When it comes to retaining employees, it turns out that cash is not king.
It’s benefits that rule the roost, no matter where you work.
According to Josh Levs, author of “All In: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families and Businesses and How We Can Fix It Together,” paid leave is highly correlated with employee retention, which reduces expenses and boosts profits.
Levs explains that when factoring in the time, money and other resources spent to replace an employee, it can cost 90-200% percent of an employee’s annual salary to replace them.
It pays to get creative with employee perks
That’s why it may be time to think outside the standard benefits box.
Geri Stengel, president of digital media and market research company Ventureneer and author of Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One, writes in Forbes that for many employees, health insurance and retirement plans may not be a top priority.
“Think mothers who want to return to the workforce or want to stay in the workforce or baby boomers who want part-time work. For these people and others, paid leave and flexibility matter,” she says. “By understanding what current and prospective employees want and need, you can tailor a benefits package to them. These benefits can give you the edge in attracting new employees and increase employee satisfaction, loyalty and retention.”
Parental leave as a win-win
We’ve seen this firsthand at treetree, where all employees automatically receive 12 weeks of paid maternity leave for birth and adoption as part of their benefits package.
When senior account manager Peyton Sutton took her state-mandated maternity leave in California for her first child, her then-employer was anything but supportive. “Overall it was a poor experience,” she says. “It shows, ‘We don’t care about you as a person, we care about what you bring to the bottom line.’ People want and need to feel cared about.”
Peyton’s second pregnancy less than two years later went a little differently because she was part of a company that led the pack in benefits that consider the whole employee.
“Receiving 12 weeks of leave right off the bat taught me: ‘You are so much more to us than a cog in the corporate machine. You are so much more than what you bring to the table from a work perspective. We care about you, we care about your family, we care about your health, both physical and mental.’
“That was tremendously comforting and relieving and made me feel so supported in everything that I did. Absolutely it has bred in me a loyalty I didn’t have in my last role. Because of the care that’s been shown, you’re willing to do anything for your company because you feel like they did anything for you.”
As we anxiously await Niki Calvaruso’s return from maternity leave, she gave us a look into what her time has meant to her.
“When the maternity leave plan was announced, I knew it would be years before I would use it. Nonetheless, it made me feel that my wellbeing and my family’s wellbeing were at the center of this decision,” Niki told us.
“Throughout my pregnancy, it was a huge comfort to me to know I would get ample time to bond with my little guy, recover and adjust to the changes that were ahead of me. I am so grateful to work for a company that values my health.”
Parental leave coverage in Columbus
We love to give our clients the same kind of parental leave experience that the trees get. And we help our clients take that time with parental leave coverage.
Parental leave coverage is a unique offering of skilled marketers who can serve as extensions of your marketing team on-site with you. They’re quick at learning your business, and they’re backed by the support of our entire agency. This lets parents take leave knowing their projects will keep moving while they’re out—and lets employers know they still have enough hands on deck.
Maternity leave coverage is strategic and seamless. It starts with a thorough onboarding process that puts a treetree project manager and the expectant parent side-by-side for a few weeks. Knowledge is transferred, projects are passed and expectations are set.
And then it finishes with a thoughtful re-entry process that allows new parents to come back to happy coworkers—and no fires to put out.
If you have a team member preparing for leave, reach out today to put a tree in their seat.