Everything You Need to Know about Professional Benefits
Up until your senior year of college, the word ‘benefits’ takes on a pretty simplistic meaning. You’ve probably only thought of it as a good gained from something in the context of your personal life, whether that’s pleasure from your Friday pizza at the dining hall or an A+ from hours studying biology. But in the professional world, benefits takes on an entirely different meaning and can have a major impact on your quality of life, finances, job satisfaction, health, and more.
What are Benefits?
Merriam-Webster defines benefits as “a service or right provided by an employer in addition to wages or salary.” Every employee receives a wage for their work, but benefits go beyond that and can include vacation time, health insurance, pensions, paid holidays, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, retirement plans, and more.
The history of benefits in the United States is key to understanding their evolution as a whole and, ultimately, how much they should be taken into account as you’re considering employers. Employee benefits were unheard of until the 1900s. Prior to the industrial revolution, most people lived and worked on farms or as craftsmen and retirement was something that occurred naturally with age, illness, or disease. After the industrial revolution, many farm workers traded independence for membership in an urbanized workforce that offered wages and job security. It was during this transition that employers realized they could use benefits to attract and retain workers.
Initially, benefits were private pension plans that were almost never paid out to employees because of stringent rules around how to earn them. Over time, select companies began offering health insurance, medical insurance, and, by the ’70s, 401(k) plans. Fast forward to 2020, and companies like Facebook and Google, known for their over-the-top perks, are using benefits to attract top talent, maintain employee satisfaction, and create a productive workforce.
The Age of Over-The-Top Perks
The range of benefits offered today is vast. Some executive teams have resisted the movement toward better benefits to their own detriment. Organizations who have adopted a more modern of benefits typically attract the best people, foster greater employee loyalty, and create the most value for the company.
As such, more and more businesses are being forced to prioritize these perks. A 2017 study revealed that 62% of organizations now allow some type of telecommuting, 44% allow casual dress every day, and 57% allow employees to choose their work hours. This is a small snapshot of how benefits have influenced the departure from the traditional professionally dressed, 9 to 5 workplace.
The digital revolution sparked a new wave of transformation as start ups and fast-growing tech companies needed new ways to vie for top talent, and competitive compensation packages that went beyond salary turned out to be a deciding factor. It’s not only interesting but somewhat fun to take a peek behind the scenes of the companies who have spearheaded this trend in work culture, most of which are located in California’s Silicon Valley.
Google’s perks include lunches made by a professional chef, chair massages, yoga classes, and haircuts. Facebook employees get free valet parking, meals and snacks, baby cash to help with newborns, adoption coverage, on-site laundry, and more. Netflix doesn’t track its employees’ vacation days, Airbnb gives employees a $2,000 stipend per year to enjoy at listings worldwide, and SAS caps the work week at 37.5 hours.
What Benefits Are Most Important to Candidates?
At their core, businesses thrive because of great people. As long as companies can attract, develop, and keep talent, their likelihood of success increases. That’s the main reason why companies today craft shiny benefits packages that cost millions every year.
However, just because on-site hair salons, free coffee, personal trainers, beer-laiden Friday concerts, and daycare are options doesn’t mean employees should prioritize them in their decision to work for the company.
A Harvard study of 2,000 U.S. workers revealed that employees still heavily weigh certain benefits over others, like health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible hours, vacation time, and work-from-home-options, when deciding between a high-paying job and a low-paying job with more perks (source). Not surprisingly, the non-essential perks like team bonding events, on-site gyms, employee outings, and free yoga were less heavily considered. It’s clear that health insurance and policies that promote work-life balance still top the list, regardless of what else is offered.
There’s also some variation in preferences by gender, age, and whether or not a candidate has or plans to have children. For example, women prefer family benefits like paid parental leave and day care. They’re also more interested in fitness classes and working from home. Parents valued flexible hours and work-life balance.
These variations reveal that there’s no right or wrong when it comes to benefits. For the most part, it seems like excellent insurance offerings and more flexible work environments are becoming the common denominator among candidates, but beyond these, job seekers have different values. Some enjoy on-site offerings like gyms, concerts, free food, and free coffee, while others want paid paternity leave, daycare, unlimited vacation options, and work-from home options.
What Benefits Should I Prioritize and Ask For?
There’s a fine line between understanding that employers are continually trying to make their compensation packages more competitive and turning down a potential job opportunity because it lacks free eggs and bacon every morning and an on-site spa.
Finding an employment situation with a compensation and benefits package that feels right to you may not happen right away, especially if it’s your first job. After all, you’ll need to learn what’s important to you in the workplace, how much you prioritize work-life balance, and more in order to properly evaluate how well an employer’s benefits package suits your needs and lifestyle.
For your first job, we recommend making sure that any company you’re considering has what we’ll call the basics: health insurance, disability insurance, contributions to a retirement account, and vacation and flexibility policies that you know you can subscribe to.
Everything beyond this should fall secondary as you consider your options, and you’ll want to prioritize and weigh benefits based on how important they are to you, your future plans, and your current lifestyle. For example, are you a lifelong learner or planning to obtain another degree? Prioritize benefits that encourage you to build your professional skills or explore a relevant interest.
Do you have children or plan to have a family in the future? You’ll want to consider the company’s policies around maternity and paternity leave, daycare financing, flexible hours, and working from home.
Do you prioritize your health and fitness? Consider the company’s benefits related to health and wellness, including fitness and yoga classes, on-site gyms, and free or partially paid gym memberships.
Is the overall culture of the workplace important to you? Ask about the employer’s team bonding events, employee appreciation and recognition events, company-wide retreats, on-site escapes (think nap rooms, quiet rooms, outdoor spaces, and more) and other benefits that contribute to the company culture as a whole.
Like we’ve mentioned, we recommend placing benefits that don’t directly impact your lifestyle or finances at the bottom of your list, such as free coffee, free meals, and other office freebies. However, if the company checks the boxes on the “must have” benefits on your list, there’s no harm in asking about their policies on some of the extras that will likely make your day-to-day more enjoyable.
How to Learn More about a Company’s Employee Benefits
When you receive an offer from a company, your compensation package will detail the benefits included. However, the digital age has given us many avenues through which to gain insight into a company’s benefits ahead of time. These can be helpful to know as you evaluate whether or not to apply to a position in the first place.
Job search and company review websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, SimplyHired, and Glassdoor often reveal what a company’s benefits are as well as how certain employees rate them. You can also review recent news headlines and events hosted by the company. If you have a contact that works there, ask if they’re open to a conversation about the company’s benefits and perks.
At the end of the day, however, there’s nothing better than going straight to the source. At HalloThere.com, we host live Q&A hiring events with some of the top companies in the country. During these sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to ask recruiters about what they’re looking for in candidates, how they hire, and how they handle employee compensation (salary and benefits).
What to Ask During a Hallo Event
Think of Hallo’s Q&A events like a mix between a happy hour and a job fair — except it’s all digital. When you attend a Q&A or Hiring Event, a recruiter will answer your questions, have access to your resume, and be able to view your Hallo profile.
Oftentimes, students who are new to these online sessions can experience a little writer’s block when it comes to what questions to ask, especially around benefits. After all, compensation is a touchy subject, and candidates often broach the topic closer to the end of the hiring process in order to avoid looking greedy.
Benefits are a little different in the sense that you’re not always asking for hard numbers. Instead, we recommend starting with a softball question about the company’s approach to benefits. Are they traditional? Modern? What role do they see employee benefits playing in the overall culture of the company? Once you’ve introduced the topic in the Q&A session and sense that the recruiter is comfortable talking about it, here are some ideas for what to ask:
- Is employer-sponsored health, dental, and vision insurance offered?
- What’s the company’s approach to remote work and flexibility?
- Is vacation time accrued? What’s the leaderships’ view on paid time off?
- Has the company made any significant changes to its benefits packages in the past five to ten years?
- Is talent and professional development reflected in the benefits package?
- Does the company help families and new parents manage their lifestyles and finances with any of the benefits offered?
- Do any of the perks directly affect the workplace environment and productivity (free meals, nap pods, on-site services, etc.)?
- What’s the favorite benefit for most of the employees?
- How do your benefits differ from other companies or competitors in your vertical?
As you do your research and have conversations with recruiters, don’t forget that a generous benefit is essential for securing top talent in today’s market. Understand which benefits are most important to you based on your goals and lifestyle, and find out which companies’ values align with your own throughout this process. Good luck!
