What Is an Employee Looking for When Applying to Work for You?

Here are your options. Pick one as your choice.
1. Benefits
2. Benefits
3. Benefits

And I bet you were going to say wages, wages or wages. Benefits can cost between 15-30% of wages. Take a few minutes and figure the cost of your benefits programs. Hiring a shop person or a jobsite glazier is a $20-$25 dollar per hour option, and higher if you do high-rise glazing. The more a person earns, it usually means that you are making more as well, as you can take on tougher jobs.

When a good potential employee walks in your door, you tell them your starting wage for their skill set and that you have insurances. What kind of insurances? How long before they kick in? Is this just for me or does it include my family? How much of the cost do I pay? Are there limits or deductibles? An employee may not care if their spouse is covered. But, do they get paid a cash bonus if they don’t take company insurance? (Many companies do this as a goal of having the employee on the spouse’s policy.)

Dental, vision or disability insurances?

Do you have a competitive vacation policy? Do you allow vacation to be taken in the first year of employment? (Would you work a whole year without any vacation? I didn’t think so.) How many holidays do you recognize?

Do you give the opening day of the baseball season off? Well, that is a stretch. Just wanted to make sure you are reading.

You have to offer a competitive wage, but to get and, more importantly, to retain the best employees it is the benefits that will do the trick. So you spend $7,000 or $8,000 for the top benefit package, versus $5,000 for a weak package. How much does it cost you to hire and train a new employee? Probably the equivalent of four or five months’ salary.

Now, go back to the top of this blog and select one of the three options.