For entrepreneurs and HR managers, it has become increasingly clear in recent years: just a good salary is not enough to find new employees and keep them in the company. Millennials and Generation X in particular place a higher value on other benefits that an employer should offer them in order to become and remain attractive. 

What motivates employees - a development from the turn of the millennium to today

Until a few years ago, employers were still expecting new employees to be well-trained professionals, to have professional experience, ideally to be childless, and to be infinitely motivated and able to work under pressure. But the wind has changed in this respect, in many occupational groups there are now more vacancies than suitable people to fill them. For this reason, employers now must come up with new ways to find and retain good employees. Salary has long played a subordinate role in this. 
According to a survey by Bitkom, employees today primarily want the opportunity for self-realisation in their jobs and, along with that, a better balance between private life and work. At the same time, a social responsibility of employers is demanded.  
In addition, almost all participants in the survey say that women and men should be paid identically for the same position. Furthermore, the company should represent values that the respondents themselves can stand behind. Equally important to employees is the freedom to organise their own working hours, flat hierarchies and the meaningful content of their work. 
You can get a detailed overview of popular ways to motivate your employees, inspire them for your company and keep them on the job directly in the following article. 

Competing for the attention of the best employees: 
5 tips for ideal "fringe benefits"

Employers can only win the race for the best talents and their loyalty to the company with suitable measures. In addition to measures such as flexible working hours, home office and flat hierarchies, this also involves benefits or perks that can help to win over new employees and retain existing staff.

Companies that offer these benefits in addition to competitive salaries benefit from increased productivity among employees. In turn, they feel more value for themselves and their work because they are not only paid a monthly salary, but their performance is also seen and rewarded with additional benefits.

These so-called "fringe benefits" are additional benefits and non-monetary rewards that are not part of salaries, bonuses or any cash compensation.

Fringe Benefits Tip 1:
Stay flexible and give employees the option to work from home

The option to flexibly switch to a home office should not be limited to employees being allowed to work from home twice a year with their private laptops and obliged to go through complicated approval loops. Home office as a real benefit is about receiving correspondingly valuable technical equipment. Companies should not expect their employees to use their private devices for work at home, to use their own printer and the ink in it, and to have to submit complicated applications to their boss and team in advance to even be able to work from home. The point here is to provide each employee (if the job allows it) with suitable, high-quality devices to work on the same level at home as in the office. And to make it possible to switch to the home office spontaneously and unbureaucratically. Only in this way will home office actually become a real advantage and not a graciously tolerated emergency tool in everyday working life.

Fringe Benefits Tip 2:
Increase the well-being factor through health and wellbeing classes

While sitting for long periods in office jobs strains the spine, other jobs involve a lot of standing or walking. Certainly, the psychological strain is different in every job and varies from person to person. But it is practically a fact that every person enjoys it when their employer gives them the opportunity to do something good for themselves, physically and mentally, free of charge.

This can be a weekly sports lesson (such as yoga, kickboxing, dancing, etc.) financed by the employer, a physiotherapist who regularly comes to the office or the possibility of a conversation with a psychologist to whom one can anonymously confide private and professional conflicts. Free membership in a gym is also a welcome employee benefit.

Fringe Benefits Tip 3:
Benefits for retirement savings

Even at a young age, you should start thinking about your pension. Since this is often not yet an issue that is on top of mind for many employees at a young age, it is a great additional benefit if the employer takes matters of pension into their own hands. For this purpose, it is advisable to compare possible insurances for private pension insurance and old-age provision, or to bring independent advisors into the company to provide this advice directly. With a monthly allowance and the right plan, employees can do something for their future and pension in this way, and the employer conveys a feeling of security.

Fringe Benefits Tip 4:
Offer development and training opportunities

Regardless of the industry: further training is the be-all and end-all for staying fit on the job and keeping up with the times. However, training is often expensive and takes place during regular working hours. Employers can gain points here by regularly talking to employees about their goals and personal development wishes and creating a joint training plan. This can include paying for the costs of an appropriate course and also paid time off from regular work during the period of their training.

This way you show that your employees are important to you and that you are interested in their development as well as a long-term commitment with them.

Fringe Benefits Tip 5:
Enable sabbaticals and unpaid holidays

Life is becoming more and more stressful. For this reason, professionals are keen to take extended time off after a certain number of years in the same workplace. After all, not everyone had the opportunity to travel through a foreign country for a year after leaving school. When employees ask their boss to allow them to take a sabbatical (which can last from a few weeks to a few months), this may sound like a problem for employers at first. Logically, the question arises: who is going to take on the tasks of the employee on sabbatical in the meantime?

But it is much more important to remember that a person who needs a break and does not get it will sooner or later either get sick or quit.

With a sabbatical, this is prevented, and employers show their utmost loyalty to their employees.

Becoming and remaining interesting as an employer - our conclusion

There are many ways to receive more attention of (potential) employees as an employer. It is always important to remain authentic and interested to be able to respond to individual wishes. Of course, fringe benefits serve the purpose of employee retention. But they should also strengthen the personal relationship between employers and their employees. This is only possible through good communication and conversations at eye level.