Are benefits worth the effort?
Yes, because it helps you achieve various corporate goals. Benefits set you apart in the application process, increase employee loyalty and motivate you in your day-to-day work.
- More applications through strong employer brands: Benefits show that you do more than necessary. Professionals draw conclusions about your work culture and team spirit. But more expensive is not necessarily better. Above all, exceptional benefits stay in people's minds and attract attention!
- Higher satisfaction and team loyalty: Benefits relieve your team in their everyday life and ensure more joy at work through exchange or events. As a result, job changes are no longer as attractive and your team stays with you longer.
- Living values and achieving goals: You can use your benefit programs to strengthen the company's values and philosophy. Especially in the area of sustainability, many measures can be implemented, such as a subsidy for job bikes, regional food budgets or discount platforms with sustainable alternatives. You can also motivate your team to engage in further training or volunteer work, for example by approving appointments, budgets or special leave for volunteer activities.
You see, benefits are more than just a cost. They promote your perception on the job market and advance your company. As you'll see in a moment, there are also many ways to establish a benefit with little or no budget.
Benefits for start-ups and NGOs with a small budget:
Non-profit associations and organizations or newly founded companies have to keep the money together. Expensive benefits are not the best way to spend money, even if they would help attract skilled workers. The nice thing is: even inexpensive benefits have an impact and are well received. There are many free ways to strengthen team cohesion and provide new motivation.
- Bike challenges and team runs: Who can cover the most kilometers on a bike? And how well do you do compared to other companies? Sports challenges awaken ambition and weld the team together. The competition adds variety to everyday life and promotes a healthy and active lifestyle. Apart from registration fees or a small reward for first places, they are free of charge.
- Team events that have it all: For an on-site event, you can easily pick up on your team's interests. Help out at the local animal shelter, clean up a riverbank together, or lace up your hiking boots and head to the nearest lake. There are plenty of digital and free ways for remote companies to laugh together, too!
- Team up with others: Exchange ideas with another organization and organize a crossover event. Your team will learn about the other team's challenges, issues, and ways of working, and can share stories from their own day-to-day work. Perhaps exciting partnerships will emerge! In any case, everyone learns something new and has an interesting exchange.
- Team learning and workshops: Everyone has different strengths and interests. The more we learn from each other, the better we all become. You can establish regular Insight rounds and collaborate with other organizations here as well, so that your employees learn from each other.
- Use free benefits and subsidies or share the costs: Time and again, benefits are also subsidized with grants. With a job bike, for example, the cost is split between you and your employee. This can be a good deal for both sides. Many ideas can also be implemented for free. Office yoga with a YouTube tutorial, a company library where books are exchanged, or a FutureBens dashboard with exclusive discount codes for over 120 sustainable brands.
For the larger budgets of SMEs and established companies
The longer the company is on the market, the more can be offered to employees. More important than offering a benefit is knowing how individual offerings benefit your company. The goals of benefits for companies in this phase are to promote the team, to bind them to the company and to strengthen cohesion. After all, with a team that works together productively and for a long time, the success story continues. Small budget ideas are also a good choice here! In addition, you still have the following options:
- It tastes better together: With regular team lunches, you take the pressure off your employees because they can eat close to their workplace without complicated arrangements and preparation. And free food is always a highlight. This not only attracts more people to the office, but is also a great benefit for job interviews.
- Regional workation: Workations are the trend. Behind the term is a mixture of team vacation and home office. The company travels together and works in a hotel or accommodation. But it doesn't always have to be Mallorca or Tenerife. Germany also has beautiful places. The trip is ideal for conceptual phases, such as a workshop, and to network the team better.
- A monthly discovery, mobility or pampering budget: Your employees and employees know best what they need in everyday life. You can distribute vouchers to your team via many service providers with tax benefits. With NAVIT your team is always and everywhere mobile, a fixed amount for excursions ensures relaxed weekends and with a voucher for a FutureBens store you can promote sustainable consumption in everyday life. For example, we have delicious chocolate, beautiful clothes or new furniture to spoil you.
- Subsidy for further training: There's no cheaper way to get new skills into your team. And by the way, you know that your employees don't shy away from new things, but enjoy learning. The best way to spend money is to invest in the training of your employees, so take advantage of this opportunity. You can take over professional training completely and contribute subsidies in other areas, thereby supporting your team in their personal development.
- Hire out vehicles or provide rental vehicles through the company: It's possible to get around in everyday life without a car. At least in metropolitan areas with good public transportation. But when it's time for a weekend move, a family outing or a visit to the furniture store, even the public transportation system reaches its limits. In such cases, a loaner vehicle from the company can help. In this way, you can make a real difference to the daily lives of your team and contribute to a world with fewer cars.
Special benefits for large budgets
If things are going really well and you want to spoil your team, here are another 5 benefits in a class of their own. Again, all benefits should contribute to your business goals. In other words, they not only contribute to your employer brand, but also form, bind and relieve your team, so that all colleagues feel good and are happy to stay with you. Of course, you can still use the ideas from the previous categories. A discount platform or joint excursions are the personal supplement for expensive benefits that now follow:
- Company daycare & dog-sitting: It's simply more relaxed to work (or at all) when childcare or dog-sitting is provided. Supporting your team in their leisure plans is not only a bonus on the job market, but also positions you as a team-oriented employer brand. Perhaps there are other companies in your business park or the surrounding area that would support an initiative and work with you to set up a program.
- Remote setup: a visit to a trade, a doctor's appointment, or living in another city. Remote work is already standard in many industries and increases the pool of skilled workers for you to recruit from. High-quality office equipment increases productivity and also makes it easier to work from home. This is therefore a good benefit for your team, from which you also profit.
- Health & wellness offers: Those who work hard are also allowed to relax. A massage or physical therapy is the ideal balance to long periods of sitting and mental stress. A hairdresser in the office saves your team time and eases the strain of everyday life.
- Chillout area, couches or a small pool: For many, the lunch break is followed by a low point that they like to bridge with a short nap (power nap). Especially in summer, a small pool can provide clear thoughts in the afternoon and the best ideas come on the couch in the team area. With a small room in the office, your team can also clear their heads between meetings and focus sessions and gather new strength.
- Training, seminars and language trips: Thanks to remote work, your team can work from anywhere. Education options are also improving and can be used for a variety of fields and interests. If your team needs or wants to travel to learn a new language or skill, you can subsidize the trip. Especially with languages, it makes sense to stay in the country for a while and reinforce the language in everyday life. But for other skills and educational vacations, sharing with peers or mastering new situations is also valuable.
Match the benefits to your budget
Like your office, team size, or home decor, you can easily adjust your benefits to fit your budget. It's better for your team if you offer them a subsidy or the low-budget option than nothing at all. Talk openly about why you would choose to offer or not and try to find a solution together with your team. Even free benefits, such as discount platforms, team events in the park or an exchange with other organizations are often a welcome support and change. If you or your team particularly like a benefit, but the financial situation does not allow for this benefit, you will certainly find a downgrade. As you can see, even start-ups and NGOs that pay attention to money can offer their team great benefits. With a little creativity and regular exchange within the team, you'll find the right mix!
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