Innovative benefit practices are what are referred to as discretionary benefits, or benefits that a company offers on their own, not out of obligation (Martocchio, 2020), and they are becoming more and more common in businesses and organizations. They are becoming more common because they are an attractive incentive for employees to apply and remain with an organization. While it used to be the pay that drew in and motivated the employees to stay, now it has been shown that employees are influenced by other employment benefits (de la Torre-Ruiz, 2019). These days the employee is looking for where they can get the most, a high total reward value which includes innovative benefits (Laundon et al, 2019).
According to Indeed.com the best place to work that has the most innovative benefits is Costco Wholesale. Along with their excellent pay they also offer a 401k retirement plan, paid vacation and awesome management (Indeed.com). Not only do they have starting pay higher than most of their competitors they offer a great work culture and atmosphere that keep employees happy and staying (Indeed.com). I can tell you from my experience working in both a great working atmosphere and a horrible working atmosphere that having great management and culture is one of the most valuable benefits a company can offer, and it has nothing to do with compensation. It is one of the innovative benefits that’s often get overlooked because it does not seem to offer anything tangible that can be shown, but it is so important. Who your management is, how they treat you, and the environment they create can not only affect your job performance but also how you feel about your work and self, overall. While it cannot be measured the impact is major.
Another great innovative benefit that I have also used consistently at my company is tuition reimbursement or tuition assistance. This is being offered by many companies, one of them being Verizon (Indeed.com). This is one of the best and monetarily the biggest discretionary or innovative benefits that can be offered. Companies are helping employees return to or finish their secondary education. Not only does it help the employee accomplish their accident goals but helps them to do it with as little debt as possible because they are paying for the courses. Student loans, as with many other Americans, are a huge hassle and thorn in my side. I was overjoyed when I found out that my company offered this benefit and that I could go back to school and finish. One of the reasons I had to stop was because I was racking up way too much debt, but it is because of this benefit that I was able to graduate with my bachelor’s in business last year. And although I have it, I have not been in any great hurry to leave my company because it offers such great benefits. I think that is also one of the reasons companies have gone to the great lengths they have to offer the greatest benefits they can: just the fact that the company would invest in the employee like that, makes them feel valued and want to stay and perform well. At least I know that was the case for me. Psalm 19:14 states “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”(NIV, Biblegateway.com). Just as King David was appreciative of the Lord for being his Rock and Redeemer, he wanted to please God, employees usually want to please and do well for the company that gives them so much.
References
de la Torre-Ruiz, José M., Vidal-Salazar, M. D., & Cordón-Pozo, E. (2019). Employees are satisfied with their benefits, but so what? the consequences of benefit satisfaction on employees' organizational commitment and turnover intentions. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(13), 2097-2120.
Indeed Career Website. . Retrieved on 06/15/2023
Laundon, M., Cathcart, A., & McDonald, P. (2019). Just benefits? employee benefits and organisational justice. Employee Relations, 41(4), 708-723.
Martocchio, J. J. (2020). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson ISBN: 9780135175910
New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com.
