How to avoid 'perk-washing' and provide meaningful employee benefits
From day-to-day wellbeing to long-term loyalty, offering a comprehensive and effective employee benefits package can foster wellbeing and motivation among your team, which directly impacts the overall success and growth of your business.
It’s also a key driver for both recruitment and retention, especially in this competitive landscape. Employers report that finding and keeping talented workers can be a challenge – according to a 2022 AON survey, 44% of employers are finding it difficult to attract new staff and 41% are finding it difficult to retain the staff they currently have.
However, employers must ensure that the benefits they’re advertising aren’t just salary extras that are designed to attract candidates – they must be a true reflection of what an employer has to offer. Rising criticism for ‘perk-washing’ means workers have a hyper-critical eye on how their current or prospective employer delivers on the employee benefits they promise.
Here, we’ll explore what perk-washing is and look at how employers can ensure they’re delivering a meaningful benefits package that will satisfy employees and attract potential new hires.
Get in touch with our team to learn how we can support your employee benefits package.
What is ‘perk-washing?’
Perk-washing refers to when an employer claims to offer salary extras, perks, and benefits that they don’t actually follow through on, or that aren’t delivered in the way they were originally advertised.
Some employers are being criticised for using perk-washing to coerce candidates into accepting a job offer or as a tactic to retain dissatisfied employees who may be looking to leave their position.
Common examples of perk-washing include:
- Flexible work expectations: Promising flexible working but not following through with a reasonable flexible working policy or expecting employees to work during evenings and weekends.
- Salary: Advertising a ‘competitive salary’ that is actually below or equal to the industry standard, or that has been inflated based on a set of conditions (such as unguaranteed bonuses or commission).
- Health: Claiming to offer benefits such as healthcare, insurance, pension, or annual leave that are actually the legal minimum.
- Wellbeing: Making vague references to ‘mental health resources’ or ‘lifestyle benefits’ that don’t materialise in a concrete or tangible way.
- Additional leave: Offering flex days, volunteer days, or additional leave without implementing it into employee’s schedules in a structured manner.
How to avoid perk-washing when advertising job roles
When constructing a job ad or posting, it’s important to approach the benefits section with an extra air of caution and critique. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this actually a perk? If what you’re advertising doesn’t go beyond basic government or industry baseline, don’t package it as a benefit. If you feel you need to mention it (i.e. annual leave, maternity leave, etc.) make sure to be clear that it’s the regulatory standard.
- Is this benefit going to be offered for the foreseeable future? Make sure that the perks you’re listing are going to be in place long enough for potential new hires to benefit from them. If there’s a question as to the longevity, leave it out.
- Is this a clear and tangible benefit? Avoid vague references or promises, such as ‘mental health support’ or ‘fun days out with the team’. Offer concrete and tangible examples of what this looks like for your company.
- Is there a policy or documentation in place to back this up? Hold yourself and your company accountable by ensuring that whatever you’re advertising as a perk is written into your employee handbook, so you’re able to present prospective and existing employees with a guide to what it covers and how they can take advantage of it.
The importance of meaningful employee benefits
Many studies show that benefits are a key aspect to recruitment – according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 77% of workers say that the benefits package offered by a prospective employer is an extremely or very important factor in their overall decision to accept a job.
Benefits also greatly impact the overall happiness and satisfaction of your existing workforce: studies have found that a large proportion of employees would feel encouraged to stay with their current employer for longer if they were offered access to more benefits.
What should be included in an employee benefits package?
The best employee benefits for your team will vary greatly depending on the industry you work in, the size of your company, and the expectations of your current and prospective employees.
It’s not necessarily about being flashy or expensive – in fact, some of the top trends in employee benefits include workplace flexibility, access to mental health resources, and increasing paid leave.
Financial
A benefits package that includes financial incentives isn’t just about salary – Harvard Business Review reports that 80% of employees would choose additional benefits over a pay rise.
When finding ways to offer financial perks to your employees, consider what might appeal most to them within your industry. It could be:
- Annual bonus based on personal performance
- Sales or conversion incentives that are supplementary to salary
- Above-average pension contributions
- Company shares or stocks at a discounted or preferential rate
- Gift cards or intermittent rewards for performance, loyalty, and other company values
Health and wellbeing
Health and wellbeing are increasing areas of focus for employers – according to AON’s 2021 report, mental health has become an increased focus area since the COVID-19 pandemic for 92% of employers, and many employers say that stress, burnout, and other mental health factors are challenges that effective benefits packages could help alleviate.
- Private or extended medical and health benefits or insurance
- Access to mental health resources, such as online therapy platforms or a budget for private mental healthcare
- Free or subsidised gym membership or gym facilities onsite
- Bike to Work scheme
- Dedicated funds towards physical health activities or services, such as fitness equipment
- Incentives to take time for mental-health related activities, such as subsidised pampering experiences or adventure days out
When advertising benefits that relate to health and wellbeing, be sure to be specific about what your company offers to avoid accidental perk-washing or potential confusion.
Employee engagement
As well as offering employees a suite of perks that support their life outside of work, it’s important to find ways to make sure their time spent at work is also something they feel good about.
Employee engagement perks are all about finding ways to bring joy, fun, comfort, and ease to the daily workplace. Depending on your company and environment, there are many ways this can take shape. Some great examples of employee engagement perks include:
- Great employee discounts on company products, merchandise, or services
- Basic complementary food and drink (such as tea, coffee, and fresh fruit) within the office environment
- Regular social events, such as a quarterly company lunch or annual party
- Celebrating milestone achievements and long service awards with small ceremonies or displays of gratitude
- Team-building events or regular days out
Learn more about how to boost employee engagement and wellness through personalised experiences for your staff.
Work-life balance
For many people, work-life balance is the key to job satisfaction and employees can feel mentally healthy when they have flexibility to manage their work and personal lives.
As work-life balance is a highly personal concept, it can be one of the most difficult things to translate into an employee benefits program. Some perks that promote work-life balance include:
- A flexible working policy with very clear expectations and guidelines about where and when employees are expected to be working
- A clear and fair communications policy – according to The Conference Board, 51% of employees see mental health benefits when there are company-enforced limits on after-hours communications
- Above-average annual leave allowance
- Flex days that can be dedicated towards mental health, family, or wellbeing
- Pet-friendly office environment
- Bonuses that include a voucher for short breaks or days out
Work-life balance looks different for every employee and employer, so it’s important to get creative and think about the small and large ways you can free up your team’s time and encourage them to disconnect from work so they can focus on the other things in their lives.
How to offer a meaningful employee benefits package
There are many great examples of employee benefits packages that bring the wow-factor to a given role. However, to ensure that you’re creating the best employee benefits package for your team and new hires, you need to build out a suite of perks that are both competitive and realistic.
To avoid perk-washing and to ensure you’re setting the right expectations, it’s important to zoom in and look at the expectations of your existing team and the offering of the wider industry.
1.Understand (and beat) the industry standard
Before you can call something a ‘perk’, you need to know if it truly is something that truly benefits your team and incentivises job candidates to apply for your vacancies. Look for ways that you can structure your benefits package to differentiate your business from other companies and competitors.
For example, if flexible working is fairly common within your industry, advertising it as a ‘perk’ might not be entirely appealing to applicants. In these instances, it’s important to explain how you offer a more comprehensive flexible working policy (i.e. entirely flexible, budget for at-home equipment, work-from-anywhere capabilities) in order to communicate why it’s a true perk.
2. Gather feedback about benefits from your employees
Benefits are only successful if employees use them and are satisfied with them. Review your existing perks and get feedback from your current employees.
Whether through an informal conversation or anonymous survey, it can be helpful to get a sense of:
Taking this feedback on board will not only help you improve your standing in the eyes of potential hires, but it will also boost employee satisfaction among your current team members.
Make sure benefits are sustainable for your business
All great employers want to keep their team happy and engaged, but overpromising on benefits can lead to the opposite in the long run.
When devising a meaningful employee perk package, forecasting and budgeting are crucial. Transparency and follow-through are far more important to maintaining trust amongst prospective and current employees, even if it means offering a modest set of perks.
Instead of overstretching or overpromising, talk to your team to determine what the most important things are for their work-life satisfaction and find ways to deliver on those. It could be no- or low-cost perks such as offering flexible working, extra annual leave, or early-finish Fridays.
Offer inclusive benefits
Benefits should benefit everyone. When devising a benefits package, ensure that you’re offering perks that apply across the business. Think about your team’s ability to participate in the schemes you offer and strive to create a suite of perks that has something meaningful for everyone.
This doesn’t mean that everyone will necessarily have the exact same benefits – for example, some roles may be suitable for flexible working while others aren’t. In these situations, it’s important to be extremely clear upfront to avoid setting unrealistic expectations for potential employees, as well as surprising existing employees with new policies they may feel they’ve been left out of.
5. Review your benefits packages periodically
While perks can help with recruitment, they’re truly designed to be used by your active employees –and so it’s important to make sure they’re happy with them.
Just as companies grow, shift, and change over time, so do people’s lives and expectations for what makes a satisfying workplace environment. Make it a habit to review your benefits packages at least once a year and keep track of how your employees are engaging and responding to the perks they have.
Look at other companies and competitors and ensure that you’re maintaining a meaningful suite of benefits that offer value to your team while also making you a strong employer within the wider industry.
Find out how Red Letter Days can help create meaningful employee benefits
Our Employee Experience and Loyalty programs are designed to show your team that you value them and prioritise their work-life balance. Personalised experiences can be given as awards for long service or recognition, used as performance incentives, or included as part of a regular health and wellbeing package
Get in touch with our team to find out how we can support you and enhance your employee experience and satisfaction.