It turns out the health of your business and employee engagement are tightly linked together. In fact, a Gallup poll indicates that only 33 percent of employees are engaged (i.e. enthusiastic about their work and bought into the company’s mission). So, why does this matter to you? Even more, resources show that companies with increased engagement are 21 percent more profitable, and those employees outperform disengaged employees by a whopping 202 percent.
So, how do you keep employees engaged? It begins with benefits. In this article, we’ll explore how employee benefits can help you achieve your business vision while valuing your employees at the same time.
A business is only as strong as the people working for it. And, by providing for your employees through a comprehensive benefits package, you’re making a long-term investment in the overall health of the business. You’ll increase engagement, which will increase productivity and will inevitably increase your bottom line.
Herb Kelleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, bought into this employee-first philosophy and helped to create one of the most successful businesses of the 20th century. Think of it from a business standpoint. When you’re working with your customers, you know better than anyone that by valuing the person first you’re ultimately going to succeed in business, not the other way around. Why would it be any different for your employees?
By providing benefits to your employees, you’ll be creating engagement. And engaged employees see their workplace as more than a paycheck. Having a healthy culture includes keeping your best employees, and those employees need more than a paycheck. They need a vision they can get behind.
And, when they get behind that vision, they invest back into the business by going above and beyond, enjoying new relationships, buying into your company’s vision, and then passing all of that along to your customer by exceeding their expectations. Remember those employees who are 202 percent more effective? They’re born in a healthy, professional culture.
One of the first conversations that comes up when someone is thinking about a career change is: What are the benefits of this new opportunity and what kind of benefits do I currently receive?
The quality and intentionality of your benefits are directly tied to employee turnover. So, don’t give your employees an excuse to leave. Create an ecosystem they can build their life around, and the more they build their life around it, the less they’ll want to move on from it.
It may sound obvious, but businesses should provide benefits so their employees can do exactly that—benefit from them. Sure, it may be rewarding to see profits grow. But, it can be just as rewarding to see your employees’ lives grow as well. Many times that begins with benefits.
We hope this has helped to shift your perspective on benefits. Like we said, it can be easy to see your employee benefits as an obstacle more than an opportunity. But, if you’re in business to be successful (we’re guessing you are), then valuing your employees, culture, and engagement is an essential part of that.
At Buffer, we’re dedicated to ensuring your vision through comprehensive benefits, wellness, benefit administration, and retirement. Just like you, we exist to serve people first and foremost, and by doing so, together we can bring your vision to life.
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