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How Unique Employee Benefits Can Give You an Edge in Recruiting

Cat DiStasio

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Offering unique employee benefits can help your organization stand out from the competition, enhance the employee experience and boost retention. Learn which nontraditional benefits are most popular, and tips for showcasing them in your recruiting strategies.

Offering unique employee benefits is a growing part of effective talent attraction. Over the years, certain benefits have become standard. Recent ADP market research finds that most mid- and large-sized employers offer medical benefits, and as organization size increases, so does the likelihood of having retirement plans, life insurance, dental and vision coverage and health or flex spending accounts.

This means larger employers need to consider going above and beyond with their benefits to gain a competitive advantage.

Employers can differentiate themselves from the competition by offering unique benefits that go the extra mile to support employees in meaningful ways. To be effective, these additional benefits must, at a minimum, help employees manage their commitments and responsibilities outside of work. At their best, they are tailored to meet the needs of employees no matter what stage of life they are in.

Having at least some nontraditional benefits can help attract top talent and may boost employee engagement, helping organizations retain employees amid growing talent mobility.

Let's dive into why unique employee benefits are important and look at some examples and best practices.

The power of nontraditional benefits

In a recent Market Pulse Study from ADP Commercial Insights, four out of five mid-sized and enterprise-level businesses indicated that they felt it was "extremely" or "very" important to offer at least some nontraditional benefits to attract and retain employees. These perks can help organizations attract more and better candidates, enhance work culture, positively impact the employee experience and contribute to better retention.

"Offering unique, nontraditional benefits can significantly help business owners stand out in the job market," says Courtney (Simpkiss) Warren, licensed agent at Automatic Data Processing Insurance Agency, Inc. (ADPIA) and senior vice president of ADP.

"This differentiation can help make your businesses more attractive to potential employees who are seeking more than just the standard benefit packages," she says. "By offering modern and innovative benefits, a business can also position itself as a progressive place to work. This can be especially attractive to younger generations of workers who may prioritize company culture and values over just a salary."

What unique employee benefits look like

The ADP Market Pulse Study, conducted in February 2024, takes stock of what benefits small, mid-size and large companies are offering and what they think is important to offer to attract new employees.

Topping the list of "extremely" and "very important" benefits for enterprise-level organizations to offer to attract new employees are perks such as learning and development (83% considered it important), flexible work hours and scheduling (81%), mental health counseling (78%), paid family and medical leave (78%). Followed by financial wellness resources (73%), education subsidies/tuition reimbursement (73%), working remotely full-time (72%), formal mentoring program (68%) and career and life coaching (68%).

Some of the other well-ranking "important to have" trends the study found include:

• Earned wage access (66%)
• Eldercare/childcare (64%)
• Free food at the worksite (64%)
• Unlimited time off (63%)
• Student loan repayment program (63%)
• Paid time off for grandparents, aka "grandternity leave" (61%)
• Outside gym memberships (55%)
• Onsite fitness classes or gym (54%)
• Travel planning (54%)
• Discounted shopping services (54%)
• Matching charitable contributions (52%)
• Weight loss programs or nutritional support (52%)
• Pet insurance (42%)

While the above offerings aren't the most important for attracting new employees, they may make the difference in someone coming to you or going to a competitor if all the main benefits — like retirement, medical care, and work scheduling — are considered equal.

You can also be creative in coming up with offshoots of trending nontraditional benefits. For example, if you can't offer food at the worksite, you might consider a gift card or reimbursement program. Rather than adding the cost of carrying pet insurance, you could arrange for discounts on adoption fees and pet supplies. Every organization and their employees' needs are different — it's important to find out what matters to your people and then reflect that culture in your benefit offerings.

Best practices for showcasing nontraditional employee benefits

To effectively highlight nontraditional benefits during recruiting and employee engagement, Warren advises, it's essential to take a comprehensive approach. Benefits leaders can do this best by using a strategy that's not unlike a basic marketing approach, where you tell a story to establish relevance, advertise the offerings so people know about them and then check in on how useful they are.

Identify essential strategic elements

Decide which vehicles and platforms to use for highlighting your unique perks. It's critical to determine when and how you'll infuse benefits information into your external and internal communications. Will you introduce them to prospective employees during social media touchpoints? Or will you limit details on benefits to onboarding materials?

"Sharing feedback through testimonials or stories from employees who explain how and why these nontraditional benefits made a difference in their lives could help enrich your recruiting practices," Warren says.

Raise awareness

Offering a range of unique employee benefits is only the first step. For these additional benefits to improve recruiting and retention, organizations need savvy strategies to educate job seekers and current employees about the availability of benefits as well as instructions on how to use those benefits. During the recruitment process, ensure all your benefit offerings are listed on your career hub, and consider hosting virtual events to highlight the nontraditional benefits available.

A similar approach applies to retaining current employees as well:

• Having strong intranet resources
• Holding benefits fairs
• Scheduling open office hours help them learn about available support

Measure results

Once nontraditional benefits have been introduced, it's important for employers to stay on top of the benefits experience and use employee feedback and data analytics to measure relevance, efficacy, cost and overall satisfaction. With these insights, employers should regularly evaluate all benefit offerings and look to replace or expand certain offerings when necessary. In the world of nontraditional employee benefits, the goal is not to provide benefits that apply to 100% of the employee population — but if these certain benefits are underutilized, they could represent a net loss for the organization and employees alike.

Elevate your talent strategy with unique benefits

Embracing nontraditional employee benefits can be a game-changer in the competitive landscape of talent acquisition and retention. By offering innovative perks that cater to diverse employee needs, organizations can stand out as progressive and employee-centric, fostering a culture that attracts and retains top talent. To maximize the impact of these benefits, organizations must effectively communicate their value, continuously assess their relevance and adapt to the evolving expectations of the modern workforce.

ADP can help

ADP can help you simplify benefits administration while also empowering you to keep a close watch on costs and employee preferences so you can stay nimble in meeting your business needs.

• If your organization has 49 or fewer benefits-eligible employees, visit insurance.adp.com to learn about easier ways to manage your group benefits.
• If your organization has 50 or more benefits-eligible employees, learn about our benefits administration offering.