Want to attract the cream of the crop working for your business? You’ll need to stand out from competitors if you want to draw the very best to your door. When everyone is offering the large pay and standard perks you need something to stick out – and that will require something a little different and a good benefits package can be the difference between you and the rest in an employee’s eyes.
One crucial employer perk of a good benefits package for employees is the very tangible effect of reducing turnover – if you want a stable workforce that wants to stick with your company for years, then you need to show that you can suitably reward that loyalty.
Some companies offer employees a one month sabbatical every five years - but not only that, there are employers who will happily even chip in to cover the cost of the employee and their guest. Not a bad reward for a half-decade of service, and an effective way to recharge an employee's enthusiasm for the job.
Flexi-time
The workday has never been more flexible – new technologies, global connectivity and an ever-expanding range of industry means the days of 9-5 are fading. While that can be one of the most complained about elements of life for some employees, if you can offer your staff control over their own time then you can go a long way to keeping your workforce happy and energized.
Giving employees the power to choose their own work-life balance can be the key, and an extra-long weekend rarely hurt anybody’s mood.
Maybe consider swapping some extra hours during the week for every second Friday off? The World Wide Wildlife Fund, for example, encourages just that, with their ‘Panda Fridays’ initiative allowing staff to shape their own work schedule if they choose to.
It’s important to avoid the pitfall of trying to completely turn the workplace into a ‘home from home’, however. Not all benefits have the desired effect – for instance several companies offer unlimited annual leave. Sounds great, right? But the result is a lot of employees take less leave than they should – because they’re either never forced to use up days off, or they fear taking more days than co-workers.
The classic perk
And that’s where we come to a classic in the history of employer benefits – the company car. While many believe this particular perk belongs to a bygone era before email was commonplace, it’s still very much considered the best one an employer can offer – not only saving the hassle of the commute during the week, but becoming an integral part of an employee’s downtime.
The company car is the standard bearer of perks, and remains one of the finest, most practical and valuable benefits a company can offer their staff. But if its retained its timeless value to a company, its shed some of that stuffy scent of years gone by – because providing your employees with company cars is now a more realistic option for small and medium business owners than ever before.
One option is the BMW Business Partnership – a scheme designed for SMEs living with real world finances, but who are still looking to give their workers a little bit extra if they can.
If you manage a fleet of one to 50 cars, then BMW Business Partnership has been specifically designed to meet your needs. This corporate programme is open to all business users in the SME sector including business operators who choose to take a car allowance from their employees.
But while this is a luxury brand, we’re not talking luxury exclusivity. BMW Business Partnership brings you compelling Contract Hire rates and PCP payments across the entire BMW range as well as special offers.
Thanks to the combination of low running costs and strong residual values, BMW continues to make a compelling proposition in the fleet market. No other manufacturer can offer fleet decision makers such an appealing combination of class-leading cars and services as BMW Group. The ever improving range of EfficientDynamics technologies is overwhelming proof that low running costs and tax efficiency don’t have to come at the expense of dynamic performance and driver appeal.
To explore the benefits BMW Business Partnerships could offer you and your company, simply arrange a meeting with one of our Business Partnership Managers at a participating BMW centre.
The article was written with the support of BMW Business Partnerships. For more information go to: www.bmw.ie/business-partnership
