Everyone loves a deal, but many 好色tvs either forget or don't realize they can find discounts through their workplace.
鈥淭here really are a lot [of perks] that employees just don鈥檛 seem to know about,鈥 said Debby Carreau, CEO and founder of Inspired HR, a human resources consultancy with offices across Canada.
鈥淭hose things do become part of a total compensation package when you鈥檙e looking holistically at what your total budget is. So if you鈥檙e living paycheque to paycheque 鈥 as half of 好色tvs do 鈥 those things can really be helpful.鈥
There are a few reasons why employees might not be fully informed about workplace discounts鈥 your job offer might not have included a detailed breakdown of all your benefits, large and small. Or your onboarding process was an information overload and you鈥檝e forgotten, said Carreau.
It鈥檚 even possible your onboarding 鈥渏ust wasn鈥檛 very robust,鈥 she added.
On the high end of perks, Carreau pointed to extravagant examples from Silicon Valley 鈥 paid sabbaticals for travelling, on-site health care, free meals and dry-cleaning 鈥 but more commonplace examples include deep discounts at retailers.
Employees likely expect discounts from their own company and brand, but sometimes brands trade benefits with each other, Carreau said, which boosts staff perks on both sides.
Some employees might have access to savings on gas and groceries, as well as travel deals, such as better rates for car rentalsor hotels. Employers might provide staff with free financial planning services, including direct deposits into savings accounts and financial advice, she added.
People who work in certain sectors can sometimes enjoy standardized discounts 鈥 just ask at the counter.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e out shopping, when you鈥檙e at the cash register, ask if they have corporate discounts,鈥 Carreau said. 鈥淎 really common one is a lot of teachers, university professors, health-care workers, all kinds of brands offer discounts, you just have to ask for them. And sometimes they鈥檙e as high as 20 per cent.鈥
According to , some “crazy employee benefits” they’ve seen include tickets to local shows, seasonal passes to a nearby ski resort, two hours of housecleaning services per month, and even pet insurance — all free.
More ordinary add-ons from employers include deals for phone plans and gym memberships, said Jennifer Schmidt, partner and innovation leader for Mercer, a global HR consulting firm. But in some of the larger plans she sees, flexible benefits, which allow for more tailored allocations to different benefit categories, can give more choice back to employees.
鈥淚n a flexible program, you can get to choose between your health insurance being at a certain level, or a slightly lower level, or maybe you want everything in a health spending account,鈥 Schmidt said.
Mercer research showed younger people want more preventive health-care tools, Schmidt said, such as telemedicine, nutritional counselling, or sleep therapy. Some of these services are already available in employee assistance programs.
When advising employer clients of all sizes, the common wisdom is that such services 鈥渆nhance their value proposition鈥 for staff, Schmidt said.
鈥淢y comment would be that the definition of a benefits program needs to be more expansive, and it needs to include different types of services and support for all of your employees, not just the ones that fit in the box at the moment,鈥 Schmidt said.
鈥淗ow can your benefits program in aggregate 鈥 including perks, including discounts, including access to care, all of those things 鈥 work together to really enhance that employee鈥檚 experience?鈥
And it鈥檚 not just the biggest companies 鈥 Mercer also works to bundle plans for small- to medium-sized employers. So employees at smaller firms should still check their benefits for discounts or services that could be free.
Not sure what鈥檚 in your plan? Just ask. If your onboarding was long ago and you forget how to find the materials, check with your HR contact, Carreau said. When she鈥檚 advising employers on their plans, she stresses the importance of staff using their plans and perks to the max.
鈥淸We encourage] the employees to fully utilize everything, because there鈥檚 a direct correlation to employee engagement, which leads to employee retention,鈥 Carreau said.
鈥淥ld school employers will think, 'Don't tell anyone about our benefits, because our premiums will go up.鈥 The data supports the exact opposite 鈥 you want people to use the benefit.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published June 25, 2024.
