A lot of small businesses are hesitant to offer lots of employee benefits because… well they can get pretty expensive. But the fact is that, if you want to attract the top talent, you need to offer them something more than just abasic salary, especially if you’re working in a particularly competitive field.

The trouble is, it can be difficult to work out which employee benefits are worth it both in terms of attracting talent and for your bottom line. Here are a few benefits that fit the bill:

Flexible Working

Allowing your employees to take more control of their working hours is a huge draw and often, you’ll find that employees who are free to choose their working hours at least some of the time are more productive as a result. If you’re hesitant, check out this flexible working advice for employers and maybe have a read of this very encouraging article. Flexible working is here to stay and offering it could benefit you and your employees in several very real ways, which is why you should strongly consider it.

Emergency Fund Access

Most of us experience a financial emergency once in a while, so enabling your employees to access part of their salary ahead of payday on those occasions when they really need it is a great benefit, especially because it can be implemented for free. The goodwill you rack up as a result of being so flexible will likely result in higher staff happiness and loyalty levels.

Health Insurance

If you can afford it, offering your employees health insurance cover is a great way to attract and retain them. Even in countries where healthcare is free at the point of delivery, private medical insurance is highly valuable, so employees are unlikely to leave a company that offers it so easily. Not only that, but fast access to doctors and specialists will help to keep your employees healthier in general, which should result in fewer sick days overall.

Educational Sponsorship

Paying for your employees to gain further experience and qualifications can be expensive, but if you’re serious about growing your business, you’re going to need highly skilled people working for you, so why not find them by sponsoring current employees rather than recruiting from outside? If you do this, you will show your employees that they are valued which in turn will lead to greater levels of satisfaction and more loyal employees. It’s far cheaper to retain staff than it is to recruit them new, so it is definitely something to consider.

Gym Memberships

Paying for employees’ gym memberships, or subsidising the cost of using a local gym, might seem like a benefit you can avoid implementing, and it certainly isn’t strictly necessary, but think about it: how much do those sick days cost you? How many hours are lost to sluggish employees who aren’t as healthy as they could be? Why not pay for them to get healthier and see sick days fall and productivity levels soar? It’ll certainly be better for your business in the long-term.

Benefits are important. Work out which ones will work for your company and put together a comprehensive package to attract and retain the best staff now and in the future.