20 Benefits that speed up hiring and 5 that slow it down
From remote work to family leave: Which benefits and perks truly matter in the hiring process?
Every company seems to be trying to outdo each other with work perks. Whether it is free food, nerf, or a great equity program, companies are running fast and furious to get the best “total rewards” to attract the best talent.
With all these benefits flying around, I was curious, did any of them really impact the hiring process, and make companies more compelling? Turns out very few do.
Textio analysis of 75 benefits and perks showed that just 20 had a positive impact on hiring time, and five actually slowed down hiring time
By far and away, the standard bearers of company benefits did have a positive impact: leave, insurance, and financial incentives. So I wouldn’t ditch those.
But do you need to offer onsite massage? It has no impact on hiring. How about that climbing wall? Nope. Concierge services? Nada. Puppies, please tell me dogs in the office made the cut? Definitely not (neither did puppy leave).
But much has been made about millennials, and pretty much everyone else, wanting a flexible workplace. There are whole start ups dedicated to remote work. Yahoo! was widely shunned for calling people that work from home back to the office, a move that has been followed by IBM, Reddit and many others.
So what does the data have to say: Is remote work the salve for employee happiness? or is it an unnecessary benefit?
Textio found that four of the five benefits that actually slow down hiring are related to additional leave for employees. Sabbatical: adds nine days to your hiring process, work remotely adds almost four, and work from home adds three! These were pretty surprising stats given the prevalence of stories around how people value flexibility. But maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that companies are calling workers back in to the office. Also, vacation’s inclusion on this list goes to show how you talk about your leave will impact who applies. Language is always changing, and leave is hot today whereas vacation is passé.
5 benefits that slow down hiring
- Sabbatical
- Work remotely
- Work from home
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vacation
Top 5 benefits that speed up hiring
But that isn’t to say work-life balance isn’t important. It’s just job seekers are looking for balance outside of work. Three of the five benefits that sped up time to hire were related to giving more opportunities to leave work:
- Caregiver leave
- Adoption leave
- On site gym
- Performance based incentives
- Family leave
And here is the best of the rest of the benefits your company should be offering, if you want to speed up hiring time:
6. unlimited PTO
7. health care insurance
8. paid sick days
9. holiday time off
10. maternity leave
11. fitness stipend
12. wellness stipend
13. work life balance
14. free lunch
15. performance based bonus
16. FMLA
17. family friendly
18. paternity leave
19. part time work
20. free drinks
Learn more about how language impacts your hiring at textio.com
