Benefits Writing Assignment

In the modern-day workplace, Fortune 500 companies (especially those in big tech) are consistently looking for ways to compete for top talent. Besides the ever-competing salary contest, benefits and most of them nontraditional; are actually becoming the big thing that sets companies apart. Employees in the top of their field are actively seeking these benefits. According to career site Glassdoor “more than half (57%) of all workers say perks and benefits are among the top things they consider when deciding whether to accept a job, and almost 80% of employees say they would prefer new benefits over a pay raise.” Organizations are changing their operations to incorporate these new benefits by hiring personnel who specialize in managing their employee’s experience. These are roles outside of the traditional HR jobs every company has. An example would be “Sr. VP People Operations” at Google that was showed in the Unit 9 Lecture. This may be a job title that other large companies have and at Google it may also function in an HR capacity. But what I believe makes it different is the focus on the employee experience communicated in the video and the analytics they use to measure the effect on productivity and employee happiness that all of these benefits the company gives actually has. The lecture video gives an example where the VP tells the news reporter that a purple wall in their workplace has garnered a negative response and will probably not see it popping up in other work environments. Usually one would think that besides a general color theme set up in a work space, that feedback on a single purple wall would not be something a company would even spend time on. This shows the strategic investment nature of this type of modern management; and their employees notice. Some of these “nontraditional” benefits include: one paid year of maternity and paternity leave to new parents (Netflix), six days of paid volunteer time off a year + $1,000 a year to donate to a charity of the employees choice (Salesforce), covering of costs for egg freezing and fertility assistance (Spotify), an annual stipend of $2,000 to travel and stay in an Airbnb listing anywhere in the world (Airbnb), death benefits – the surviving spouse or partner of a deceased employee receives 50% of their salary for the next 10 years (Google), free intern housing with shuttle service to and from work with a monthly housing stipend of $1,000 (Facebook), $4,000 in “baby cash” to employees with a new born (Facebook), on-site health and dental centers + laundry services (Facebook). This is only a few of the nontraditional benefits that are popping up in the modern economy, I listed many of Facebook’s benefits because they are the company I chose to research.

I’d have to say the benefits that appeal to me personally are the shuttle service to and from work with monthly housing stipend of $1,000, the $4,000 in baby cash and the on-site health, dental, and laundry services. To me they seem like benefits I could easily see myself using and having a real value add to my experience as an employee. Not worrying about transportation to work is absolutely awesome and having health and dental at work allows me to save taking time off from work because these services are immediately available. Plus who wouldn’t love getting $4k in cash to help with a new baby? I presume you will want all the money you can get in that situation! I would seriously consider taking a lower pay rate to gain the benefits I prefer because there is value that to me is worth perhaps the difference in paycheck. Not every career decision is made for money; long term happiness is key as well.

In my limited research on Facebook, the nontraditional benefits provided by Facebook in addition to the working environment, management transparency, and community; earned Facebook No.1 on Glassdoor’s 2018 best places to work list. This annual ranking is achieved using employee reviews which show how satisfied employees are with their employer, CEO, and other key work environment attributes. Facebook as a big tech company is in a highly competitive recruiting space as they compete against the likes of Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and other Silicon Valley giants to recruit the best and brightest. Nontraditional benefits allow them to set themselves apart from the pack and bring people onboard for the long term. I believe these perks are sustainable by these companies due to their high net profits and global reach. These perks I presume must add a high dollar cost to the companies benefits cost per employee. But in the big tech industry, innovation, creativity and getting to the next big thing before everyone else is key to your firms’ success. All of those stem from your workforce and their ingenuity. This makes the perks an underlying strategic investment by the company in creating the best work environment possible to recruit, retain, and foster the next generation in products and services.

References

• Author: Arthur Wilson Marketing Manager at Workstars. With a background in digital strategy, et al. “20 Companies Leading the Way When It Comes to Employee Perks and Benefits: Workstars.” Employee Recognition and Engagement Blog, www.workstars.com/recognition-and-engagement-blog/2019/11/13/20-companies-leading-the-way-when-it-comes-to-employee-perks-and-benefits/.

• Gillett, Rachel. “7 Reasons Facebook Is the Best Place to Work in America and No Other Company Can Compare.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 7 Dec. 2017, businessinsider.com/facebook-best-place-to-work-in-america-2017-12.

• Gillett, Rachel. “Free Food May Become a Thing of the Past in Silicon Valley – but There Are Plenty of Other Incredible Perks Companies like Facebook and Google Offer Their Employees.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 29 July 2018, www.businessinsider.com/incredible-perks-companies-like-airbnb-facebook-and-google-offer-their-employees-2016-2#counseling-and-consultations-for-employees-and-their-dependents-at-southwest-30.

 Attached in word doc form too.

Benefits Writing Assignment