This criteria made it difficult to secure offers and the management of the program was difficult. 

Conversely, PerkSpot manages the program for you with a team of client success managers ready to help. We devise engagement strategies, create marketing materials, and more. Additionally, Mayo Clinic’s previous discounts were based on their Rochester location making it difficult for employees elsewhere to benefit. 

“We wanted to not only have our employees at  Rochester have discounts, but everybody at Mayo Clinic to have discounts”, shared Betty Smith, Employee Purchase Program Coordinator. In 2015, Mayo Clinic made the decision to partner with PerkSpot. Since then, on average 11,500 employees have saved on a monthly basis. With a direct link from their employee intranet, the mobile app, and email communications, saving is easy. 

Decreased Turnover Rates

The healthcare industry has seen staggering turnover rates with 19.5% in 2021, a 1.7% increase from the previous year. HR Professionals are being challenged to improve employee morale and decrease employees leaving. In addition, rising inflation and wage pressures are only adding to the challenge. “By having PerkSpot, it gives us a competitive advantage over our competitors that don’t offer comparable discounts to their employees.” 

Supporting Local

One feature Mayo clinic has utilized is PerkSpot’s “Suggest a Business” tab to recommend local vendors. The suggest a business functionality is great for adding additional discount opportunities for our staff. The more the merrier.” One example Mayo Clinic suggested was a local nail salon in Rochester. Following the suggestion, our team secured an exclusive offer for employees to start utilizing in their discount portal. 

In addition to local discounts, employees are saving on hotels, groceries, events, and more. In 2022, Mayo Clinic’s most popular savings have included travel discounts along with savings on Apple products.

With the current environment and challenges over the past year, PerkSpot can be the solution you need to reduce turnover and set yourself apart. 

Dealing with Burnout as an HR Professional

In today’s competitive candidate market, life as an HR professional has never been quite so exhausting. Being forced to chase after candidates in the age of work from home and tremendous employee freedom has meant a difficult balancing act between providing appealing, top-quality benefits, managing cost efficiency, and negotiating employee concerns – all while dealing with the fallout of a global pandemic. It’s no wonder that burnout is skyrocketing at HR departments all over the country – but there is a better way. And with World Health Day officially starting today on April 7th, there’s never been a better time to help your department get physically and mentally healthy!

Burnout Business Woman Overwhelmed

42% of Human Resources teams report feeling overburdened with projects and responsibilities. And on one hand, this is something that should be taken up with management; when HR teams are simply too small or too overworked, there needs to be discussion about expanding Human Resources or offloading responsibilities. But a second, equally important aspect of this equation is learning to deal with burnout individually. And for that, we should first understand what “burnout” really means.

When we talk about burnout, we’re talking about the feelings of dread and exhaustion that rise up when we’re forced to do demanding, repetitive work. It’s the sense of doing tasks purely out of obligation, no longer believing they have any real impact. And the first step in re-gaining your passion is to re-gain control over your schedule.

Set Boundaries

The first step of assessing burnout is setting boundaries. It’s important both personally and professionally to be able to step away from work communications; for instance, turning off Slack and email past six-o-clock. Sticking to a routine that clearly separates work from life is fundamental to having a good work-life balance. Even if you’re on-call for emergencies, emergency should never mean every night, and if they are, then that’s a conversation you need to have with management.

Build Strong Communication Habits

Fostering good communication with management and the executive team at your workplace is another important aspect of managing burnout. That’s because burnout isn’t all about stress, but also lacking a sense of agency and value in what you do. When you feel you’re doing “meaningless” work, or don’t have control over your own schedule, burnout is far more intense. Prioritizing valuable work and setting firm boundaries on your own schedule is often a necessary step in managing burnout.

Break your Routines

More than boundaries, you’ll also want to start breaking your routines. While routines can provide a comforting sense of normalcy in our lives, they can also become trapping. If you notice you’re performing the same tasks in the same way over and over again, then it’s time to find something new. Maybe it’s as simple as switching up your morning routine, maybe it’s taking a new route around town, or maybe it’s shifting into a new aspect of your department’s operations.

Discover Personal Stress Management Solutions

Finally, there’s the most traditional (but still very important!) part of dealing with burnout – personal stress management. Exercise and meditation are the two most common methods, but it’s important to find what works for you; whether it’s walking your dog, paddling down canoe trails, or simply taking five dedicated minutes to focus. By understanding your stress and mentally moving on, you can take control back from your emotions.

Properly managing burnout requires breaking negative feedback loops, getting excited about work, and learning to manage stress. While that’ll require a lot of personal initiative, there are some tools that can help manage burnout stress.

One area you can cut down on stressful micromanagement is with PerkSpot’s single stop benefits platform, which offers countless diverse benefits for your diverse employees. With a suite of discounts at their fingertips, PerkSpot provides employees with the resources they need to cope with stress and burnout – whether it’s deals on ergonomic office chairs and gym memberships or complete getaway vacations to exotic destinations at a discount, schedule a demo today to learn more about the ways that PerkSpot can be a powerful burnout-burning resource for your organization this World Health Day. 

Provide All Things Travel Affordably in One Place

For many of us, travel is a part of our everyday life. Whether it be a planned vacation, a business trip, or a journey to see family, traveling isn’t going anywhere. The dreadful part of traveling? The expenses. With employees showing an increased interest in alternative benefits, offer an option that goes the extra mile, providing all things travel affordably in one place. 

Why Travel Is Import For Employees

Boosts Productivity 

Time spent away from an employee’s normal working environment boosts productivity and morale, equips employees with management skills, benefits the job market, and is good for overall health. 

Company Loyalty Improves  

Retention is an ongoing concern amongst businesses. Travel allows employees to take the needed time to rest, visit their loved ones, and return less stressed. Studies have shown that when employees return from holidays, they are happier for weeks afterward. Maintaining a happy workforce will help maintain employees long term. 

Improves Health

Traveling has been shown to improve health, both mentally and physically. According to Forbes, taking vacations can lower men’s risk of death by 21 percent and mortality from cardiovascular disease by 32 percent. Not only that, but travel has been linked to stress reduction and can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Offer Employees Savings On The Necessities  

We’ve covered why travel is important, but what’s next? As we know, a lot can go into planning a successful journey. Packing luggage, buying airfare, confirming reservations, and securing rental vehicles are just a few of the necessary boxes that need to be checked prior to departure. With a discount program, you can offer your employees savings on all of the necessities in one, easily accessible portal. 

Meet PerkSpot’s Travel Discount Center 

One of the unique benefits that is part of partnering with PerkSpot is access to the Travel Discount Center. Within the portal, employees can search destinations and access exclusive savings on hotels, flights, rental cars, and cruises worldwide. In addition to transportation and lodging, PerkSpot provides your employees with steep savings on luggage, entertainment, restaurants and more. 

Traveling has a variety of benefits but comes with a cost. Help your employees affordably travel with ease with an employee discount program. Interested in learning more about the value these programs provide? Check out our e-book and get in touch with us! 

Cost-Free Ways to Support Working Parents

In 2019, it was reported that about 41 percent of workers between the ages of 20 and 54 have a child at home. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, that number becomes even more important. It also reflects the number of workers who are juggling work, child care, remote learning, and more. Whether they’re remote, contracted, or essential employees, offering support to the working parents in your organization is incredibly important. The degrees of support you can offer working parents will vary from company to company. It depends on several different factors, including how many parents you employ, what your budget is, and more. However, there are still several options you can provide working parents that fit your budget—keep reading to learn more!

Assess Gaps in Support

To figure out where your organization can start offering better support to working parents, you need to first understand what kind of support you are—and aren’t—offering now. Look for gaps in your company culture, ongoing business processes, and benefits that make it more difficult for working parents to find success in their roles. Additionally, it’s important to understand what type of support your employees are actually looking for. From there, you can more accurately address the needs of your working parent employees.

Offer Flexibility

As a human resources professional, you know the difficulty of searching for, securing, and managing benefits that meet your diverse workforce’s needs. But that shouldn’t get in the way of offering support to the working parents at your organization. Start at the beginning by offering significant flexibility in the aspects of employees’ day-to-day routines.

Work closely with working parents to come up with a schedule that works for them. In addition, try to place less emphasis on the regular “9-5” working day. If your organization relies on strict hours or scheduled time tables, give employees the opportunity to edit their scheduling preferences based on their child-care needs. Above all, remember that an attitude of compassion and empathy is absolutely vital—working parents are juggling two full-time jobs as they care for their children and fulfill their professional obligations. They’ll appreciate your efforts to meet them where they are by providing flexible support.

Promote Vacation Usage

The pandemic seriously impacted the way employees took their vacation days in 2020. In fact, according to a recent survey, 92 percent of Americans said they canceled, postponed, or didn’t book a vacation due to the pandemic. As a result, many employees’ vacation days were left unused. We know that historically, taking breaks from work, whether it was for a mental health day, a vacation, or a stay-cation, was momentously helpful for an employees’ work-life balance and wellness.

While travel isn’t as much of an option these days, it’s still important to encourage and promote the usage of vacation time in your organization. Why? We know it provides a much-needed break. But in addition, it can give working parents the opportunity to spend time with their families and mentally recharge with some of their favorite self-care activities. How can you do this? Send out regular reminders for employees about how many vacation days they have remaining. Teach managers how to notice the signs of an employee, especially a working parent, who looks and feels stressed or burnt out. Take the lead yourself by using your own vacation time. Then, share with coworkers how you were able to relax and recharge during your break!

Encourage Family-Friendly Culture Events and Support Systems

For many working parents, it can feel uncomfortable to bring up their children during working hours. Combat this discomfort by creating an environment that allows working parents to feel comfortable and even encouraged to share about their life outside of work. Is your organization one that often holds company events (including remote ones, given the pandemic)? Brainstorm options that are family-friendly and fun for all ages to participate in. Take PerkSpot, for example. Our holiday celebrations included a magician who performed over Zoom, and parents were encouraged to invite their children to join. If your company relies on virtual communication tools, consider creating a channel or forum where working parents can discuss ideas for remote learning, funny stories, and ways to keep children engaged during working hours.

Offer Financial Aid on Child Care and Children’s Products

Even before the pandemic, a significant portion of working parents’ income went to child-care costs. In fact, the average American couple spends 25.6 percent of their net income on child care alone. These days, financial stress is at an all-time high. It’s important to consider what your organization can do via additional benefits that would provide support for working parents. Discover the cost-free PerkSpot solution—offer your employees exclusive discounts on more than 30,000 products and services. This includes child care from the nation’s top providers, children’s toys, food, clothes, and other important baby gear.

Both working parents and your organization as a whole will benefit from providing the type of aid we’ve listed above. Offering child-care support alone can decrease job turnover by more than 60 percent! Plus, it can inspire improved job satisfaction and loyalty, not to mention a more productive workforce. Give the working parents at your organization the help they need, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. If you’re interested in offering exclusive discounts to working parents and your entire workforce, get in touch!

What Perks Do Your Employees Want Right Now?

What we believed to be a short stint of remote working before returning to the office stretched out over several months and may be extended into Q4 and beyond. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies made small adjustments to their benefits to help support their employees. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that bigger, more permanent changes will have to be made to account for the changes we’ve seen taking place in the offices and organizations across the country.

As the budgeting season draws nearer, it’s important that you’re taking a look at how you’re allocating funds towards employee benefits and how you can continue to do so, taking into account their changing wants and needs. Check out some of the voluntary benefits that are likely to become the most sought after perks for employees.

Childcare

For the parents in your office, a perk related to childcare might be the best thing you could offer. But even prior to the pandemic, childcare was not a commonly provided benefit for employees in need. In 2018, only two percent of employers offered some sort of assistance for the cost of childcare. Now, as employees scramble to remain productive while dealing with their children’s’ care and for some, children’s at-home learning, some kind of support is desperately needed. Consider your budget to determine what type of support you can offer. At the very least, a more flexible schedule for employees can allow them to juggle work and childcare. But if you have the room in your budget, options like partially or fully offsite subsidized childcare, onsite childcare, or back-up care providers are all fantastic ways to support your employees and their families during this difficult time.

Physical and Mental Health and Wellness

We have all dealt with the difficult impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. For many, the pandemic and its resulting quarantine have been incredibly hard to handle, putting a strain on the mental and physical health and wellness of thousands—including your employees. In recent years, wellness benefits were a popular offering for employees. Now more than ever, it’s important to show you value your employees and empathize with their hardships. How can you do this, given the restraints of a tight budget? Look into various options for providing some kind of wellness benefit. Options like at-home fitness subscriptions, mental health apps, and licensed tele-therapists are all growing in popularity for employers who want to support their employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.

Technological Support

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 7 million people were already working remotely. While reports covering the full number of employees who have moved to part- or full-time remote working due to the coronavirus haven’t been conducted yet, we can only assume that number is significant. If you’re one of the thousands of companies who have moved to some type of work-from-home situation, it’s important to consider how you’re supporting your employees experiencing this sudden change—not only intangible but also tangible support.

This means things that can increase productivity and make a work-from-home set up more feasible. For example, what kind of technology are your employees outfitted with at home? Do they have a quiet space that encourages them to focus? Is their internet connection strong enough to support the amount of work they’re doing each day? If you’re unsure, one of the best ways to find these details out is through a quick, online survey that your employees can fill out, explaining their needs and how their current working environment helps or hinders them. If you don’t have the capability to outright purchase and lend office supplies and technology to employees, consider offering them a small stipend or discounts for what they need.

Recognition

No matter the budget you’re working with, recognizing your employees is a must. At its core, recognition helps reward those who perform above and beyond what is expected of them. It helps promote your company’s values and creates a culture of appreciation throughout your workplace. But beyond that, recognition doesn’t just exist to reward the highest performing employees. It also works as a tool for communication and compassion. Not to mention, end-of-year bonuses won’t provide the immediate financial support employees need right now, while real-time recognition can. It can produce stronger confidence and higher productivity in an employee’s work, and tying your recognition to a monetary reward is a great way to help those employees dealing with financial stress and instability.

How Can You Offer All These Perks With Your Budget in Mind?

So, you understand the perks your employees want. But you may be asking yourself, how can I possibly manage to fit all of this, plus other unmentioned perks like much-needed financial assistance or fun, healthy snacks like they used to get in the office, into a budget that’s already been tightened thanks to COVID-19? PerkSpot might be the solution you’re looking for.

As an employee discount and recognition program, PerkSpot is a cost-free and effective way to help your employees save money right now, when it really matters most. We offer thousands of discounts in more than 25 categories, allowing employees to save on small purchases, like groceries, meal-delivery, and home entertainment, as well as big-ticket buys, like automobiles, home services, and more. Best of all, as a cost-free program, PerkSpot works with any type of budget. When you sit down to adjust your benefits and determine what portion of your budget should be directed towards new and existing perks and benefits, be sure to keep PerkSpot in mind.