Emerging Benefit Trends to Help You Compete

This week we are here to talk about benefits and compensation trends that can help your startup compete with the big boys for the best talent out there. If you like, share your referral link at the bottom of this email with your friends for some sweet swag!
Emerging benefit trends to keep you competitive

Hiring top talent is incredibly competitive. Most startups can't compete with FAANGs of the world in terms of cash comp. And because of this, most hiring managers and founders list hiring as the number 1 most challenging part of running a company. So how do you compete? Well here is a good look at some of the biggest trends and changes in the benefits and compensation space that get us pretty jazzed up:

Increased Work Flexibility

Companies are moving towards more flexible work offerings, unlimited PTO, and work-from-home solutions. This stems from the knowledge that the mental health of the employee directly effects their productivity, along with the current epidemic, working from home has been found to be a viable option for many companies.

• According to Global Workspace Analytics [Source] they estimate that— "25-30% of the workforce will be working-from-home multiple days a week by the end of 2021."
• Accord to an SHRM survey, 69% of those questioned would be more inclined to take a job if they offered unlimited PTO. [Source]
• Even before the current epidemic, several repeated surveys by GPA, has shown that— "80% of employees want to work from home at least some of the time." [Source]
• An estimate by Global Workspace Analytics also states that work-from-home policies will save "...U.S. employers over $30 Billion a day [Source] in what would have otherwise been lost productivity during office closures due to COVID-19."
• Studies have shown that employers who offer an unlimited PTO policy actually have employees who take less time off, 13 days on average compared to 15, according to a Namely survey. [Source]
• Calm (https://www.calm.com) , a startup that has quickly climbed the ranks of the App Store pushes a "Take what you need" PTO policy. [Source]
• Cockroach Labs (Cockroach Labs) , a database focused startup, offers it's employees what they call "Flex Friday" , which allows their employees to choose how to spend that day, whether it's working or spending time at home with family, or whatever else they choose.
• Cockroach Labs also offers a very generous paid parental leave which not only includes 12 weeks of paid . parental leave, after a 30 days of given time off, but also another 12 weeks of guaranteed 80% time, transition, and re-entry support, with an additional $500 in "baby bucks"
• Envoy  provides all their employees with unlimited vacations in order for them to "relax and recharge."
• Companies like Sendoso  are now offering a flexible work from home benefit [Source] to all their employees. This is in addition to their "Take-What-You-Need" PTO policy.

Now that the world is remote, benefits will take new forms. Instead of ping pong and La Croix, companies will win you over with...

- Mental health support
- Plant subscriptions
- Ergonomic equipment
- $$ to spend on Upwork
- Access to learning plats
- Workout classes

What else?

— Steph Smith (@stephsmithio) August 31, 2020