As more people are prepared to change their lifestyle after the pandemic, there’s more talent available, and businesses have an opportunity to make some tremendous hires.

How to attract and retain top employees
To help with retention, you should ensure you’re paying employees a fair wage, be open to salary negotiations and consider alternative reward options, such as an annual bonus and gifting experiential experiences.

We recently surveyed 2,000 employees across the UK, and 53 per cent of employees felt, ‘very valued’ if they received a bonus from their employer, demonstrating that additional reward options could  lead to workplace happiness and an overall reduction in employee turnover. If you’re a business looking to recruit, having a robust employee benefits and reward & recognition scheme, will help you stand out from the crowd, increasing your chances of making some great new hires.

Invest in an employee benefits package
While salary packages and bonuses will play a part in retaining and attracting the best talented people, employee reward packages do not always have to involve cash. Business leaders should explore upgrading employee benefit offerings as well. Simple benefits such as a workplace pension scheme, gym memberships and flexi-hours are great, but in 2022 you should look to add additional benefits that are more creative and exclusive – and, crucially, that reflect the post-pandemic working landscape.

As most businesses now embrace a hybrid work model, upgrading your benefit offering to include regular team bonding days and out of office experiences, such as a team escape rooms, will help differentiate your business from others, whilst also ensuring your employees feel valued and nurtured amongst their teams.

A benefits package that put employee’s social needs at its core, will not only benefit the employees, but also your overall business – people will build better relationships amongst their peers, your internal culture and morale will improve, and this in turn will lead to a lower employee turnover rate.

Prioritise wellbeing schemes
The pandemic accelerated flexible working schemes, but it also shone a light on employee wellbeing, with more business leaders taking additional steps to protect their employees from burning out and being over worked.

With the competition in the job market ramping up, it’s now integral that businesses continue to  invest in employee wellbeing. Consider introducing wellness days, implementing wellbeing sessions, and acknowledging mental health sick days.

We’ve invested in this ourselves and offer our employees a paid for subscription to the mindfulness,  Headspace app. We also encourage wellbeing sessions, such as Chair Yoga and we organise team walks so we can treat the wider team to an afternoon off, where we can all spend time outside of the office and  practice some much needed relaxation. The conversation around wellbeing is not going anywhere and those that retain and attract the best talent will be the businesses spearheading the discussion.

The great resignation will rumble on this year and resilient businesses will be those that identify the need to boost their employee benefits, reward and recognition and wellbeing initiatives –  and be bold with what they offer employees in 2022.

The businesses that adapt successfully and put employees at their core will really shine and be in a unique position to retain and attract some of the best talent out there.