5 ways to improve employee retention with benefits

Employee retention is at the essence of every successful business. After all, a happy workforce is a productive and high-performing workforce - and failure to retain people in your company can have three major repercussions: 

❌  Weakened company culture

❌  Negative impact on business revenue

❌  Loss of great talent who could’ve taken the company much further

As Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company once said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” ✍️

Below we’ve explored what employee retention means, and the role of employee benefits in boosting employee retention; because only when your business puts people first, will you see lower employee turnover rates.  📉

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success - Henry Ford

What is employee retention? 🤔

Before we look at the various employee benefits which can help improve employee retention, we should start by understanding exactly what employee retention is. 

According to the CIPD, employee retention “relates to the extent to which an employer retains its employees”. 

Essentially, employee retention is the rate at which employers are able to keep their employees happy and healthy in the workplace. After all, unhappiness is one of the driving factors of employee departure. 👋

Here’s the formula for calculating employee retention rate… 

(Remaining headcount during set period ➗  Starting headcount during set period) x 100

Using employee benefits to improve retain talent

Now, let’s take a look at five particular employee benefits you should consider when building your employee retention strategies. 🎯

Focus on employee wellbeing

A revamped employee benefits package that truly retains top talent starts with mental and physical health support in the workplace. 🏃‍♂️

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the sheer lack of mental health awareness and support in the workplace, but times have begun to change. 🙏

That’s because conversations around this subject have been normalised due to millions of people coming forward in the past couple of years to speak about their battles with anxiety, stress, and depression. 🧠

Employers who are supporting their teams with subsidized gym memberships, paid yoga sessions and helping employees to lead healthier lives really are seeing the benefits. 

Ultimately, when we eat, sleep and exercise right, our productivity and performance in other areas of our lives such as work also improve. 📊

In this list of five top employee retaining benefits, this should be one to consider first and foremost.

Listen and refine your employee benefits package 👂

In the modern workplace, it seems like anything and everything can become an employee benefit. Although, not all of them contribute to your employee retention strategies. 

For instance, if 8 out of 10 team members simply hate sports, that ping-pong table in the corner of your office shouldn’t be listed in your employee benefits and perks materials. 🏓

Start to listen and refine your employee benefits package so it supports the demands of your team - only then will you see any decent return in the way of employee retention. 

The other issue with blindly investing in random employee benefits is the cost involved. Choosing the wrong benefits is like putting your hard-earned cash through that shredder in the corner of the office and throwing it out the window. Start building the employee benefits package your team wants and needs.

Provide career development opportunities 🎓

According to this BusinessLeader article, 73% of UK employees don’t believe their employer carries any responsibility for career development. 

This truly reveals just how unheard a lot of UK workers feel when it comes to making steady progress in their careers - and how much more needs to be done by leaders.

With just 55% of UK employers providing, career development tools, there’s a huge opportunity not only to retain your employees but to also attract those who want to better themselves.  

It’s safe to say people want to grow, and being an employer that can facilitate that really puts you a cut above the rest. 🚀

You should consider the kind of career development tools and opportunities that also support the direction of your business. That way, you can really double up on the ROI of employee career development. 📈

Measure the use of your employee benefits 🔎

After you’ve weighed up the impact of your current employee benefits, asked your team what they want, and refined your employee benefits package, it’s time to measure. 

Measuring your employee benefits package, at any stage, will give you the ammunition you need to completely transform your benefits package so it directly supports your employee retention strategies.

Despite offering a long list of benefits and perks, it’s a lack of listening to employees and ignoring their demands that sees employee turnover skyrocket. 📋

Measure, measure, and measure some more until you clearly know if employees are healthier and happier in the workplace.

Every three, six or twelve months consider an employee health survey and find out how they’re feeling. This is a key metric for measuring an important lever if your employee retention rate has changed.

Offer financial wellbeing to your employees 🤑

Last but certainly not least, offering financial wellbeing initiatives to your employees is a great way to improve employee retention. 🎯

In the past few years there has been a shift in demand for better financial wellbeing. With the rise of ‘buy now, pay later schemes’ people are beginning to feel the burden of consumer debt and poor financial decisions.

Now, employees are turning to their employers for better support. Whether that’s student loan reimbursements or financial education programmes, people want to develop healthier cash savviness. 

A clever leader will see how detrimental poor financial wellbeing can be to employee retention. People who are struggling to manage their finances are often struggling with the stress, anxiety and depression that comes with it. 

What’s more, they are likely looking for another job to help pay down their debt or maintain their unhealthy spending habits. It’s your duty as an employer to support better financial wellbeing in the workplace, and this certainly is a great way to improve employee retention. 💪

The employee wellbeing platform your team needs 👋

There you have it, five ways to support healthier employee retention rates. Including the only formula you need to help understand if people are sticking or fleeing your company. 👀

Going full circle back to employee wellbeing, here at Heka, our employee wellbeing platform provides more than a thousand wellbeing experiences, services and products. 🧘♀️

We have rapidly established our employee wellbeing platform as the “must-have” and “go-to” for companies up and down the U.K. 📍

From life coaching sessions to virtual yoga classes, nutritionist consultations and therapy support, Heka has it all for every member of your team. 

Firstly, take a look around and meet Heka; it’s here where you can really get to know what our employee wellbeing platform offers your workforce.