Businesses Offer Creative Perks, Benefits to Meet Employees’ New Expectations

Businesses are seeking new ways to attract and retain employees following the “Great Resignation” — people leaving the workforce in droves during the pandemic — and the rise of new expectations for a post-pandemic workplace.

As a result, many are offering not only higher wages but also new and novel benefits and perks.

These offerings come in response to the continuing challenge of adding and keeping employees. PYMNTS research has found that 41% of Main Street businesses said difficulties hiring employees is an obstacle to success in 2022. Fourteen percent of these businesses said it is their biggest challenge.

Read more: Main Street Economic Health Survey

In a Tuesday (March 22) blog post announcing the launch of a new product designed to help employers meet this challenge, Uber for Business wrote, “As the workforce continues its efforts to bounce back from the pandemic, employers are laser-focused on providing employee benefits that prioritize wellbeing and connection. Organizations are also embracing new, flexible work models for a diverse set of employees with new expectations and unique needs.”

Paying for Lunch, Commute and Other Services

In this blog post, Uber for Business announced the rollout of Uber One, a new product for enterprise customers that enables them to offer several Uber services to their employees as an added benefit or perk.

An Uber One subscription offers employees access to free delivery of food orders; a 5% discount off eligible rides, deliveries and pickup orders; priority service; and exclusive perks. These benefits apply to both personal and business orders and are available to employees at home, in the office or on the road.

This can be added to the recurring lunch stipends and commute allowances that some companies already offer through Uber for Business.

Susan Anderson, global head of Uber for Business, told PYMNTS earlier this month that some businesses are offering rides to employees because the availability of public transportation has been reduced in some areas. Others are using it to recruit new employees, and still others are using it occasionally to bring their hybrid workforce into the office.

Read more: Today’s Business Travel Includes Occasional Trips to the Workplace

“The number of companies paying for commuter programs and actually paying to get their team into the office has increased during the pandemic,” Anderson said. “That is very new and interesting.”

PYMNTS’ Main Street Economic Health Survey found that among the small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that are facing difficulties when hiring new employees, 42% said they have reacted by paying their employees more, and 38% said they plan to increase wages for their staff.

Offering Higher Wages, Creative Perks and New Packages

Many firms are offering both higher wages and creative perks to attract and retain employees or to make it easier for other companies to do the same.

Employers started tackling the issues around the Great Resignation by upping wages, with Costco, for example, offering a minimum hourly wage of $17, and Starbucks, McDonald’s and others following suit.

See more: Labor Shortages Continue as Bigger Paychecks Fail to Lure People Back to Work

Other employers launched new employee perks. For example, supply chain tech company project44 announced last fall that it was offering its employees access to company-provided recreational vehicles (RVs) that are equipped with mobile internet and fold-out desktops. Team members can select their desired dates to use one of these “mobile suites,” pick up the vehicle and work from anywhere.

Read more: Work From Anywhere in a Company-Provided RV

Some companies are giving employers and employees a hand in adjusting to the new workplace. For example, hotels have added new packages designed specifically for employees who commute into the city from distant suburbs for occasional meetings in the office. In response to remote work shifting to hybrid models at many companies, these packages at urban hotels contain features like parking, conference rooms and low midweek rates.

See more: Hotels Offer Perks, Discounts for ‘Super Commuters’