What will employees want from their benefits in 2020?

For 2020, chances are you’re looking to recruit top talent, increase retention or just generally make your employees happier and make your business a more attractive place to work.

In order to do that, meeting the ever-changing demands of employees is crucial. Modernising your benefits and perks is without doubt the way forward.

Here are a few ways to bring your benefits and perks offering into the 2020’s!

Reimagine the fixed payday

Every year employees are looking for more and more flexibility. The way people manage their money is always changing with faster transactions and new online banks introducing innovative new changes and features.

Companies like Walmart, Uber and Lyft allow employees to access their pay as soon as they log their hours rather than having a fixed pay day.

The more companies adopt newer, more personalised ways of reimagining the fixed pay day the more the demand will increase from employees.

While companies such as Walmart, Uber and Lyft are early adopters of this way of paying their staff, 2020 could be the year to get ahead of your competitors and offer a benefit they don’t.

Not just working from home, but working from anywhere

The demand for flexible working is only increasing and this will continue in 2020.

The benefits include helping the environment through a reduced need to commute, improvements in work-life balance and proven mental health benefits.

The increasing cost of living in major cities is also a major factor.

While the average London house price dropped 2.9% in 2019, many are still choosing to live outside the city and commute in to work.

By offering more flexible working practices, employers can broaden their options when it comes to recruiting the best talent and minimise the cost of space in their workplace.

In 2020, more employers will offer flexible working practices and more employees will demand them.

Bring your health coverage up to date

Every year everything becomes more ‘on-demand’ and healthcare is no different. We’ve seen a rise in the availability of doctors’ appointments through phone calls or video chats and technology has helped patients reduce the amount of time it takes to get diagnoses for illnesses and order prescriptions.

According to SHRM, 72% of organisations said they offered telemedicine benefits to their employees in 2019, so if your company doesn’t, 2020 is the perfect time to start.

Benefits such as the Employee Assistance Programme are great benefits to offer employees as they offer 24/7 confidential advice either face-to-face or over the phone for just about everything that could be affecting an employee’s mental health.

The Health Cash Plan can also help bring down the cost of your employees healthcare which could be huge in 2020.

A good range of health and wellbeing benefits is a must for 2020 as healthcare technology advances and employee health, both physical and mental, becomes more of a responsibility for employers.

Help with the cost of education

Particularly in the U.S, many companies offer to subsidise the cost of education for employees. Many U.S employers even offer to help employees with the financial burden of student debt.

Whether it’s to further their career or to change it entirely, more and more employees are looking for support from their employers when it comes to learning and education.

This is particularly important for tech-based jobs but applies on the whole as employees look to at a minimum keep their skills updated.

A range of financial wellbeing benefits is a must

According to research by Neyber, 45% of people run out of money between pay cheques, for those in debt, the average amount is £7,555 and one in three people have £1,000 or less in savings.

They also report that more employers are now offering financial wellbeing benefits to their employees than ever before.

If you’re a company that doesn’t offer a good range of financial wellbeing benefits, then 2020 is the year you should definitely start.

Going into 2020, one of the biggest challengers for employers is modernising their benefits offering to meet the changing needs of employees. Aside from considering the points made here, consider keeping an eye on the latest trends in consumer behaviour and technology and see how your business can offer perks and benefits to adapt!

Rather than see it as a challenge, see it as an opportunity to get ahead of your competitors and recruit and retain the best talent.