Benefits for employees have dramatically shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With employees needing additional support now more than ever, Human Resources (HR) departments have had to pivot to offer more flexibility and additional resources to meet the needs of today’s workforce.

In a recent study by Metlife, they found 4 in 10 employees claim their employer is not currently offering benefits or programs that help and that 69% of employees say that having a wider range of benefits would increase loyalty to their employees. Companies have since had to rethink their offerings to better support the needs of all employees.

We’ve put together a short checklist of 6 ways to help HR professionals plan for your 2021 company benefit offerings to help attract and retain your employees.

1. Research the Top Needs of your Employees

To reach all demographics of your employees, send out a short poll to get data on what each demographic values the most when it comes to employee perks and benefits. Generation Z will likely have different needs than Gen Y, Gen X or the Baby Boomers.

2. Analyze your Current Benefits with your Research

What benefits are non-negotiable and what perks could be reimagined? With gym memberships unstable during pandemic closures, could online fitness memberships be offered to your employees as an alternative? Instead of free snacks at the office, could employees join a virtual cooking community to bond with other employees and swap favourite recipes and cooking hacks with? With a little creativity and dialogue with your employees, you can create unique perks that employees can truly engage with.

3. Ensure your Employees Mental Health Benefits are Accessible

In a survey by Morneau Shepell, 81% of Canadian workers reported that the COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting their mental health. Mental health resources have been at the forefront since the start of the pandemic but are they easily accessible and are your employees engaging with them? Check out Forbe's 3 Tips with how your company can support employee mental health year-round.

4. Innovate your Company Perks & Offerings

In LinkedIn’s recent Global Talent Trends Report, 73% of employees claimed they’d stay at their company if there were more skill-building opportunities, thus meaningful professional development opportunities are key to employee retention. Organizations like EllisDon, a construction and building services company, realize that digital talent is no longer confined to the IT industry and invested in upskilling their employees by partnering with Hatch Coding to offer EllisDon employees and their families a free summer coding program.

With many employees skipping their morning commute and with more time spent at home, explore education opportunities you can offer to your team and their families.

5. Re-evaluate Quarterly

With rapid policy changes, the rising need for more resources for employees and with the additional day-to-day deliverables that HR must manage, it’s likely that little time remains for evaluation of your employee offerings. Yet, in a recent Global Talent Trends report, 77% of companies focus on employee experience to increase retention. It’s critical to evaluate employee engagement with your offerings quarterly to ensure that your organization is investing in perks that employees are engaging in and to increase talent retention.

6. Give Yourself Credit where Credit is Deserving

HR’s role has become increasingly challenging since the pandemic hit, and according to an ADP Canada and Maru/Blue study, 71% of HR professionals claim that their top challenge since COVID-19 has been protecting the health and wellbeing of employees. And 65% of HR professionals claim that their second biggest challenge has been to ensure business continuity.

With these top challenges at the forefront and with burnout on the rise in HR departments, give yourself credit for all of your efforts in this unprecedented balancing act to support both your employees wellbeing and business continuity.

Final Thoughts:

Hatch Coding has been fortunate to work with some amazing HR professionals and we appreciate their hard work and dedication to offering their employees meaningful benefits during these challenging times.

If you’re looking for a unique employee benefit, consider Hatch Coding’s Online Coding Program as a work perk for your parent employees’ children. Our program helps support parent employees whose children are doing remote learning or in need of a new and safe extracurricular activity. Our classes teach coding and collaboration skills that will help shape their child’s future, giving parent employees more time to focus on their work and increase their productivity.

Curious about what this looks like in action? Read about our Partnership with Kinaxis and how their innovative perk was received within their parent communities across the globe.

Explore Hatch Coding Partnership Opportunities