In today’s surprisingly tight job market, offering a generous salary often isn’t enough to entice the top recruits away from other companies. When you want to attract the top talent, use smart tools like benefits and 401(k) plans to separate your company from the competition.
Employee Recruitment is Tough
Coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, competition for the best talent is fierce. One might assume that, following a market downturn, it would be an employers’ market. This COVID-related downturn is different, however.
As pointed out in the Harvard Business Review, while the unemployment rate jumped from 3.5% in February 2020 to 14.7% in April, it quickly dropped below 9% within just four months. In contrast, when unemployment surpassed 9% during the Great Recession of 2008/2009, it took two and a half years to drop back below that level.
Perhaps more importantly, many workers are reluctant to return to in-person work as the crisis eases. This is resulting in an increasing number of unfilled on-premises positions and a tight white-collar labor market.
Finding Smarter Ways to Attract the Best Talent
With competition heating up, employers need to look for more effective ways to attract and retain qualified talent. One of the best ways to improve employee recruitment in today’s job market is by offering generous and innovative benefits packages. According to Willis Towers Watson, 78% of employees say that a strong benefits program makes it more likely for them to stay with their current employers.
Fortunately, investing in employee benefits can be more cost effective than simply increasing the salary numbers. Here are five of the smartest ways to get the attention of the best talent in today’s job market.
401(k) Plans
Offering a strong 401(k) plan is one of the top ways to attract and retain top talent. A high-quality 401(k) plan can add value to an offer and help set an employer apart from competing companies.
Healthcare Benefits
According to the MetLife Employee Benefits Trends Survey, 86% of employees say health insurance is a must-have benefit. This makes healthcare the number-one benefit requested by employees. In today’s environment of ever-increasing healthcare costs, employers can attract better job candidates by offering more inclusive healthcare coverage.
Life Insurance
One simple way to distinguish your company from the competition is to offer life insurance as part of employees’ benefits plans. Life insurance is affordable for employers to offer and of considerable value to employees. It’s also relatively easy to administer, with group term insurance available in bulk to cover all of a company’s employees.
Flexible Schedules
Having lived through the past year of disruption, employees are seeking a better work-life balance through flexible work schedules. A study by International Workplace Group revealed that 80% of potential employees would turn down a job if it didn’t offer a flexible work schedule. Offering flexible hours is a low-cost way for employers to attract potential job candidates.
Student Loan Assistance
Finally, an increasing number of potential employees are carrying large amounts of student debt. Offering some form of financial aid for student loan debt can be quite attractive to debt-burdened employees – and can inspire considerable employee loyalty. Even better, companies can offer up to $5,250 in educational assistance as a tax-free benefit.
Let CBR Help You Set Up a Competitive Benefits Package
It’s not easy to devise a competitive benefits package, but the results are worth it. CBR can help you provide smarter benefits, in order to more effectively recruit today’s top talent. Thanks to CBR’s expert purchasing power, we can provide cost savings to our clients that you probably can’t get on your own. Let our skilled HR professionals work with you to craft the best benefits package for your employees and your business. We can help even the smallest companies offer attractive, corporate-style benefits.
Contact CBR today to learn more about our smart benefits packages.
