Attract the top talent to your creative agency with these 5 employee benefits
Employee benefits are a fantastic way to attract and retain high-quality staff for your creative agency. Indeed, as the jobs market becomes increasingly competitive, offering an accessible and comprehensive set of employee benefits could be a critical factor in attracting the right people.
HR News reports that 43% of businesses consider that their lack of a comprehensive benefits package has led to them missing out when it comes to recruitment.
So, which benefits are the most likely to attract top talent to your agency? Read on for five suggestions that could help you to stand out from other creative employers.
1. Flexible working arrangements
Flexible working arrangements consistently rank among the most popular benefits for employees seeking new job opportunities. This could include offering your employees flexibility in the hours that they work, or giving them the option to work from home as well as the office.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), 71% of workers consider a flexible working pattern to be an important consideration when looking for a new role. Additionally, for 69% of those surveyed, the opportunity to work remotely is important.
This demonstrates that flexibility in working patterns or location could be a vital component of attracting the very top talent to your organisation.
2. Health and wellbeing support
According to a survey reported by the Independent, 61% of people were more likely to apply for a job if the company offered healthcare benefits.
This might include:
- Private medical insurance
- Subsidised medical treatments
- Health cashback plans
- Access to counselling.
It’s no surprise that health and wellbeing is becoming more important to UK workers. The Guardian reports that the number of people taking sick leave from their job reached a 10-year high in September. Stress was found to be the number one reason for sickness absence.
In light of these findings, helping your employees to take care of their health – both physical and mental – seems like a win-win for both the business and the individual.
3. Employee Assistance Programme
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provides resources and support such as counselling to employees for a range of personal issues. This might include:
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Physical health and fitness
- Finances
- Career progression and work performance.
By supporting your employees in these areas, you could help them to feel more confident in themselves, potentially boosting their performance at work.
This is beneficial for your team, who may feel more supported and valued, but it could also have positive effects on your business too. For example, it could lead to reduced staff sickness and lower rates of staff turnover.
4. Pension contribution matching
Pension contributions are a positive way for employees to save for their retirement so that they can afford a comfortable lifestyle after they finish working. Yet research published in Money Marketing has found that only a fifth of people believe they will be better off than their parents were by the time they come to retire.
Concern over how and when they will be able to afford to retire means that many employees may value working for an organisation that offers matched pension contributions above the minimum obligations.
Since the introduction of auto-enrolment, you are obliged to offer a workplace pension scheme to all employees, and those that meet qualifying criteria must be enrolled in the scheme automatically. While employees can choose to opt out, if they don’t, they are usually required to contribute 5% of their pre-tax earnings, while you as the employer must contribute 3% on top of their salary.
By offering to match pension contributions that your employees make above this lower limit, you could help your employees to feel more confident about the future. This commitment to your employees’ futures could be very attractive to prospective new joiners.
5. Parental leave policies
The cost of childcare means that many parents choose either not to return to work or leave their job in favour of one that offers greater flexibility. A YouGov poll shares that 55% of working parents would consider leaving their job if an opportunity presenting more flexibility arose.
Offering greater flexibility for working parents in your organisation could mean paying them more than the statutory requirement during maternity or paternity leave, or offering flexibility in their hours and working location after they return to work.
In doing so, you could attract more candidates to your job openings and encourage more of your workforce to stay with your company after they have started a family.
Growing your team can have implications for your insurance policies
Growing your team further is an exciting step, and it could have implications for your insurance.
When you employ more people, you may need to review your employer’s liability policy to ensure you have the appropriate level of cover as your organisation grows. This is a legal requirement for any business that employs people, so it’s important to address this sooner rather than later if changes are needed.
Additionally, the types of benefits you choose to offer could require a review of your insurance policies.
For example, if employees are working remotely, it could increase the risk of theft or breakage of key piece of equipment. As such, you might wish to consider updating your equipment insurance for laptops and cyber security policies to protect your organisation.
Get in touch
If you’d like support in protecting your agency as it grows, we’re here to help. At Eggar Forrester, we can help you to access bespoke insurance packages that address your unique needs so that you can continue your creative work with confidence.
Email creative@eggarforrester.com or use our contact form to request a callback from our team.
