Creating Remote Employee Benefits that Tech Teams Love

No commute, flexibility, better work-life-balance.  Working from home has many perks for team members. And, on the employer side, remote work is paving the way for companies to form meaningful bonds with employees by providing remote benefit packages that can make a true difference in a team member’s quality of life. Enter the world of remote employee benefits.

To better understand this new landscape this year and see how employers are adapting, we launched our 2020 remote leadership report. We learned that nearly 29% of surveyed leaders lack a plan for replacing traditional in-office benefits or perks for remote employees, such as offering home office equipment stipends or expensed meals.

We also found that between HR and engineering leaders, there’s a divide in perspectives about certain remote benefits—like whether employers should subsidize housing for remote team members. It turns out that 21% of engineering leaders are in favor of employers paying a portion of rent/mortgage, compared to only 9% among HR leaders.

Though remote benefits are a new concept for the industry, it’s an area loaded with opportunities to provide value to employees, and in doing so, boost engagement, retention, and company affinity. 

When a company takes steps to provide remote benefits that positively impact team members on the day-to-day, it shows that the company prioritizes employee health and simultaneously creates new channels for team member connection, for example, through free online fitness classes.

As your company assesses how to build out a strategic remote employee benefits package, consider these essential categories, and make sure to cover the areas that are most important to your specific team member needs.

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1. Health & Wellness

While remote work can improve work-life balance, it can also lead to feelings of isolation and burnout, especially during our current pandemic. Health and wellness benefits rank among the most important for employees and a company should assess multiple benefits options that support mental and physical health.

Consider offering:

• Online gym subscription (i.e. Barry’s at home and Classpass.) 
• Virtual mental health counseling packages
• Home gym equipment delivery 
• Meditation app subscription (Calm, Headspace,  Insight Timer)  
• HR sponsored financial planning virtual seminars

2. Home office, technology, productivity tools 

Annual budgets for setting up a productivity-enhancing home office has never been so important to employees as it is now. Show your remote employees you care about their work happiness and ability to focus, and that you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is.

Consider offering:

• Home office ergonomic setup (Desk, chair, computer stand)
• Budget for productivity tools (printer, noise canceling headphones, scanner)
• Budget for basic office supplies 
• Subsidies for high speed internet

3. Home services, rent, childcare

Many tech employees who previously commuted into large campuses are used to having perks provided to them, such as daily lunches or even in-office childcare. Offering remote employee benefits in these areas will help keep employees focused during “office hours” and ease additional stressors of figuring out added WFH logistics.

Consider offering:

• Coverage for a portion of employee rent
• Daycare stipend to help for working parents
• Employee-sponsored lunch delivery 
• PTO for family time

4. Remote learning + development

When it comes to setting up impactful remote L&D opportunities, companies are floundering—but that doesn’t need to be the case. There are many ways companies can empower team members with creative L&D offerings that also provide a “choose your own adventure” approach.

Consider offering:

• Annual budget for remote conferences 
• Master Class, Udemy, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning subscription 
• Amazon gift cards for skill-related books 
• Annual budget for L&D programs of employee choice (online certifications and courses, etc)
• Quarterly PTO day for professional development

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to building remote benefits packages, it’s critical to take action now to build remote benefits that support your employees at-home success, and before this becomes a challenge. As you seek to build competitive remote benefit packages, contact us at Terminal anytime to discuss remote teams strategies for your business.