When a person looks for a job, the first thing that pops in their heads has to do with what kind of benefits the company offers on employment. Even though some of them may seem like small details when comparing them to the importance of the salary, these can make a huge difference in the long run, when you start to make good use of them. Employment benefits are decided by each company in particular. These benefits can differ from one company to another and they entirely depend on how much money an employer is able to spend for each of his employees. There is no standard list of employment benefits that you should know about. One of the few employment benefits that are highly valued and appreciated by employees is represented by parking.
Multiple HR studies have shown that people who look for a job usually look for those where employment benefits are numerous. Parking seems to be a critical term in this sense because it is very convenient for all the employees of the firm. Some employers consider it an amenity in certain countries, while in other states free parking spaces are considered employment benefits. The final question is – should employees consider parking a condition when they look for a job? There are numerous aspects that may alter this decision and getting informed about them can determine whether a company obtains a valuable candidate or not.
The parking policy in your area
Allocating parking spots is up to each company in particular. Every business establishes a policy referring to the employment benefits they give. Parking is one of the benefits that is highly valued in the field, but other benefits take its to place in many cases. For instance, companies prefer offering private medical services in order to attract employees instead of private parking. Establishing a contract with a medical clinic is more comfortable for a company rather than investing a lot of money in a private parking lot. Some companies provide employees with office parking by renting a limited number of spots on a private lot, somewhere very close to the headquarters of the company. The parking policy of a company is based on two important factors: the procedure for allocating parking space (how many, to whom) and preserving the offered parking spot through setting rules. Parking spaces should be allocated on a priority basis.
The first category of people who should benefit from office parking is represented by permanently/temporarily disabled employees. The second category is represented by pregnant women who are still showing up to work. Night-shift workers and volunteers should also be on the priority list. The remaining parking spaces can be attributed for the rest of the full-time employees of the company. The larger the number of parking spots provided, the more people will take advantage of this employment benefit. Of course, the ideal situation is to provide private parking spots to all employees, without setting any conditions.
Benefit programs – the psychological impact
When companies offer an extensive set of employment benefits, they encourage employee engagement. By giving employees all the features that they need during their work hours, companies promote a productive ambiance at work. A person who doesn’t have to stress over finding a parking spot each morning will be in a better mood throughout the day. Coming up with thorough benefit programs is the one detail that turns a potential candidate into a future loyal employee. Benefit programs usually attract commuters who struggle with the time they waste on the road and looking for near-by parking spaces.
It is paramount to understand that offering parking spots for all employees lead to a decrease in how late they are to work. If the company is situated in a location where traffic is an issue, forcing the employees to use public transportation because no parking spots are available in the area means that you need to be understanding regarding the delays that may occur on the roads, which makes employees being late a situation that must be overlooked.
Checking the competition
When looking for a job, a person will accept multiple interviews. The fact that he is going to find out the benefit packages for each of these jobs, in particular, creates a sense of competition between companies. If the issued job opening is very important and the potential employee will hold a great role in the company, the one with the best benefit program will win, especially if the salaries are very similar. Even though one company may be offering a higher salary compared to another, the benefit program of the latter one might be the differentiating factor when the employee decides.
Benefit programs have to be attractive and complex so that they are worthy of attention when the candidate checks out the offer of each job position. Thus, companies can encounter wins and losses based on how much interest and resources they invest in their benefit programs. A valuable candidate should be welcomed with the appropriate benefit program in order to convince him to choose your business over others.
Negotiating terms
In some cases, employment benefits can be offered in exchange for salary sacrifice arrangements. Companies that can’t afford to build a private parking lot right in the perimeter of the company can find the closest private parking lot and pay for a specific number of spots monthly or annually. Paying for these spots is usually done by negotiating terms with the employees. They can pay half the price of the parking spot, only by getting hired at the respective company. This depends on the offers that the company can receive from the respective parking spot. Anyway, the main idea of negotiating terms is that employees can obtain substantial discounts only as members of the company. The same goes for other sorts of benefits such as meal discounts. In other cases, parking is offered as a standalone benefit, which is not limited through salary sacrifice arrangements.
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