In the ever evolving work places of New Zealand, having an attractive employee benefits package is essential. Employee benefits can help create a positive work culture by ensuring your employees feel valued and appreciated. A competitive benefits package ensures your business stands out to potential employees. Having appropriate and appealing benefits for your company to offer draws talent to your business and also helps in improving employee retention. Employee benefits should be a priority as there are so many other businesses out there competing for the same talent.
All employees want to feel respected and recognised, thankfully there are many ways to achieve this. Not all employee benefits packages need to cost a lot of money or take up precious time. Thinking outside the box, being open to ideas and getting creative can help your business stand out from the crowd and appeal to your current and future employees.
Mandatory Employee Benefits in NZ
In New Zealand employee benefits come in all forms, but there are three mandatory benefits all kiwi businesses must provide for their employees:
Paid leave - this includes annual leave, public and alternative holidays, parental leave, sick leave and bereavement leave. These are all calculated differently depending on circumstances and ordinary working hours, but every employee in New Zealand is entitled to these areas of paid leave.
ACC - all employers in New Zealand must pay an Accident Compensation Corporation levy which covers their employees if they have an accidental injury, employees also pay an earners levy. ACC covers injuries both at work and outside the workplace. If the accident takes place at work employers must cover 80% of their employees salary or wages for their first week off due to the injury, they can not be made to take sick leave or annual leave.
Kiwisaver - this voluntary savings scheme uses a combination of employee and employer contributions to help New Zealanders save for their retirement. Early withdrawals can sometimes be made for first home buyers or if someone is suffering extreme financial hardship. All employees are signed up when they start a job and then they can choose to opt out if they desire.
Outside of these three mandatory employee benefits there are a plethora of other benefits employers can adopt to make their staff feel valued, encourage engagement and loyalty, attract and retain employees and build a positive work culture.
Other Perks and Benefits to Consider
Flexible Work
Having flexibility in working hours can create a number of benefits to the employee, which in turn benefits the employer as well. Flexibility can be established by allowing employees to work from home, tailor their hours and schedule, or even establish a job share situation. Remote working can be managed in a variety of ways to suit both the company and the employees. By having flexibility in working hours and location employers enable their staff to have a better work-life balance and feel more trusted, respected and understood. This can lead to more company engagement, higher productivity, job satisfaction and improve staff retention.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Having an Employee Assistance Program offers your employees free counselling and support services. This is a great benefit to have available when employees have an issue arise either at work or in their personal lives or are struggling with their mental health. These services help to limit the effect any issues have on their overall health and wellbeing and ensure they feel supported.
Health Insurance
This is something for employers to consider offering as an employee benefit as it is highly valued and shows that your employees health is important to your company. Having a preferred provider and offering comprehensive, specialist, basic or discounted insurance policies can be a very enticing benefit for employees. ACC covers accidental injuries, but not other health issues and medical needs. Providing additional insurance or making it more affordable is a meaningful way to make your benefits package more valuable.
Professional Development
Employee benefits often include paths for professional development. This can include additional training, courses, seminars and other opportunities to upskill. This is important for the growth of employees and helps to keep them motivated as they advance along their own learning path. Professional development as an employee benefit also has a positive impact on the company as new ideas, skills, knowledge and experiences are brought into the workplace.
Additional Leave
Allowing employees to take additional leave in various areas is another way of enhancing their relationship to work and building a positive work culture. This can be done by offering extended unpaid leave for vacations, paid wellbeing days, unpaid parental leave, long service leave or paid charity work leave to engage in work helping the community or causes close to them. These types of extra leave can enable employees to improve their work-life balance and feel more well rounded as they participate in activities outside of the workplace. Having these options available to them is an alluring benefit for potential employees.
Stock Options
An increasingly popular employee benefit is to offer stock options. This encourages staff participation in and commitment to the company. Having shared ownership increases employees' investment and interest in their work as it makes it more personal to them. Taking ownership of even a small part of the company they work for helps employees stay more engaged in their workplace and connected to the success of the company.
Other Packages
Creating a benefits package around your employees' wellbeing, personal life or hobbies ensures they feel supported and looked after both at work and outside the workplace. Customised benefits to suit your employees makes them feel more personal and has more of an impact on your staff and business. Benefits can include providing food options or meals in the workplace, team building days, gym memberships, travel allowance, child care assistance, or vouchers and discounts for other goods and services.
We have outlined some of the many possible options available for your company to offer as part of a benefits package. It is important to find something that suits your business, team and budget and works to reach and engage both current and potential employees. The right benefits package can do wonders for the way your employees feel and the atmosphere at your company, as well as improving employee retention and attracting new employees.
Every Company Can Offer Employee Benefits
At 1Team we recognise the importance of making employee benefits simple, affordable and effective. We are committed to enhancing workplace engagement by helping you create a meaningful and tangible employee benefits package. Using our 1Team app or working with us to create a tailored app or discount card for your business is a great way to really benefit both your employees and your business. Our solutions offer benefits to your employees health, wellbeing, personal life, finances and more. All of this while also making it easy for your company to offer a combination of employee benefits in one easy to manage place.
Our Perk and Perk Plus options enable your employees to engage with well-known retailers and service providers around New Zealand and offer real benefits to their everyday lives. Working with 1Team to make these benefits available to your staff can boost company morale and employee satisfaction, all while making your employee benefit program both simple and attractive.
