If you’re the owner of a contracting business, keeping employees comfortable and satisfied in their roles is an important task. There are several methods of doing so, one of which involves offering various perks as part of their employment.
At Contractors School, we regularly offer basic expertise to existing contractors in addition to the contractor licensure and other courses for aspiring professionals in this field. What are employment perks, and why might you consider offering them? Here’s a primer.
Employment Perks Basics and Examples
An employment perk refers to a benefit an employer offers as part of a job. Besides wages, most perks are non-monetary in nature and intended to directly improve the quality of life for employees. Depending on their nature, the benefits might be available upon employment or during employment.
Examples include:
- Flexible work hours – For example, if you have supervisors working regular business hours, you might allow them to work from home one day a week.
- Extended or flexible vacations – You might offer employees more vacation time than they are required to take by law, for example.
- Free products or services, such as bus passes for employees who rely on public transit.
- Health insurance coverage – You might offer medical or vision plans at no cost to your employees. This isn’t the same thing as job-related disability insurance compensation.
- Paid time off (PTO) – Employees can choose how they’d like to take PTO, including vacation days, sick days, holidays, and so on.
- Tuition reimbursement – The company helps employees with their education by reimbursing them for tuition fees after they successfully complete qualifying courses or programs at educational institutions.
Benefits of Offering Perks
There are several potential reasons contracting businesses may offer perks to their employees, including:
- Generating loyalty and commitment – Perks can be useful tools for improving employee morale, leading to improved company loyalty.
- Easing the financial burden on employees – Let’s say you provide transportation for employees enrolled in college part-time. It might make it easier for them to work, further increasing their commitment levels to your business.
- Assisting with recruitment – A major perk of offering an education reimbursement program is that it makes the company more appealing to potential new hires.
- Creating a better working environment – Every benefit you offer shows that your business puts an emphasis on employee satisfaction.
Keep it Consistent
If you do decide to utilize employment perks as a tactic for keeping employees happy, it’s important to be consistent. This includes finding ways to communicate your intentions using the same standards so that each employee is treated equally and fairly.
Employment perks often have minimal costs associated with them from a business perspective, allowing you to offer several benefits at once without sacrificing profits. Some of the most popular perks are the ones that allow employees to use their time for other pursuits, which helps them feel valued.
For more on the concept of employment perks for contracting business employees, or to learn about any of our contractor license courses or other resources, speak to the staff at Contractors School today.
