4 Reasons Why You Should Also Provide Stipends To Your Employees

benefits employee stipends

One of the challenges of companies today is retaining quality employees. With all the options and opportunities available nowadays, organizations have to step up their game to prevent top employees from packing their bags. 

Attracting quality employees can be challenging, but retaining them can be more difficult when you do not have good benefits, compensation, and a staff reward system. Every company has a different way of boosting employee retention, and it's not only through salary raises or a pat on the back for a job well done. Here are some ways business organizations can take care of their staff, reducing employee turnover in the process: 

• Offer Competitive Salary:  Monetary compensation may encourage employees to stay with the company. A salary below the average of industry standards will likely push your staff to look for better opportunities elsewhere. 

• Give Room To Grow:  Employees that feel stifled will try to look for other organizations that allow them to grow and succeed. Allowing employees to take on bigger roles or responsibilities demonstrate your trust and confidence in them. 

• Provide Perks And Benefits:  Companies can offer various kinds of stipends to suit the workers' needs. A monthly lunch stipend, for example, is a good way to appreciate employees for their work while augmenting their income at the same time. 

Frequent employee turnovers will hurt the bottom line of the organization. Aside from the expenses of hiring and training a new employee, other staff may also be negatively affected by taking on the excess duties of the resigned employee. It also creates trust issues and may promote insecurity among the staff. Happy, satisfied workers perform better at work and will likely stay with the organization for many years. 

Different people have different views when it comes to job satisfaction. Some employees are happy with receiving reasonable wages and standard benefits; others look for other perks like monthly or yearly stipends. A stipend is an amount given to employees to offset costs or provide financial support. These allowances were usually given to interns or trainees, but organizations have learned to use this perk to attract highly-qualified team members and retain them. 

Reasons Employees Should Be Given Stipends 

Stipends may be given as a lump sum, or it may be given weekly, monthly, or yearly. The amount is predetermined, and employees may need to meet certain requirements to avail of the benefit. Traditionally, companies provided stipends for their employees to encourage them to improve their job-related skills. However, there are more companies realizing the benefits of providing non-professional related stipends to their staff. These are the reasons why you should provide your employees with stipends: 

1. Encourage Employees To Learn Something New 

Education-related stipends are not entirely new since companies have granted employees additional funding to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge. But while traditional companies may encourage their staff to go for professional training programs, modern or progressive organizations may offer learning stipends for non-job-related programs. 

Providing your staff with learning stipends for professional and personal development mean only one thing: you care about their continuous improvement. Stipend management platform developer Hoppier provides a $5,000 annual learning budget for their employees' career advancement. Basehand and Webflow, on the other hand, offer a yearly stipend of $1,000 for their staff's continuous learning. Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences provide their staff a whopping $5,250 to enroll at an accredited university or college. Whether it's for career development or learning a new language, a learning stipend is an excellent way to let employees know that you’re rooting for their professional and personal improvement. 

2. Help Staff Adapt To Changes 

A lot of workers have lost their source of income due to the coronavirus pandemic, while others are forced to perform their tasks and job responsibilities from home. Companies like Change.org, HashiCorp, Wooga, and Aira offer their staff a work-from-home stipend to ensure they have a comfortable WFH set up. Biopharma company Amgen, provides its staff $250 for work-from- home related equipment. Twitter provides employees $1,000 worth of supplies to work from home since the company announced that its staff are allowed to work remotely permanently. 

The possibility of working from home may not be viable for every industry. However, for companies that can allow the WFH home set up, providing monetary perks to spend on equipment and supplies shows employees that they’re working with an organization that values their employees during a health crisis. It also shows team members that they’re trusted to be allowed to perform their duties with flexibility. 

3. Promote Health And Wellness Among Your Team 

Companies like Dell, Facebook, Reddit, SpaceX, Wattpad, give generous stipends for employees to spend on health-related products and services. Taking care of your team members' health is beneficial to the employees and the organization. Fitness and wellness stipends encourage team members to take charge of their health to be happier and more productive in the workplace and outside of work. 

4. Let Employees Regain Balance 

Organizations with progressive outlooks know that offering a flexible vacation policy and a vacation stipend is one way to keep employees happy. Employees who embark on regular vacations are less likely to experience burnout. Companies should encourage their staff to take time off work to disconnect from the stresses and demands of work and everyday life. Regular breaks from work together with a reasonable vacation stipend help your employees achieve work-life balance. A vacation or travel subsidy will likely turn your hardworking staff into loyal and satisfied employees. 

Employee Stipend Takeaway 

Retaining top talent is challenging, but companies can look at new ways to motivate employees to stay with the organization. You can’t make a good employee stay by simply offering a sizable salary or an open-ended stipend. It’s crucial to look at the different ways you can make your staff appreciated, both in monetary and non-monetary ways. An employee satisfied with their salary and benefits now may eventually move to a new company with higher pay or better perks. Give your employees a reason to stay by appreciating their contributions to the company. You should also encourage them to enjoy their life outside of work with the people they love.

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