The best employee benefits to improve employee engagement

Pizza lunches, early finish Fridays, and mental health support at work are all fab ways to show your team you appreciate what they do. A strong employee benefits offering is great for improving employee engagement and general happiness.

Employee benefits can also help attract and retain top talent, with around 37% of UK employees claiming their benefits package influenced their decision to join their current employer.

Creative employee benefits can help your organisation stand out from competitors. Potential employees understand the company looks after its staff, while current employees remain engaged and satisfied. Without adequate benefits, staff may feel undervalued and possibly seek opportunities elsewhere. The best ideas for your employee benefits and incentives are the ones that will be a natural fit for your culture and workforce. So, read on to explore our tips and suggestions on top employee incentives and more.

Why are benefits for employees important?

Employee benefits and incentives can be equally beneficial to the organisation overall.

• Boosting staff satisfaction: Company benefits provide employees something to aim for, beyond their basic salary. This could help with your retention and recruitment efforts.
• Improving your brand and profile: A meaningful office benefits program can enhance your company’s image and show how much you care about your people.
• Driving better work-life balance: Workplace benefits, such as unlimited paid time off, can help teams switch off at regular intervals and avoid burnout.
• Improve employee engagement: Improving employee engagement can motivate workers to be more productive, stay for longer, and perform better overall.
• Remote work benefits: Offering remote work can give the organisation access to a wider talent pool and help promote a better work-life balance.

How to choose the right employee perks and incentives

With so many options available, how do you choose the right ideas for your employee benefits and incentives? It may help to follow these three steps: define the benefit or incentive’s role or purpose, consider the cost and consider the impact on individual employees and your organisation.

Employee benefits and incentives may include:

• One-time events, like a group painting lesson.
• Recurring events, like employee-of-the-month celebrations or a pet-friendly office policy on certain days.
• Continuous features, such as keeping a store cupboard stocked with snacks or employee discount programs.

Having a mix of all three, and adding new ones from time to time, will help keep your program appealing and fresh.

Some of the best ideas for employee benefits may only appeal to certain employees—and that’s okay. It’s impossible to come up with employee benefit ideas that please everyone. The goal is to offer a variety to include something for everyone.

If you’ve already implemented some great ideas for employee benefits and incentives, you’re well on your way. But if you’re just starting, or if you’d like to add something new to your program, you’ve come to the right place. Below, you can discover our top employee benefit ideas.

The 15 best employee benefits and team bonding activities

From team bonding activities to childcare benefits, there are lots of employee benefits you can offer at your organisation. We’ve collated the ideas for the best ones to help you decide which ones can work best in your business.

1. Free food

Offering tasty snacks and lunches is a great office benefit for employees. These can include a range of nibbles and sweet treats, or themed lunches, like pizza Tuesdays. Organising team lunches is also a great way to encourage employees to socialise while they enjoy a tasty meal.

2. Fun work activities

Some great games will energise co-workers day-after-day, encourage comradery and allow employees to have a screen break. All you need is a separate space where players won’t disturb their colleagues while they’re working. Workers can either pause their tasks and play for 10 to 15 minutes or enjoy a game or two during their lunch break.

3. Team sports

Employees can form a team to join a local league or play recreational games in a nearby park or sports centre. You can support them by encouraging attendance or paying for equipment, team T-shirts, membership fees, or post-game refreshments.

What better way to build team spirit than sports-related benefits for employees? Whether it’s a five aside football team or a monthly game of rounders, support your team to stay active and bond over sport.

But be mindful of employees who don’t feel comfortable playing sport or have limited mobility and make sure you find ways to still include them.

4. Team bonding activities

Promoting a social atmosphere at work can encourage a healthy work-life balance. You can offer and organise team bonding activities such as:

• Organised group breaks: Encourage a weekly lunch break together as a team and cover the cost.
• Book clubs: Host a book club meeting each month, providing refreshments or even the books.
• Happy hours: Let your team unwind on a Friday with drinks in the office or a local pub. Make sure you cater to everyone, including those who don’t consume alcohol.
• Coffee mornings: There’s nothing better than a quick chinwag over a cuppa. Get the team together to chat and have a tea break. You supply the coffee and tea; they supply the comradery.
• Volunteering days: Give back as a business and allow your team a day away from the office to support a worthy cause. From helping local wildlife to donating to charities or offering time to volunteer, it’s a worthwhile employee perk that your team will appreciate.
• Skills share workshops and learning sessions: In house training is great for showcasing skills, offering development opportunities to employees and sharing the wealth of knowledge your team has. Encourage a once a month learning session and avoid hosting it over lunchtime.
• Escape rooms: Nothing says team building like trapping everyone in a room for an hour with some clues!

5. Self-improvement and career perks

An employee benefit that supports a person’s career development can be very beneficial. Staff benefits ideas that can double as career development include:

• A lending library: Consider stocking a workplace bookshelf with volumes on business knowledge, self-improvement, and other educational and interesting topics.
• Mentors: The attention and guidance provided by a more experienced person can be invaluable to a less experienced or new employee.
• Cross-training: Employees eager to explore different roles and learn new skills will welcome opportunities to do this within their own workplace.
• Career coaching services.:Help your workers envision and plan for the future of their careers.

6. Employee recognition and rewards

Employee recognition and rewards can help boost morale and motivation. Whether it’s cash bonuses or something more material, like a voucher for an experience day, your employees will always appreciate being rewarded for their accomplishments.

Certificates of achievement are also a great way to honour an employee’s outstanding achievements throughout the year.

7. Flexible working hours and holidays

How about offering an employee benefit they can use away from the office? Unlimited annual leave offers greater freedom for people to take time off when they can. It’s a giant leap forward in work-life balance. Perhaps offering flexible working hours can also help. Letting employees choose their own start and finish times or working their contracted hours to suit their personal lives.

8. Workplace upgrades

Employee benefits don’t just have to be about enhancing their life outside of work. They can also include ideas that make their day-to-day experience more comfortable and enjoyable.

Offering things such as a convertible or standing desk can be a big benefit, as can free home office equipment, for example. Studies say sitting all day isn’t good for employees’ health—so give them a way to stretch their legs while getting their work done.

A couple of other potential benefits to offer employees include:

• Pet-friendly offices: Puppy Fridays are popular and let people with pets bring them in without the worry of leaving them at home alone—just be sure your policies are clear and considerate of those who may not be too keen on pets.
• Casual office wear: While you don’t want people turning up in their dressing gowns, a more casual approach can create a relaxed, welcoming vibe.

9. Financial perks

Financial benefits are always welcome. Whether it’s enhanced maternity/paternity leave and pay, childcare benefits, or company-sponsored retirement savings plans, any financial assistance is likely to be appreciated and considered a key reason for wanting to join the company.

10. Wellness and mental health support at work

Mental health support at work has become more important in our always switched on and stressful world. Offering this can show employees they are supported and that their wellbeing matters. Here are just a few options for mental health support and wellness benefits for employees:

• Fitness equipment, like heart rate monitors or fitness trackers: This allows employees to track their health data, spot any issues and can encourage healthier choices and a more active lifestyle.
• Gym passes or discounts: Exercise is a great way to boost endorphins so offer passes for a local gym or discounts on membership. You can speak directly to the gym to check if they have a corporate offer or can cut a deal.
• Group walks or running clubs: A brisk jaunt outside the office is great for encouraging a screen break and getting employees to connect.
• Meditation/quiet room: The office can get pretty noisy at times so offer a space away from all the chatter where employees can take a moment for themselves.
• Mental health apps and services: Organise a discounted rate or corporate access to mental health apps so employees can check in with a professional should they feel low or stressed.
• Mental health representatives: Employees can sign up to mental health advocates and reps who are available for anyone struggling to speak to. It’s a good idea to organise some professional training for this type of role.

11. Personal employee perks

Corporate-branded merchandise, such as shirts, hats, and water bottles, is always a hit, and your options are only limited by your imagination.

You could also offer:

• Paid time off on people’s birthdays: Everyone loves to have the day to themselves to celebrate.
• Music streaming subscriptions: Whether your team love a bit of lo-fi to help them focus or a pop punk playlist to kick start their day, organise a subscription they can use in the office with no ads.
• In-office massages: Organise for a mobile masseuse to visit the office once a month to ease any tension in people’s back, neck and shoulders.
• Childcare vouchers: Support working parents with childcare by offering vouchers that can be bought at a discounted rate and used to cover nursery fees.
• Employee discounts: Local businesses love to collaborate so get in touch to discuss discounts for your employees. They could get 10% off at the team’s favourite sandwich shop or a free game at the local bowling alley.

12. Commuter benefits

Commuter benefits, or any help you can contribute to your employees to help them get to their place of work, will be valued. Employees will always appreciate anything you do to help them get to your business location(s), especially in today’s economy, where travel is becoming more expensive.

Some examples include:

• cycle-to-work schemes
• public transportation passes or discounts
• parking allowances
• carpool incentives
• travel expenses reimbursements
• company shuttle services
• electric vehicle charging subsidies
• ride-share credits
• mileage allowances.

13. Giving back

Offering employee benefits to help others can be very rewarding. This could include the opportunity to take part in:

• charity walks and runs
• volunteer days
• first aid training.

14. Seasonal events

Consider hosting events to mark important company milestones or festive times of year. Celebrating as a team can bring people together and allow employees to let their hair down. This can include Christmas and Halloween parties. Or a summer party, where you can throw a barbecue to celebrate the halfway mark. You can even have a social committee to organise regular social events.

15. Remote work benefits

A hybrid working model that balances home and the office could ease the strain of commuting. What’s more, flexible working hours can give staff the chance to nip out for appointments or work around childcare commitments. These company benefits have increased in popularity since the pandemic.

Look out for other employee perk opportunities

As you can see, our employee benefit and incentive ideas include options that can suit a wide variety of interests and circumstances—for businesses large or small.

Staff benefits and incentives help employees maintain peak performance by keeping them refreshed and engaged. More enjoyment for them, and greater productivity and retention for you. People like to be appreciated and rewarded, and that’s what these incentives are all about. Chances are that your employees will respond enthusiastically to your efforts.

Remember, great benefits for employees don’t have to break the bank. Even simple, inexpensive ideas can be remarkably effective and memorable. Take the time to ensure they’re thoughtfully selected to suit your people and company culture.

And if you’re still not sure which employee benefit ideas to choose, why not ask the team themselves? They’ll love the opportunity to help make their great workplace even better.

Take the next step on your employee benefits journey

When it comes to employee benefits and benefits administration, BambooHR is a trustworthy partner to support your business every step of the way. From onboarding new starters to legal compliance and reporting, our platform simplifies the complexity of processes, helping you to run things smoothly and accurately.

Are you ready to improve employee engagement by consolidating key information into a single, intuitive, and easy-to-use interface? You can reduce the administrative burden while empowering your employees to have self-service access to their rewards. Get a free demo today and learn more about employee benefits.