Attracting the best potential hires can be challenging for a startup that has limited cash to use very strategically. It will never go out of style to have robust salary offerings, but more and more business owners are attracting job candidates by offering comprehensive benefits as well. Offering benefits can be extraordinarily valuable, because employers are able to offer group benefits that aren’t directly accessible to individuals.
Benefits May Be Less Expensive Than You Think
Cash is often a new company’s most precious resource, and while offering benefits to employees costs money, it may cost a lot less than you think. Offering benefits like 401(k) and pre-tax commuter products can incur low cost to the company, while reducing an employee’s tax bill significantly. Group insurance like health, dental, vision and life can be more expensive, but employees can share the cost of the policies.
Great Employee Benefits for Tech Startups
A Healthy Team Is a Productive Team
Health insurance helps keep your employees and their families healthy, which means a more productive and less distracted working team. Many companies choose to set up incentive programs such as gym reimbursements or gift cards for achieving certain health/fitness milestones.
As you compare insurance providers, be aware that there are health insurance plans which cover only your employee, and there are others which cover the employee’s entire family. Additionally, consider the ages of your existing employees. A team of employees in their mid-twenties or mid-thirties will have different needs (and mostly likely, less expensive needs) than a group that’s on the verge of retiring.
Help Them Get Around, Pre-Tax
Another great benefit to offer is pre-tax transit assistance. This can mean transit passes (monthly unlimited pre-tax Metrocards are a huge win for our team!), or parking passes for employees who drive to work. The best part about this option is the fact that it helps your employees in getting to work, it saves them money, and is a fairly low cost benefit to provide.
Empower Your Employees to Invest in the Company
If your business is a corporation, you can offer employees incentive stock options (ISOs). These stock options have favorable tax treatment and help align your employees’ interests with what’s best for the business. Tech companies are best known for stock options, but many businesses are able to share ownership with employees.
Help Your Team Invest in Their Futures With a 401(k)
A 401(k) is a tax-favored account designed to help employees save for retirement. In many instances, the employer will contribute funds into the account as well. Some employers match 50 cents to a dollar, while some match the employees contribution penny for penny. Many companies offer tiered contribution, where they will match an employees contribution to their 401k at a certain percentage, up to a certain amount.
For example, a company may match the employee contribution 100% up to 3% of the person’s salary, and then 50% for the next 3%. Even if you decide not to contribute to your employees 401(k), it’s a great benefit to offer your employees, to empower them to invest in their futures.
Benefits Made Easy
It can be difficult to keep track of all the available benefits that will make your company a coveted place to work. Succeeding in business is all about building the right team, and a competitive benefits package can help you attract just that. If working with multiple brokers and organizations to negotiate these benefits for your team seems like a headache, a service like JustWorks helps make it easy.
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