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Millennials want benefits that help them achieve greater health and financial security, an immediate and tangible impact to their bottom line.
 
 

An average millennial college graduate is saddled with about $35,000 in student loans. 

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TBRNews:                          The Soft Side: Part 2 of 3



January, 2017






The Soft Side of Benefits, part 2 of our 3-part series describing what employees are looking for in today's benefits: the hard, the soft, and the return on investment.
 
So-called soft skills - such as collaboration, empathy and communication - have become increasingly important in the workplace. A broad range of volunteer efforts can provide opportunities to help cultivate these abilities.
 
Competition for talent is tough, companies need to always be thinking of ways to make employees happy.
 
Employers have to work hard to encourage employees to stay because 1 in 4 employees would have no qualms about quitting a job within a year if a new opportunity came up. It increases to 44% when the time frame is expanded to 2 years.

Everyone Benefits from Giving
Encouraging employees to make a difference can make all the difference to your business.
 
Corporate volunteer initiatives are becoming a powerful recruitment and retention tool. They are an option to help employees find meaning and purpose at work, one that extends beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.
  • 88% of HR executives say volunteerism has a positive impact on an organization's reputation.
  • 65% believe that employees benefit from sharper skills developed through volunteer opportunities.
  • 70% of Millennial employees spent at least an hour volunteering in 2014, and 37% devoted up to 10 hours.
  • Younger workers are motivated by jobs they find meaningful and Millennials are slated to make up 50% of the workforce by 2020.
The biggest question is how to design a benefits package to meet employees' hardcore benefit needs - health and retirement - and the soft benefits like corporate citizenship and volunteering.
 
The key to finding the right program lies in understanding your company's culture and creating an initiative that will be rewarding to those who participate.


Corporate Volunteers
Many companies give employees paid leave to volunteer at a charity of their choosing or paid hours off for group volunteer projects.
 
For many employees, the group option is more popular. According to the 2015 Millennial Impact Report, 77% of those surveyed prefer volunteering with colleagues rather than working on independent service projects.
 
What's the right approach for your company?
If your Goal is to....
 Consider...
Foster camaraderie & boost morale
 A group outing that requires teamwork
Value employees' individuality
 Paid time off to pursue their passions
Boost employees' professional skills
 Arrange for employees to offer their skills pro bono
Maximize your impact
 Targeting the nonprofits that could benefit
Offer noncommittal options
 Employees using smart-phones/computers to tutor a student via Skype or translate a blog into Spanish

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This update is a publication of TBR Associates, designed to highlight employee benefit matters of interest to our readers.  The information contained in this publication is meant for general educational purposes only.