What benefit would make you quit your job and join a new company?
If the job and the pay were exactly the same… what benefit would make it so attractive that you would consider a move?
This is not a question we ask ourselves often. It is how we should think though, when we design, implement and evaluate the benefits at our companies.
A great benefits package isn’t just about throwing some trendy perks at employees, and hoping for the best. They can significantly help to attract, retain and amplify talent to drive business success. But, ONLY when they're strategically designed to meet the needs and interests of your employees, and align with your business goals. Otherwise, the benefits can also be a waste of money or time. If they are not used or aren’t appreciated, it’s time for action!
Benefits Benchmark
When you reconsider your benefits, it’s nice to know what else is our there and what the trends are. We’ve done extensive research on this and launched the benefits benchmark report this month, together with Alleo.
Improving employee satisfaction is one of the biggest HR challenges, and the most important focus point of 2025. And whilst we don’t believe only the benefits drive employee satisfaction, they certainly play a role. Because if the job and pay are the same, the benefits can definitely be the dealbreakers.
Our 7 all-time favourite benefits
1) Work from Another Location ✈️
We love this one as it allows expat employees who go to their original home (and visit parents or friends) to stay a bit longer. Or to extend that summer feeling when going on holiday, with a week or two of working from there.
You could also work half-days from 9-1, then enjoy the rest of the day at the beach. This means you can go away for 9 days by only taking 2.5 days of annual leave! This might not sound like a mind-blowing benefit, but it makes a huge difference. Especially if you have a workforce of frequent travellers and/or expats. It also helps with beating those winter-blues
2) Get a Coach!
A life coach, a health coach, a psychologist or a nutritionist… what if our employer paid for these? It allows people to use their (learning) budget in a way that impacts their life most.
Some years that could be by becoming healthier, other years that might be working through some unresolved childhood drama. Unfortunately, a lot of people are struggling with anxiety, depression, burnout and other mental problems. And it’s not always easy, or an option financially, to get professional support for this.
Having a budget available for a coach to tackle your most essential life-challenges, whatever they may be, helps people get to top form. Don’t we all want employees who feel and perform at their best?
3) Flexibility through Core Hours
Yes we need to work together, and also yes - we have different lives and preferences. Everyone working between 9-6 has resulted in long-traffic jams, packed trains, and annoying frowned eyebrows when someone arrives at 09:30 or has to leave at 16:30.
Introducing: 🕝 Core Hours 🕝 As a company you choose which hours employees have to be available, either online or in the office. For example, 10am-3pm. So the first team meeting of the day would start at 10am, and the last meeting would finish at 3pm.
This means you have at least 5 hours per day to work together (at the same time), but you can decide to start at 7am and finish at 3pm, or start at 10am and finish at 6pm. A workout in the morning or dropping kids off without stress is now possible - and for early birds, it’s an option to be home earlier and make the most of your afternoon. Outside the core hours work is done a-sync or in 1:1 meetings.
We’ve seen this work at many organisations and it’s seen as a very welcome benefit, allowing everyone the flexibility they need - with maintaining enough core hours to collaborate.
4) Pamper the Parents
If you actively promote parental benefits, it shows you offer an inclusive work-environment and this makes you company more attractive for parents (to be). It also results in loyalty from employees and reduces turn-over.
👼🏻 A few options to consider are topping up the 70% parental leave pay to 100%, a baby-bonus for all those extra costs in the first months, or additional partner leave.
Unfortunately, there are still a lot of companies where it feels like becoming a parent is mainly a burden on productivity and not something that is celebrated. Let’s change this!
7people podcast on BENEFITS
We’re back with a new series of our podcast.
Listen and learn in +/- 30 minutes about:
Plus Paul and Florentine share their favourite low-cost, high-impact benefits strategy!
5) Satisfying the Soul 😇
Lots of ways to rethink corporate volunteering. In the past, this was often a group of employees who went to paint elderly homes, spent time cleaning the canals, or ran a marathon to raise money for charity.
While all the above are still very cool options, there are many more ways to do good and ‘satisfy the soul’. At one of our clients, employees can donate their working time by co-developing an app tracking and preventing child-trafficking🔥 Volunteering by offering the skills and knowledge of your team, turns what you can contribute into something more valuable, impactful and fun to do.
6) The Teleporter 🌍
At Polarsteps, you get to spin the wheel and get ‘teleported’ to a random location in another country. The company pays for this trip. O.M.G. The reason we like benefit so much, is because it aligns 100% with the product: ‘An app for travelers, built by travelers.’ Read more about it here: Polarsteps Teleporter
When you have an incredible product, why not turn your employees into your biggest fans, testers and contributors? We’ve seen the same with hotels, where employees get 2 nights for free every year in return for their feedback. Clothing companies that give a shop allowance, and reward their people for being micro-influencers. A campervan-sharing platform that offers camper trips to employees - what’s not to love.
7) Summer Fridays
This concept has been around for some time, and has been gaining momentum! How it works? Basically, you work less on Fridays, during the summer. For most companies the summer is a bit quieter in terms of workload anyway. Combined with the nicer weather, it’s the perfect time to recharge.
At 7people we do half-day Fridays for 4 weeks during summer. This means the team works half a day, then receives the rest of the day off. If you want a long weekend, you only have to take 1/2 a day off. It means our team is free on the quietest Fridays days of the year, which often happen to be the sunniest as well!
☀️ This article on Summer Fridays is a great resource on how to implement this benefit.
Let’s build irresistible organizations, with benefits that will enhance your culture!
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