4 Questions to Ask Your Employees When Creating a Rewards and Recognition Program

Amy Ridder August 14, 2019

Here at PerkSpot, we’d like to think we’re something of an expert on rewarding and recognizing employees. We know a rewards and recognition program can improve areas like talent acquisition, employee retention, turnover, and engagement. But where do you start? Begin by surveying your employees, who are the people that will most directly benefit from this program. To get started, check out these four questions.

What motivates you?

One of the most important components of recognizing employees is doing so in a way that feels valuable and motivational. After all, your aim with a program like this should be giving your employees a reason to continue to put forth great performance and reward them for doing so. But to make your program successful, it’s important to know what motivates your employees. Once you have a good understanding of that, you have a much better chance of developing a rewards and recognition program that has a successful and profitable outcome.

How do you want to be rewarded?

It’s easy for an employer or HR manager to guess how their employees want to be rewarded and they might be close to the mark with their guesses. However, if you truly want to reward your employees the right way, it’s important to know what kind of rewards they want. For some, it could be perks, like company outings or vacation days. Others might prefer monetary rewards. For example, consider a yearly bonus or recognition directly connected to quotas or goals. The aim here is to show your employees your appreciation. Do this by giving them something you know they would enjoy.

How do you want your rewards communicated to you?

This question dives deeper into the nitty-gritty of your recognition, but it’s an aspect that should be acknowledged. Your employees may have different preferences for how openly you choose to recognize them. Studies show recognition should remain largely public, as this incentivizes other employees to work towards optimal productivity. However, some employees might prefer more private recognition for their accomplishments. Therefore, it’s vital you check with your employees to confirm they feel comfortable with how you communicate their rewards, both to them and to the rest of the company.

Who do you want to reward you?

Odds are, this answer will dramatically differ depending on the size and structure of your company, so you should take into account the culture of your company when you ask this question. A more relaxed work environment may find employees prefer to receive recognition from all levels: CEO, manager, or coworker. In a more corporate or structured workplace, employees might only feel recognition from their managers makes the most sense. Your aim with this question is understanding whose recognition will have the most impact on work output and productivity for your employees.

When you ask your employees these questions, it’s important to remember that there are no wrong answers. Instead, keep in mind that these answers will help you shape the ideal rewards and recognition program for rewarding your employees. If you’re looking for guidance, or you’re interested in learning about PerkSpot’s Rewards and Recognition platform, click here to learn more!

Lessons We Learned From Our Summer Interns

Amy Ridder August 1, 2019

July has officially wrapped up and August has begun. We’re starting to see back to school commercials on TV and school supplies filling the shelves. That can only mean one thing – internships at many companies, PerkSpot included, are coming to an end. While we will be sad to see our interns go, we’re so appreciative of the lessons they taught us during their time at PerkSpot- and here are some of the most important ones:

1. Ask Questions

When an intern comes into your company, they’re bound to have a question or two … or twelve! A new workplace, new responsibilities, and new faces can equal a lot of confusion for someone, and we loved watching our interns learn how to adapt and acclimate to our workplace. But most of all, it was very refreshing to experience people in the workplace who weren’t afraid to ask questions when they didn’t know the answer to something or wanted to dive deeper into a topic or project. In the workplace, there can be an incredible amount of pressure to know the answers at all times. When did we stop asking questions? Asking the who, what, when, where and, most importantly, why, of something helps us create and innovate. It’s how we continue to move forward instead of getting stuck in the same place. Take a page out of our interns’ books and ask a question whenever you’re unsure!

2. Be Enthusiastic

The beauty of an internship program is that interns get to try their hand at several different projects and tasks. Often, doing so helps give them get a better understanding of what they do and do not enjoy, so they can make better decisions about the roles they’d like to pursue in their careers when it comes time to do so. As we assigned tasks and asked for help in various projects from our interns, we loved the enthusiasm they displayed. No matter how big or small the task, our interns strived to give their 100 percent, every time. Sometimes at work, the things we do over and over again can feel menial and tiresome. We forget the excitement and sense of achievement that we felt the first time we completed a task perfectly on our own and watching our interns do so reminded us of that. Adopt the enthusiasm of an intern and you’ll enjoy your workload you work on a bit more.

3. Make Connections

As our summer internship program wraps up, the LinkedIn requests and emails with contact information have come rolling in! Our interns made wonderful connections this summer, with their coworkers, managers, and fellow interns, and they’re working hard to make sure those connections remain intact and strong as they leave our office. But connections like these shouldn’t stop just because you’ve lost your intern status. Networking is part of the professional world, and an important part at that. Make a concerted effort to form connections with those that you work with, as well as people who work in your field and can relate to the work you do every day. Not only is it enjoyable to have coworkers and friends you can celebrate and commiserate with, but you just might find that you’ll need their assistance in your professional life one day!

4. Invest in Yourself

One of the most important elements of an internship program is helping interns grow themselves as working professionals. They’re constantly seeking out opportunities to gain skills or develop the ones they currently possess. They dive into projects they might not be completely familiar with just so they can gain experience and know-how. When was the last time you gained a new skill? We encourage you to be like an intern: be open to taking on new skills, both in your professional and personal life, that can help you grow as an employee and person.

We can’t believe that our summer internship program is almost over. It feels like just yesterday that we welcomed our interns to the office, and soon we’ll be wishing them good luck on their journey. But PerkSpot is extremely fortunate to have had their skills and talents in the office, if only for a short time. Us PerkSpotters will be sure to take the lessons they taught us to heart, and we think you should do the same! What did your summer internship program teach you?

The Key To Recruiting Top Candidates

Amy Ridder July 25, 2019

We all know how important recruitment is for a company. The core of any company is its employees, so a good recruitment process is key to a successful company. But finding the right candidates isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, HR Dive reported a talent shortage was one of the top concerns of organizations going into 2019, and by the looks of it, that concern has remained strong as the year enters its half-way point.

So how can recruiters be successful as they seek out talented candidates for their open roles? We think we know one solution – and it’s easier than you think! A perks and discount program is one tool you can leverage during your recruitment to acquire the best talent possible. Check out why!

1. Demonstrates an Investment in Employee Financial Wellness

Did you know 85 percent of employees admitted to feeling anxious about their personal finances, which often interferes with their work? On top of that, 33 percent of respondents said they worry about their finances more than once a week! For almost any employee – and candidate – finances can be a stressful subject. But not all companies can invest in their employees’ financial wellness through monetary benefits, like a bonus or raise in salary. An easier and less expensive solution is a free perks and discounts program that finds other ways for employees to save, namely in the important purchases they’re making on things like cars, vacations, and everyday items. Showing your candidates an investment in their financial wellness will help increase their attraction to your organization!

2. Encourages Employee Work/Life Balance

Almost half of HR leaders say between 20-50 percent of their employee turnover is due to workplace burnout. And when job seekers begin looking for a new job, what is one of the top qualities they look for? A recent Glassdoor study found that 47 percent of respondents said a work-life balance is a top-selling point for organizations they’re considering. But that balance is a difficult thing to strike for employers. Believe it or not, a perks and discounts program can help with this. When employers encourage employees to use a program that offers discounts in categories like travel, health and wellness, and personal hobbies, they’re thus encouraging their employees to pursue their interests outside of work that will keep them healthy and offer a source of relief from the stress that can come from the workplace.

3. Keeps Company Competitive in Recruitment Efforts

With such a strong talent shortage taking place in the recruitment field, finding a way to remain competitive in the hunt for talented candidates feels like a never-ending battle. Companies can easily tout a great work culture or a development program. In fact, we firmly believe all companies should do so! But how can you separate your organization from the crowd? Offer a competitive voluntary benefits suite, perks and discounts program included, that helps round out an already enticing offer for your top candidates. Over half of respondents to a Glassdoor survey said they strongly consider the perks and benefits included in a job offer before accepting. Guarantee a positive response to your next offer letter by including a benefit like perks and discounts in the voluntary benefits you provide!

Every organization knows the importance of recruitment, both to their culture and their bottom line. If you’re looking to improve your employee recruitment, especially during a time when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to secure the best candidates, start leveraging your perks and discounts program as a recruitment tool! And if you don’t offer a perks and discounts program, now is the time to start. Click here to learn more about PerkSpot’s perks and discounts program.

Why Aren’t My Employees Using Their Benefits?

Amy Ridder July 11, 2019

Odds are, if you’re an HR professional, you’ve asked yourself this question once or twice (or maybe several times) before. Unfortunately, you’re not alone. According to a 2017 report by Chestnut Global Partners, an international provider of Employee Assistance Programs, less than 7% of employees use their benefit programs to their fullest extent. Yet, a recent Glassdoor survey found that 80% of employees said they would prefer additional benefits over increased compensation. Obviously, benefits have an incredibly strong impact on employees – they just don’t know how to use them properly.

As an HR professional, you’ve likely spent hours crafting what you believe to be the perfect employee benefits suite. So, why don’t your employees use them all? We think we know the answer. Check out the 3 most common reasons why employees don’t use their benefits. More importantly, learn how you can solve the problem!

1. They don’t understand them.

Let’s face it, employee benefits can be difficult to comprehend. Perhaps it’s your employee’s first job, and they’re navigating the complex waters of employee benefits for the first time. Maybe your employee feels just downright confused, but doesn’t know where to go to clear things up. Whatever it is, it hurts employees who don’t understand how to utilize their employee benefits package best. So, how can you solve this problem?

Improve the way you educate your employees about their benefits. If this solution sounds simple, that’s because it is! We recommend creating a short, anonymous survey and encouraging your employees to be completely honest when they fill it out. Emphasize the fact that their responses will be used to create a better plan for explaining their benefits. Then, do just that. Figure out where the gaps are in knowledge about your current benefits offerings, and then work to fill those gaps with better and more useful information about the different options available and how they would apply to each employee.

2. They don’t know they exist.

When it comes to employee benefits, chances are your employees know about your run-of-the-mill offerings like medical insurance. However, a new trend is creating a suite of voluntary benefits to attract new employees and keep current ones. Unfortunately, many companies haven’t perfected their communication strategy for these benefits. This causes a problem for companies, as voluntary benefits are one of the best ways to recruit, hire and retain employees. But obviously, employees need to know about their voluntary benefits for them to be meaningful. So, how can you solve this problem?

Expand the way you communicate your benefits. Take a look at how you currently communicate the employee benefits you offer. And don’t just limit yourself to one or two communication strategies. Not only should you be utilizing popular methods like physical flyers, emails, and your company’s intranet, but try some outside of the box ideas as well! Hold a quarterly workshop to walk employees through your benefit suite, and offer a small incentive like lunch or a fun raffle for attendance to the workshop. Give ample warning open enrollment is beginning and work on creating answers to questions you frequently get. It will take some experimentation in the beginning, but when you finally find the right amount of communication that works for your employees, their active utilization of benefits will be well worth it!

3. They think they’re only for high-cost items.

Another common misconception about employee benefits is they are only useful for expensive or high-cost items, like health, dental or vision insurance. Even voluntary benefits like a perks and discounts program are commonly thought of to only have deals for costly items, but it’s actually quite the opposite! Most voluntary benefits have offerings that range from more expensive items to deals on your day-to-day products that any employee can afford – and more importantly, will want! So, how can you solve this problem?

Provide your employees with concrete evidence that their benefits work. When you present solid proof like savings numbers or anecdotes from fellow coworkers about how they’ve saved, it makes it much easier for employees to understand that their benefits, including voluntary, are extremely useful and valuable for them. For example, with PerkSpot, you will regularly receive helpful data about how much your employees are saving through their Employee Discount Program, plus which categories and discounts they’re loving!

We know employee benefit programs have an incredibly positive effect on employees. They offer assistance and security for employees, which, in turn, promotes feelings of happiness. As most managers and HR professionals alike know, a happy employee is a productive, engaged, and attentive employee. If you’re struggling to see full participation in your employee benefits package, it’s likely that your employees don’t understand it, don’t know what it fully entails, or they have misconceptions about it. Solve that problem with one of these easy solutions! If you’re interested in learning about new ways to communicate and educate your employees about their Employee Discount Program, click here!

How to Keep Your Employees Productive During the Summer

Amy Ridder June 27, 2019

As HR professionals, we know how hard it can be to keep employees motivated and productive during the summer months. In fact, Business Insider reported that employee productivity drops as much as 20 percent as spring turns into summer. With the Fourth of July coming up, it’s difficult not to worry about employee motivation dipping even further. Here are three great tips for keeping your employees productive, despite the distraction of summer.

Go Outside

Every office worker knows how hard it can be to sit at their desk while they see the sun shining outside. Let your employees enjoy the nice weather by suggesting managers arrange for outdoor or walking meetings, which gives you a good chance to stretch your legs and feel the sun. If your office location permits, create an outdoor break area, or open the windows and let the fresh air in. Not only does a breath of fresh air improve the productivity of your employees, but studies also report it can help cognitive function, decision making, and overall health!

Set Summer Goals

Summer isn’t a typical time of year to set goals for your employees, but when done right, it can seriously improve motivation throughout the workplace. Putting incentives into place gives employees a good reason to buckle down and remain engaged in their own work. If you want to have more fun with it, look at your company culture and create goals based around that. Here at PerkSpot, we host an annual summer event that gets the employees outside and enjoying the great weather. Plus, all the proceeds that come out of the event are donated to a local charity of our choosing. Each summer, this event allows us to give back to the community, and have fun doing it!

Encourage Vacation Time

Did you know that 64 percent of employees say they feel refreshed and excited to get back to work after a vacation? Not only should you encourage employees to actually use their allotted vacation time, but take it one step further. Remind them of the importance of “logging off” during their vacations – 41 percent of vacation takers say they still check on work while away, which means they aren’t able to fully decompress from the stress that may come with their position. Instead, create a system at your workplace that ensures others can fill in when their coworkers are out on vacation. This can provide a sense of relief for your traveling coworkers, and a better sense of teamwork and togetherness in general.

Summer can be a difficult time for employee productivity, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, you can increase motivation among your employees by trying out these easy tips! How do you improve employee productivity during the summer? Let us know!

How Employee Discount Programs Support Generational Diversity in the Workplace

Amy Ridder June 19, 2019

Diversity in the workplace is no longer a hot topic. Rather, it’s an important and permanent topic that should continue to be talked about and built upon. As a new generation enters the workplace, there’s a facet of diversity that we want to discuss: generational diversity. More importantly, how can you improve it in your workplace? We think we know one solution – a perks and discount program.

We know what you’re thinking. What’s the connection between a workplace and a voluntary benefit like perks and discounts? More than you think! In today’s day and age, there can be up to four generations of employees working closely together in different departments or on different projects, and this is a great thing for the company. Not only does this mean you’re getting the benefit of different perspectives, opinions, and beliefs, but studies say the revenue of a business can increase by 19% when that business enjoys diversity. But that’s not as easy as it sounds. More often than not, employees want to go where they feel comfortable. Eventually, they end up working with people who look, think, and sound like them, creating a disparity in diversity for your workplace.

So what can you do to fix this? Obviously, a perks and discounts program is not a cover-all solution to a large problem like a lack of generational diversity in your workplace. However, it is a fantastic place to start. Here are three important reasons why:

1. Perks and Discounts Programs Offer Discounts for All Financial Situations

There’s no getting around the fact that different generations have different needs. Those differences, while great for creating a sense of generational diversity and inclusion in the workplace, can also make it difficult to find a solution that appeases all employees. The beauty of a perks and discounts program is that it manages to do just that! By providing an array of discounts in a variety of categories, every employee is able to find a discount they find valuable and useful to them individually.

2. Perks and Discounts Programs Help Support Financial Security

Yes, each generation is different. However, virtually every member of the four generations that make up your workforce has at least one thing in common, and that is a desire to be more financially secure. Whether it’s dealing with expensive student loans, a mortgage on a new house, or an ailing family member, most employees have at least one area in their life that causes financial stress in their lives. Fortunately, a perks and discounts program can offer some help here as well. Saving through exclusive perks and discounts relieves some of the financial pressure your employees, no matter their generation, are experiencing every day. This can help with a number of things; their productivity, stress levels, and sense of financial security, to name a few!

3. Perks and Discounts Programs Attract and Retain Talent of All Ages

Generational diversity is one thing that should always be on your mind when it comes to both hiring new employees and retaining your current employees. Let your perks and discounts program be your best friend when it comes to these areas of your business. A recent Glassdoor survey found that 79% of employees prefer new or additional benefits to a pay raise. Broken down even further, the survey found 89% of employees aged 18-34, 84% of employees aged 35-44, 70% of employees aged 45-54, and 66% of employees aged 55-64 said they would prefer those perks and benefits to a pay raise. Factoring those preferences in, a perks and discounts program seems like the perfect addition to your benefits offering to both attract and retain new and existing employees of all ages.

We know how important diversity is to a company. It can improve your company’s productivity, efficiency, and overall success. But achieving it can seem like an impossible goal. Start on the right foot by implementing a perks and discounts program that supports a movement of generational diversity in your workplace. Click here to learn more about PerkSpot’s Perks and Discounts program and get started today!

Why You Should Encourage Your Employees to Travel

Amy Ridder June 6, 2019

There is no better feeling than setting that “Out of Office” automatic email response and saying one last “Hasta la vista” to your coworkers before you take off for a fun vacation. For most people, travel creates a sense of excitement and anticipation that’s hard to find anywhere else. But traveling does more than just drum up excitement. It can actually improve your health and wellbeing, according to a recent Forbes article. Plus, for employers, there are even more added benefits on the line. Check out why we think it’s imperative that a company encourages its employees to travel – and how to do it!

Decreases Burnout and Stress

According to a recent Gallup study, over two-thirds of employees asked said they felt burnt out at work either very often or sometimes. While employee burnout obviously affects the employee the most, it can also severely hurt the employer. A burnt out employee underperforms, struggles to focus on his or her work, and feels tired all the time. They might even be one of the one million employees calling in sick to work because of stress. One answer to this concerning problem is travel, which can actually alleviate stress. While travel can’t completely heal employee burn out, there is no doubt it can offer temporary aid. Whether your employee prefers a relaxing vacation on the beach, a trip full of sightseeing and museums, or a little bit of both, they’ll experience increased productivity and decreased stress as a result of their time out of the office!

Increases Employee Loyalty

These days, employee retention is a top concern of most HR professionals. As employers seek out strategies that can help them both attract new talent and retain their current, high-performing employees, travel benefits have become a popular choice for many companies. A company that offers a benefit related to travel, like great discounts, a more flexible PTO, or travel incentives, can set them apart from the competition. Plus, it encourages current employees to feel more comfortable actually taking their vacation days and guarantees they’ll come back relaxed and ready to work with a renewed loyalty to the company that just helped them take a great trip.

Improves Professional Skills

Not all travel is created equal. However, no matter where your employees choose to get away to, there’s a good chance that they’ll get something out of it that can translate to important professional skills in the office. For example, experiencing a new culture can expand perspective and help them see their old surroundings with new eyes. Traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language helps you develop crucial communication skills that an employee can demonstrate to his or her team or manager. Dealing with stressful transportation, whether it’s a missed flight connection, a flat tire, or a lost bag, forces a traveler to strengthen their flexibility in a tough situation. Skills acquired during travel are ones that can easily be used in the professional setting.

It’s one thing to simply encourage your employees to travel. It’s another thing to actually offer ways to make travel more accessible to your employees. Here at PerkSpot, we love using our Travel Discount Center to find the best deals on travel! Employees have been able to travel far and wide and save money while doing so. Click here to learn more about our Travel Discount Center and how a perks and discounts program can benefit your employees! What methods do you use to encourage your employees to travel?

4 Summer Perks Your Employees Want

Amy Ridder May 29, 2019

Temperatures are going up, the sun is coming out, and we can officially say that summer is on its way in! As the season changes, you might be thinking about how you can implement a few summer perks that employees can enjoy during these extra hot months of the year. Here are 4 suggestions for ways you can bring the sunshine into your office this summer!

Flexible Hours

We know summer is a popular time for family vacations and long weekends. So, offering a perk like flexible hours is sure to be a hit among employees. Fortunately, there are several varying levels of flexibility you can try out to see which fits your company culture best. Start by offering more work from home options. That way, employees can still get their work done, but they have the option to do so in the comfort of their own home, or maybe at a sunny cafe if the weather allows it! Another popular method of implementing more flexibility is Summer Fridays. Companies can offer half or full days off each Friday. This keeps employees productive and engaged, while still creating a more flexible schedule if they choose.

Summer Outings

While we firmly believe in fun company outings all year round, summer is an especially good time to get your employees together for some out-of-the-office bonding! Whether you’re rooting on your favorite hometown baseball team, cheers-ing to a great week at a fun bar or restaurant, or hosting a company-wide picnic, outings like these are a great way to reward your employees for their hard work.

Wellness Challenges

Healthier habits tend to ramp up more in the warmer months. Encourage your employees to develop a healthier lifestyle with wellness initiatives that reward them for regular exercise. For example, we just wrapped up a May gym challenge here at PerkSpot that encouraged employees to workout twice a week for at least twenty minutes, doing any exercise they felt comfortable with! As a reward, each employee who completed the challenge got $100 to put toward new or improved gym equipment. We’ll follow that with a bike-to-work challenge in June, complete with prizes donated by local bicycle shop, Kozy Cyclery. Challenges like these give employees a great incentive to get active, plus create a sense of friendly competition and camaraderie among coworkers.

Casual Dress

As the temperatures climb, it feels more difficult to put on the stifling blazer and slacks your company might require. Try adopting a more lax dress policy that makes it easier for your employees to dress for the weather. Create and enforce specific guidelines that you’ve decided on ahead of time. This can include things like no bare shoulders, appropriate length shorts and dresses, or no open-toed shoes. Consider your company as you create this summer dress policy to ensure that it fits with your culture, while still benefiting your employees.

The Key to Increasing Your Employee Retention Rate

Amy Ridder May 22, 2019

According to a study done by SHRM last year, the largest challenge cited by workforce management was dealing with low employee retention rates. Unfortunately, the stats don’t lie on this one. Approximately 3 million Americans have quit their job each month since January 2019. Plus, replacing a highly-trained employee who leaves his or her position can cost up to 200% of their salary. Were some of them your employees? If so, your employee retention rate is probably top of mind.

But what can you do about this? Perhaps you’ve tried some of the common methods, like a new and improved onboarding process, a program that invests in your employees and their professional development, or an overhaul of your company culture. What happens when these don’t work?

How can you increase your employee retention rate? A rewards and recognition program is the key.
A rewards and recognition program allows you to formally recognize an employee for anything from a good deed around the office to a fantastic work ethic they exude to a project that goes above and beyond what you expect from them. What is really great about a rewards and recognition program is that it benefits both employer and employee. For employees, concrete appreciation in the workplace is a motivator and a reminder that the work they do is valued by their employer. For the employer, recognition can lead to increased engagement, productivity, and of course, retention rate.

What sets a rewards and recognition program apart from other recognition methods?

Visibility
Inclusivity
Timeliness

Visibility

Typically, recognition used to be a private thing. Managers would bring employees into their office, or send them an email, letting them know they did a great job. As a result, the recognition goes widely unseen by the rest of the office or workplace, including other managers, executives, and coworkers. Consider the effect public and specific praise has, not only for the employee being praised but for his or her peers. We know that employees want recognition. So, when they see their fellow coworkers receiving it, and more importantly, they understand exactly what they did to receive it, they’re more likely to duplicate that exemplary work ethic. Or, perhaps, they’ll apply that drive and find a new and exciting way to succeed on their own! Either way, employers are guaranteed a more productive employee, and workers feel more motivated and incentivized to work harder.

Inclusivity

When you consider your employee retention rate, and the employees you want to retain, who comes to mind first? The executives, who will be the most costly to replace? The high performers, which will leave a gaping hole in your workplace? The under-engaged, who are at the most risk to quit their jobs? Instead of focusing on a specific target in your workforce, why not target everyone? A rewards and recognition program that puts everyone on the same playing field, and rewards everyone with the same kind of praise and monetary compensation means you don’t have to choose which employees you should focus your efforts on. Not to mention, employees will notice this change in the hierarchy. No one wants to feel as though their employer values another coworker over themselves, so remove that problem entirely with a rewards and recognition program that emphasizes inclusivity.

Timeliness

Imagine you just nailed a presentation or finally hit your lofty goal for your team. You know you’ll be recognized for your achievements, yet you find yourself waiting until the end of the quarter for the company to meet and hand out recognition, or even the end of the year, for that bonus to drop. Soon enough, you’ve forgotten about the achievement and the recognition that comes with it. Worse, you feel no drive to repeat those actions because you saw no praise or appreciation for them. Employee recognition should be given in real time, as soon as a manager (or peer!) hears of it. In doing so, an employee understands the connection between the output of good work and the reward that comes with it. Better yet, they will continue to strive for more rewards, meaning a continued stream of high-quality work.

A decreasing retention rate is something several HR managers are currently dealing with and unfortunately, many of their strategies to fix it aren’t working out well. That’s why a rewards and recognition program is the answer. It allows you to give public, on-the-spot recognition that all your employees can use. Click here to find out more about PerkSpot’s Rewards and Recognition program!

Why Perks and Discounts Should Be Part of Your Voluntary Benefits Plan

Amy Ridder May 8, 2019

Times are a’changing, and so are the way companies structure their benefits plans. As the workforce grows and new generations enter it, employers have realized it’s time to change the way they think about their benefits. Enter, voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits plans are becoming increasingly popular in companies large and small, and they often vary by company. One thing that we think every company should include in their voluntary benefits plan? A perks and discounts program – and here’s why.

But first – what are voluntary benefits?

Voluntary benefits are, at the surface, exactly what they sound like. It’s a plan outside of the run-of-the-mill benefit suite, which typically includes medical and dental. Recently, employers have begun searching for ways they can engage and retain employees and many found the solution in voluntary benefits. These days, voluntary benefits plans have evolved as employers started listening to their employees and taking note of their needs to go beyond the classic plans most companies offer. Mental health and wellness plans, financial planning, and learning and development opportunities are prime examples of ways employers have adapted their voluntary benefits plans in recent years.

So, why should a perks and discounts program be a vital part of your voluntary benefits plan?

Perhaps you’ve already developed a voluntary benefits strategy for your employees that compliments your existing benefits offering. But there’s one thing you might be missing that will bring your plan to the next level. Here are three reasons why you should consider adding a perks and discounts program to your voluntary benefits plan.

Increases Productivity

According to a recent study, almost three-quarters of employees worry about their personal finances. Unfortunately, this worrying happens at work, where it can cost an employer up to $2,000 due to loss of productivity. That’s only one of several reasons why employers should include a perks and discounts program in their voluntary benefits plan.

Allows for Individualization

We know that millennials recently became the largest generation in the workforce, and Generation Z is hot on their tails as they begin to fill internships and entry-level positions. Yet many positions are still filled by Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers. This means we’ll soon have a workforce made up of four generations, all at different stages in their lives and with different financial needs. Some of your employees may be saving for short-term purchases, like groceries or a big trip. Others are thinking much longer-term: houses, family planning, and retirement are on the brain. A perks and discounts program that caters to each individual employee by offering ample amounts of discounts means no employee is left behind. Instead, they get their pick of which discounts will benefit them the most.

Attracts and Retains Talent

Unemployment has been on a steady decline, and companies feel it. They want to seek out new and unique ways to both attract and retain their talent. According to a recent Glassdoor survey, 60% of potential candidates said they strongly consider perks and benefits when considering a job offer. The same survey found 80% of employees said they would opt for additional benefits over a higher paycheck. But the traditional benefits suite won’t cut it, as it’s difficult for these types of benefits to set you apart from other companies hoping to hire or poach your talent. A voluntary benefits plan that offers extra savings opportunities for employees is ideal. It’s a unique addition to your job offer and it shows an invested interest in your employees’ financial wellbeing.

Sometimes, it seems like every element of the HR space is changing. From recruitment and hiring to the benefits you offer, it’s tough to stay current with the evolution of human resources. Let PerkSpot make it easy for you! Reach out today to find out how you can get a perks and discounts program added to your voluntary benefits plan.