Perks, Bonuses and Other Extras That Will Make Your Job Postings Irresistible

As businesses that survived the pandemic have started rebuilding, they’ve created a highly competitive hiring environment that’s hard for many workers to resist. And often, employees who decide to give notice are not simply looking for better pay.

In a recent survey of 2,000 workers, the consulting firm Mercer found there are other priorities, including: a better work/life balance; improved mental, emotional and physical health; a sense of purpose; and the ability to retire.

Here’s how your business can help fulfill those desires — and put itself in a better position to attract and retain good hires.

Align your job postings with what job seekers want

Today’s employment environment is a lot like a buyer’s market in housing, where sellers and their real estate agents must put in extra effort to make their homes stand out.

In the current candidate’s market in hiring, your job postings need to make a similar effort to attract attention.

Applicants should get the sense that your business is looking for loyalty, not just labor. How does your company foster a good work/life balance and prevent burnout? What kind of future can quality candidates expect if they work hard and consistently smash your expectations? Where will that elusive sense of fulfillment come from?

You need to address these questions in your job postings — honestly, and in a way that shows prospective hires that your company is where they want to be.

Your postings also need to highlight three key reasons people would want to come work for you.

1. Bonuses

In a normal hiring climate, bonuses are an effective way of bringing out the best in your workforce and showing appreciation when goals are exceeded. That feeling of appreciation can go a long way toward helping employees feel more fulfilled.

But financial bonuses are even more important in a hot job market. If you’re a qualified candidate with two similar offers sitting in front of you, are you going to opt for the one that clearly comes with the potential for bonuses, or the one that does not?

Your company should be able to tell applicants about a variety of bonuses that will be available to them.

In addition to performance bonuses, you may want to offer sign-on bonuses when candidates accept positions with your business. You also might want to consider retention bonuses, which kick in after new employees stay on the job for a specified amount of time.

2. Benefits

Employees expect more from a job than a paycheck, particularly in today’s competitive environment.

Recent research by management consulting company Robert Half found the six most desirable benefits among U.S. workers are:

• Health insurance.
• Paid time off.
• A retirement savings plan, like a 401(k).
• Dental insurance.
• Life and accidental death insurance.
• Vision care insurance.

Businesses that don’t provide at least some of those benefits could find themselves at a severe disadvantage when trying to attract talented applicants.

You also should consider offering an employee wellness program as a benefit, to ensure the work required of your team doesn’t take too much of a mental, physical or emotional toll.

And, when you have a wellness program that includes group exercise activities, access to counseling services, or even a weekly craft circle to get your team’s creative juices flowing, job applicants will see that you view your employees as people, not machinery.

3. Other perks

Perks are where your creativity as a business owner and your empathy as a human come together, to define your business as a fun, rewarding place to work.