It is Time to Reevaluate Your Benefits Policy

Most organizations have a very clearly established benefits policy. Newly hired employees are issued a package describing just how many days of vacation they are entitled to, what sick days they have available, whether or not they are eligible for bonuses, etc. But research is showing that, for some organizations, a more flexible policy works better.

Employee engagement training specialists have discovered that, especially in start-up or high-tech companies, turnover is less and employees are more engaged in “looser” working environments…employees are more engaged when they have unlimited vacation or sick days or flexible work hours. For these firms such policies with the addition of on-site perks like catered lunches or free dry cleaning are effective as recruiting tools. But in other work environments such “open” policies can be confusing to employees who prefer the structure of clear regulations regarding benefits.

The key is to take a look at all the possibilities from one extreme to the other and determine which package of benefits works best for your organizational culture, business plan and talent strategy…where employees work most productively and where you can attract and retain the best talent.