For in-house counsel, and employees across the legal industry, while competitive pay is important, some benefits, like telecommute, flextime, and a solid vacation policy, can make all the difference when it comes to retaining top talent.
Perhaps two of the biggest ways companies can give employees more without shelling out more money involves creating a culture employees want to be a part of, and respecting the time of their most coveted, and hard to replace, talent.
Culture Matters for Employees
Pay is really important, but a good work community is priceless.
When a company's culture encourages good relationships between employees, and doesn't simply use "culture fit" as a pretext for discrimination, employees will be motivated to see and help each other, and the business, succeed. Additionally, when employees feel like they are working with people whom they enjoy being around, it becomes much more difficult for them to leave, even if the experience they gained working for your company could command a higher salary elsewhere.
Feeling like a member of a team may not have monetary value, but it is something that people do value highly, and leads to higher job satisfaction.
Respect Employee Time
Flex time and telecommute used to be perks, but given how connected technology has made us these days, top talent expect to be allowed to utilize one or the other or both. For companies, it's almost nonsensical not to allow both as flexibility is one of the most important aspects for employees that are looking to stay with an employer long-term.
For employers, it may be difficult to trust that employees are getting their work done when they work outside the office, however, trusting employees leads to more confident employees which leads to more productive employees. Also, it can sometimes be easy to forget that encouraging telecommuting could even cut down on overhead expenses around the office.
Related Resources:
- Want to Keep Your Associates? Give Them a Raise (FindLaw's Strategist)
- In House on the Beach: 3 Vacation Tips for Working Stiffs (FindLaw's In House)
- Sleeping on the Job May Be a Good Thing (FindLaw's In House)