Pet-friendly offices, meditation stations, snack-stocked break rooms — corporate perks at work have come a long way from the traditional health insurance and paid holidays. Comprehensive and creative benefits packages are the norm at more and more companies, and the best employee benefits reap dividends for both you and your team members.
As an employer, you can view your benefits offerings as an investment in your business. Here are some creative employee benefits ideas to get you started:
Wellness Programs
Health and wellness benefits are popular—almost half of all U.S. companies offered a program to their employees in 2017, and that number is only growing.. Benefits can address your employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health.
1. Supply your team with pedometers or smartwatches to help them achieve their fitness goals.
2. Cater a team meal for your office. With DoorDash for Work Group Orders, you can pick a restaurant, send your employees a link and they can choose individual meals with everything easily expensed to your corporate account.
3. Offer smoking cessation programs.
4. Provide mental health assistance and resources.
5. Promote stress relief with relaxation pods, chair massage, or yoga classes.
6. Give employees access to gym memberships and provide them time to focus on their physical fitness
7. Reward your employees when they accomplish their wellness milestones. DoorDash Employee Gift Cards can be set to any denomination you want and can even be personalized.
Career Development
Corporate perks in this category run the gamut, but what they all have in common is a long-term positive effect for both you and your team members. They’ll gain new skills, which they can use to advance their career, and you’ll gain highly-qualified employees with up-to-date, robust skill sets and advanced training.
8. Offer tuition reimbursement for advanced degrees.
9. Sponsor employee enrollment in license and certification programs.
10. Host in-house or virtual workshops and seminars to enhance skills.
11. Pay for employees to take courses through extension programs at local universities.
12. Fund their attendance at conferences or other work-related educational events.
Food and Meals
Think outside the vending machine. Many employers have snack stations or free coffee. You can elevate your company’s benefits by offering meal benefits for employees that are unique. DoorDash for Work provides flexible options for in-office use or when your team is working from home (WFH).
13. Set a food ordering budget for employees to expense meals from DoorDash anytime, anywhere they work, with Expensed Meals. Pick eligible employees, set ordering hours, and assign spending limits with ease, and allow employees to automatically expense meals to the company account. It’s ideal for meetings, travel, or WFH meal solutions.
14. Make large meals simple when your team is in the office with Group Orders. Pick a restaurant, share the link with the team, and employees can add their own dishes to the group’s shopping cart, so they can eat what they want, together. Plus, all large orders are paired with Equipped Dashers, who make sure your meals are packaged well and delivered safely. This saves you valuable time that you would’ve spent coordinating requests among multiple people.
15. Give your team members DashPass for Work. Employees can use this subscription to order food on DoorDash, wherever they are, and enjoy lower service fees and $0 delivery fees. It’s another great option for remote employees.
Insurance
A comprehensive insurance benefits package is a valuable safety net for employees. Consider the many types of insurance programs, as well as how you’ll handle employee contributions and coverage for partners or dependents. Insurance is a win-win for everyone: Research shows that employees with health care coverage are generally healthier and live longer, while businesses may enjoy lower absenteeism rates and fewer worker’s compensation claims.
16. Offer a company-wide managed care plan with health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) options. You can extend the coverage to your employee’s family, too.
17. Supplement medical insurance with dental and vision plans.
18. Set up Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Employee contributions help fund out-of-pocket health care expenses such as prescriptions, medical equipment, and copays for doctor appointments. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are another option, geared towards employees with high-deductible plans.
19. Help protect your employees—and their loved ones—with life insurance or accidental death/dismemberment coverage.
20. Provide disability insurance, both short- or long-term, in case of accident, illness, or injury.
Workplace Flexibility
Work/life balance is crucial.. By offering these types of employee benefits, you acknowledge your team members have full lives outside of work, and you trust they can manage their roles on and off the job. For many people, flexibility (job sharing, split shifts, part-time schedules) is key—84% of working parents in one survey said it’s the most important thing they look for in a job, ahead of salary or health insurance.
21. Provide paid leave for major life events. Parental leave is critical: In an Employee Benefits News survey, 58% of respondents said it was their most prized benefit. Paid leave can also apply to bereavement, caring for an ailing family member, or adopting a child, among other life changes.
22. Include unlimited vacation time or PTO in your benefits packages.
23. Allow employees to take paid days for volunteering in the community.
24. Help employees meet the demands of their daily lives with useful tools. DashPass for Work and Expensed Meals make it convenient for your employees to have food on their tables during a hectic day.
With great corporate perks at work, everybody wins
When you have employee benefits programs in place, your team members feel valued—the company cares about them as a person, not just as a worker. These positive feelings translate to increased happiness on the job.
Don’t underestimate the power of good benefits: A recent survey found that 62% agreed or strongly agreed that a robust benefits package is a top priority when evaluating a job.
As you consider what programs to offer, keep in mind how they enhance the company culture, and how practical and useful they’ll be for your employees. Getting feedback from your team members on the benefits they want is also valuable.
Whichever programs you choose to implement, remember that the best employee benefits are a worthwhile investment in your employees and a healthy workplace culture.
If you want more information on how to offer a competitive benefits package, download The Ultimate Wellness Checklist.
