October 25 2024 Kimberly Ryan Limited Articles

Employee Retention Strategy Part 2: Compensation & Benefits

In our last edition, we introduced the whole idea and concept of employee retention – why it’s important and what you stand to lose as an employer when your talented staff choose to leave you. We emphasized the fact that it would be an absolute nightmare if talented employees were to exit the company due to gaps and lapses on the side of the employer in satisfying the needs of the employees.

Without a doubt, all employees have various needs and satisfying all of them is impossible. However, you can surely try to meet some basic, yet mostly overlooked needs and desires. As a basic fact, all employees want to feel like they are being treated fairly and valued by being paid at a competitive market rate or nice cushions in the form of benefits to sort out their standard of living.

We cannot underestimate the value of a competitive salary package in today’s market. Let us try to break it down: Your competitor – Company X, who offers very similar services to you is also on the look out for the very talent that you probably have or that you may be eyeing in the labour market. One of the strategies that Company X will use to poach or attract the talent is a very attractive and competitive salary. Employees have needs – they need to pay bills and generally survive. One of the determining factors in accepting an offer is ensuring that the salary packages are sustainable and can meet daily and future expenditures. This is just from the angle of salary which is a fixed fee expected to be paid monthly. /p>

Employers who want to take it a notch higher can introduce some other benefits to support the salaries being paid. Benefits definitely are an additional cost to the company and as such, employers can adopt a mix and match approach in implementing them. It is understandable that there is no bottomless pit of a money pot being kept somewhere, however, the company and employers should seriously consider setting aside a budget for this retention drive. Examples of benefits include:

  • Bonuses: These can be tied to Performance Appraisals. Some employers are known to adopt this quarterly, bi-annually or annually. Also, because this is dependent on company performance, team efforts and individual contributions, it pushes the employees to put in the extra efforts required. This little extra can be what the company needs to ensure growth and expansion.
  • Health Benefits: Medical bills can be very expensive. Having to pay those bills from your salary can be demotivating and reduce the purchasing power employees have. Now consider an employee with a family to cater for…it can be a lot. When employers cater to solving the health needs of their employees, it goes to register in the minds of employees that they really do matter
  • Overtime Payment: The standard number of working hours per week is 40 hours. In a bid to close up on targets, employees tend to work till late on most days…we are not referring to those who just hang around due to heavy traffic 😊. We are referring to employees who are actually neck deep in work at 8pm as if it was 11am. It wouldn’t hurt to offer some sort of extra fee if the company pockets allow it.
  • Working Flexibility: If your company is one that can offer flexible working hours to some of its employees, please do so. If you cannot provide days off during the week, then allow a flexible resumption time instead. We understand not all businesses can offer this option. In the instance that neither can be offered, your company can look into adequate number of paid time off (leave days).
  • Lunch Meals: As an employer, you can throw in this option. Get a caterer on a discounted corporate rate for employees to get lunch from. You can go for paying a lion share of the lunch fee or even make it free altogether. Employees know they don’t have to stress about meal preps the night before or while rushing out of their houses.
  • Provision of Company Cars for Business Errands/Meetings: This can be provided to staff to allow them move to and from business meetings/destinations. Imagine the stress that will be lifted off the shoulders of your employees when they know the company has provided a car and driver to allow them attend business meetings and functions. Saves them the cost of using their fuel or funds for personal cars and taxis.
  • Discounts on Company Products and Services: Employees feel valued and have a sense of belonging when the charges assigned to services rendered by the company to the public are offered to them at subsidised rates. This can help the employer brand as well because the easy access to these products and services allow your employees to be brand ambassadors.
  • Childcare: This is very personal to new mothers. As a returning mother, the joy to know that your new born is a few steps away while you are at work will certainly reduce tension that can arise from returning to the office and being away from your baby. Companies that provide childcare/creche services for their employees’ new born babies are making a strong statement showing that they care about the totality of their employees.

Other benefits include:

  • Salary reviews
  • Tuition assistance
  • Stock options
  • Profit sharing
  • Telephone/Internet allowance
  • Free car parking spaces

As was stated earlier, employees do not expect that all cushions and paddings can be provided…they are expected to understand that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’. These benefits are definitely bound to cost the company some extra expenses. However, as an employer who believes in the ROI (Return On Investment) system, there should be the understanding that to get something, you have to give something. The price to pay for loyal talent is to go the extra mile to show they are valued and you genuinely care about their welfare. Or else, they will jump ship to the next employer willing to offer more than you are currently offering – this is no threat.

Stay tuned as we bring you more insightful tips on how you can retain your talent.
Cheers!

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