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Understanding the strategic value of employee benefit offerings

By: Benefits by Design | Tuesday November 11, 2025

Updated : Wednesday November 12, 2025

Understanding the strategic value of employee benefit offerings

It can take a lot of time and resources to help make a company successful. However, while investing in new technologies and improving products and services are important to this process, one of the most critical assets a business has is its employees.

Without the right team in place that is actively motivated and engaged in helping the business grow, companies can often struggle to reach their overarching goals. Still, being able to hire a great team and keep them long-term are two separate pieces of the same puzzle.

Considering how competitive many industries are, it can be hard for businesses relying on salaries alone to bring in more qualified candidates. Many job seekers are also looking for organizations with high-value benefits offerings as part of their total compensation packages.

How premium benefits offerings can help broaden talent pools

There are various reasons why premium benefits offerings can help with recruitment and staff retention efforts. Some of these include:

Reveals what’s important to the business – Whether businesses realize it or not, employee benefits are more than just an extension of compensation agreements. They also send an important message about what the business prioritizes. When offering company perks that are outside of legally required minimums, such as additional paid time off, more flexible working schedules, or extended healthcare coverage, it helps to build a better reputation surrounding the brand.

Broadens the applicant funnel – Most HR managers are used to playing the numbers game when looking for new employees. The more job seekers that apply to new roles, the more likely the organization is to find the right fit. But shallow talent pools can significantly reduce the number of resumes received. Offering premium benefits helps to broaden the applicant funnel, increasing interest from a wider group of people.

Offers more security to employees – All employees want to make sure they’re compensated fairly for the work they do. However, while regular paychecks are essential, many employees also want to know that their physical and mental needs are cared for as well, not just their financial needs. Offering a benefits package that includes comprehensive healthcare coverage, life and disability insurance, and access to mental health resources can add more peace of mind.

Retention strategies that go beyond a paycheck

Although being able to increase the efficiency of your hiring practices is important, knowing how to keep your employees long-term is critical for sustainable growth. Below are some strategies that can help with reducing staff turnover.

Recognizing and rewarding ongoing commitment – Everyone wants to be recognized when they do a good job at work. Offering performance bonuses or the opportunity to invest in the company’s success through stock options shows your employees that you’re ready and willing to reward them for the contributions they make over time.

Building a connected workplace – Providing optional benefits like wellness program initiatives or employee assistance programs (EAPs) helps to build stronger relationships between employees and staff. By framing these benefits offerings around how they support the company’s overall mission statement and core values, it shows employees that they’re valued not just as workers, but as individuals. This can go a long way to creating more positive and productive working atmospheres.

Support long-term career goals – Helping your team advance in their careers is another impactful way to support their long-term financial security. Providing free or discounted access to professional training courses or certification can help to increase their confidence and skills that they’ll use every day. At the same time, your business can then benefit directly from the new capabilities they’re able to bring to their current roles.

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Boosting engagement and productivity levels

When creating a benefits program for your employees, it isn’t always easy to calculate the return on investment you gain. However, one way to quantify this is by looking at the impact it can have on overall team morale and productivity levels.

Comprehensive benefits offerings are highly effective in reducing much of the stress that can impact employees in different areas of their lives. For example, having access to better healthcare coverage as well as more flexibility around remote or hybrid working arrangements helps to support a healthier work-life balance.

This has been proven to keep staff members more engaged when they are at work while helping to reduce the distractions that can cause burnout and productivity losses.

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Minimizing staffing disruptions

To keep your business moving forward, it’s important to establish a certain amount of consistency in your daily operations. However, that’s incredibly hard to do if your team is regularly calling in sick and unable to carry out their important tasks.

Illnesses and burnout are the leading causes of absenteeism in the workplace. While this can’t always be avoided, it can be significantly lessened when your team has access to the right benefits offerings.

By including comprehensive health and wellness services in your benefits, you make it easier for everyone to get better preventative care throughout the year and recover faster when they get sick. This helps minimize absenteeism and reduces the pressure on the rest of your teams.

Leverage your benefits packages to help your business grow

Offering benefits to your employees is definitely a significant investment, but the returns can be substantial. With the right strategy in place, you can leverage your company’s benefits to improve your staff hiring and retention processes, thereby strengthening your business for sustainable growth.

Author Bio: Frank Mengert

Frank Mengert continues to find success by spotting opportunities where others see nothing. As the founder and CEO of ebm, a leading provider of employee benefits solutions. Frank has built the business by bridging the gap between insurance and technology driven solutions for brokers, consultants, carriers, and employers nationwide.