We know that employees don't just want to be paid more in order to do their job well and employee benefits are one of the best forms of remuneration.

Employee benefits are standard practice in big business but it's worth considering them for a smaller business too unless you want to be looking for new staff on a regular basis. Offer these and maybe your staff won't look elsewhere just for a little more pay.

What employees want is a better work and home life balance and they expect these benefits packages to offer them the same as what their employers receive. Such benefits can help your employees to derive more satisfaction from their work whilst saving both them, and you, money. As a business owner you can make large savings on National Insurance.

You may be surprised to learn as a business owner or manager that there is a huge range of employee benefits on offer for businesses of all sizes. In fact even if you only employee a few staff then there are in fact packages suitable for you.

Benefits may include:

– gym membership

– childcare vouchers

– cycle to work

– money off at retailers

– money off holidays and tickets

– mobile phones

– extra leave

If you haven't introduced these benefits then it would be wise to consider doing so as soon as you can.

The economy is showing signs of improvement and this could lead to staff looking at other positions at other firms and leaving you in the lurch.

Don't be complacent about retaining your talent – an attractive package of benefits should help to keep them on board. Deploying software solutions like RotaCloud or other similar services also make an employees working and personal life easier and consequently, they'll feel closer to your business. If you're not sure how happy your employees are, a service such as TINYpulse can give you some enlightening insights, and give you areas to focus on.

Take no action and you may not just find one talented member of staff leaving but a whole group when they find better benefits available with work elsewhere. It's much easier now than ever before to introduce and even as a smaller business you can benefit.