Corporate benefits - the way to happy employees

What are corporate benefits?

The term corporate benefits is on everyone's lips, which is why you've probably come across it several times. Translated, it means corporate benefits - but what does it actually mean? The term leads to confusion, even though the explanation is so simple. Corporate benefits describe employee advantages or employee offers and include additional benefits that employers offer their employees in an employment relationship. A distinction is made between monetary and non-monetary benefits.  

What are the advantages of corporate benefits?

However, companies should not see the introduction of benefits merely as a compulsion to secure their competitive future. Rather, employers should view corporate benefits as a long-term investment. Company-specific benefits for employees lead not only to an increase in employer attractiveness and, in this sense, also to an increase in employee satisfaction, but also to sustained motivation and long-term loyalty to the company. And, quite incidentally, the competitive advantage of a strong employer brand is also served in this way.

What needs do employees have?

The spectrum of needs of employees is as diverse as every person and their personality in this world. Nevertheless, needs can already be derived that are increasingly prioritized by employees.

On the one hand, employees prioritize the need for flexibility in the workday in order to ensure an optimal connection between work and private life. This is accompanied by the desire for a pronounced work-life balance, family-friendliness and, in particular, the possibility of flexible working. Similarly, team spirit is high on the agenda. Work is now characterized by togetherness and less by working against each other. As a result, team spirit is now also a reason for staying or leaving a job. The need for a sustainable life is also becoming more and more important in terms of world events, and this needs to be integrated into the world of work. More and more, people are aiming to keep their own ecological footprint as small as possible. Companies can also be a support in this regard and really score points when converting this into suitable benefits!

The most popular corporate benefits

There are generally no limits to the design of benefits, and they must be tailored to the needs of the company's own employees. A general approach is therefore not very effective, as there is also a certain generational and gender dependency. Nevertheless, we have collected the most popular benefits here as inspiration:

• Flexible working hours
• Home office & remote work
• Company pension plan
• Further training opportunities
• Health care
• Company childcare
• Lunch vouchers
• Job bike or job ticket
• Sports and leisure activities
• Sabbaticals

The corporate benefits of the future

The development of employee benefits is not standing still - quite the opposite! If you look beyond the end of your nose, you will probably already find the future trend benefits in countries outside Germany. German companies, however, are still holding back in these areas.

1. Four-day week
   Countries like Belgium or the United Kingdom are the pioneers in reducing working hours from five to four working days per week. And with full wage compensation! Germany is rather reticent about the new flexible working time model. However, this is not stopping some German companies from being pioneers and introducing the four-day week in their own operations. In doing so, you already benefit from increased employee satisfaction, motivation and loyalty.
    
2. Unlimited vacation
   Another trendy employee benefit is the availability of unlimited vacation. In this way, employers grant their employees maximum flexibility in structuring their time off and vacation time, as employees decide independently on the number and distribution of their vacation days per year. Here, too, pioneers report increased employee satisfaction and loyalty.

Conclusion

The world of corporate benefits is vast and the options are many. The benefits presented in this article merely represent a general picture. It is therefore advisable to specifically coordinate them with the needs of the employees in a company, for example through surveys. But the employees should also feel encouraged to express their needs at any time and should also be given the feeling that they are being listened to. Only in this way can both sides contribute to a satisfactory working environment and long-term success!

If you want to find out today what your status quo is in terms of your employer attractiveness, then be sure to take our self-test. It's straightforward and informative, giving you valuable insights and customised recommendations to improve your employer brand and position yourself as an attractive employer.