Smaller week, awards: companies boost benefits in the US to retain people

American employers are increasing their benefits in an attempt to attract and retain workers.

In the United States, a record number of workers left their jobs last year, according to the Department of Labor. And with nearly 11 million job openings at the end of December, companies are having a hard time hiring – and keeping – employees.

“This is the most challenging environment I’ve ever encountered, both in terms of recruitment and retention,” said Doug Brien, co-founder and CEO of real estate platform Mynd.

The tight labor market has forced some employers to sweeten their offers in terms of benefits, pay and flexibility.

Here’s what some companies are doing to win the battle for workers:

Shorter work week

The shift to remote work during the pandemic has allowed more employees to work for companies located outside their hometown. For employers, this has made the competition for talent even fiercer.

“We’ve had very large, very rich software companies come in and offer our employees up to three times pay raises in a number of different locations,” said David Richards, CEO and co-founder of software company WANdisco.

To help recruit and retain employees, the company, which is based in California and the United Kingdom, switched to a four-day workweek and did not cut employee salaries.

“We can’t compete with companies that have a market value in the trillions of dollars,” Richards said. “Salary is just a small aspect, and we pay very well… we retain employees because we do things like that.”

The 32-hour workweek officially started earlier this month. Employees choose their extra day off, with most employees opting for Fridays to take advantage of a three-day weekend.

So far, the incentive appears to be working. Richards said an employee recently turned down a job offer from a competitor following the introduction of the shorter workweek.

$60,000 to become a real estate investor

The real estate investment platform Mynd is giving its employees a taste of what it offers its clients.

In an effort to retain workers, the company has introduced a program that will offer its workers $60,000 to help purchase their own investment property when they reach the five-year mark with the company.

This means that anyone who worked at the company in 2021 will be eligible for the program in 2026.

“We want to make people mentally, psychologically compromised for at least four years, they want to learn and get that benefit,” Brien said.

“We have a challenge and we’re trying to find a way for everyone to come out victorious.” The benefit is only available during the employee’s fifth year of employment.

Employees will have to submit a proposal for the property, and the proceeds will have to be used to rent property through the company’s portal, explained Brien.

Paid time off before starting work

At public relations agency MikeWorldWide (MWW), new employees are paid before they even start.

This year, the company began offering “pre-PTO” that gives new hires a paid week off before their first day on the job.

“Many of the candidates we spoke to had multiple offers, so we had to differentiate ourselves and demonstrate our employee value proposition to potential talent,” said Gina Cherwin, executive vice president and chief personnel officer.

The company created a task force that spoke with recruiters, current employees, and candidates who turned down offers at the company, to find innovative ways to solve hiring challenges.

“Without a doubt, the new PTO-related benefits were the most popular,” she said. And for workers who decide to leave the company, if they give four weeks’ notice, they will receive an additional week’s pay after the last day.

“Two weeks is not enough time to really make the transition, especially in a customer service business,” said Cherwin.

The more time there is to create a new staffing plan, the easier it will be for other employees, she said.

“Employees who stay feel the pain of people leaving and who take over the job until we can make a new hire…anything that helps us bring in faster, better talent…is hugely beneficial to our team.”

Subscription bonuses and quick offers

In its quest to find workers, North Carolina-based healthcare provider Atrium Health is offering $3,000 to $10,000 sign-up bonuses for some of its clinical and patient-focused roles, such as assistants. certified doctors or nurses.

“It’s a tight job market right now, especially in healthcare, so there’s a lot of competition out there,” said Jim Dunn, executive vice president and chief corporate officer and chief culture officer for Atrium Health.

And for some positions in more rural areas, bonuses can be as high as $17,500. “This is something we didn’t do before March 2020,” Dunn said.

The company also gave all of its workers a 4% raise last year.

To help attract workers, the company has also adopted a “quick-hire approach” that aims to get candidates on the job quickly and, in some cases, on the same day as the interview.

“For many of our roles that don’t require licensing or certification…you show up, get an offer the same day, and start work the following Monday if possible,” Dunn said.