For recruiters seeking to attract talent in what has been a historically tight labor market, the old adage “money talks” holds true. Compensation is consistently cited as one of the top factors employees consider when they decide whether to take a job, and offering competitive wages is one way HR teams seek to attract or retain employees with rising salary expectations. Even as the labor market cools overall, employers that are continuing to hire may lean on wages to snap up talent.
But money isn’t the only thing that talks, according to a recent analysis of job postings from Indeed’s Hiring Lab. In some industries, benefits can send a powerful message, too.
Some 59% of US job postings advertised at least one employer-provided benefit as of May, according to the analysis, up from less than 40% in early 2020. Employers in sectors with lower wages and lower rates of remote work were the most likely to advertise benefits, suggesting they see them as a particularly strong recruitment tool, Allison Shrivastava, associate economist with Hiring Lab, told HR Brew.
The sectors where benefits stand out. The most common benefits mentioned in Indeed job postings as of May were medical and insurance (45%), followed by retirement (37%), and paid time-off (34%). Employers in industries where benefits like healthcare and retirement are the norm were less likely to advertise these perks in their job postings, Shrivastava said: “If you work in, say, science, tech, education…you won’t really necessarily find postings for your run-of-the-mill benefits like your retirement, health insurance, paid time-off.”
Low-wage sectors, however, are less likely to offer such benefits, and more likely to advertise them than middle- or high-wage sectors, she said. The calculation among recruiters in these industries is that, “If you’re looking for a job in a sector where a benefit isn’t necessarily a given…seeing in a job posting that they have health, that they have paid time-off, all of that would really catch your eye,” she said.
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HR pros recruiting candidates for in-person roles appear to have made a similar calculation, as nearly two-thirds of job postings for roles in “low-remote” sectors such as food preparation or pharmacies advertised at least one benefit as of May, higher than the “middle-remote” (59%) or “high-remote” (56%) categories.
A growing trend for gig workers. The gig economy offers one example of how this trend is playing out, as some companies tout certain benefits for workers who don’t typically receive such perks through their jobs.
In April, DoorDash announced it was piloting a savings program with Stride Health, matching funds that can be used toward expenses such as healthcare, retirement savings, or paid time-off—all benefits that aren’t otherwise extended to DoorDash drivers. Robinhood, the financial services company, has partnered with Gopuff, Grubhub, and Taskrabbit on a retirement savings program for independent workers employed through these platforms.
HR leaders in the restaurant space are starting to see more value in benefits as well, with some offering 401(k) accounts to their staff, HR Brew reported in January. In an industry that experiences high turnover, Kim Lewandowski, HR director of Won’t Stop Hospitality, told us her company hopes their retirement benefit will encourage employees to build their career at the restaurant group.
While advertising benefits might help employers attract talent, keep in mind perks are just one lever for engaging workers once they accept a job. A recent report from Right Management, an outplacement and career management firm, found company culture alignment, career investment, and professional development all play a bigger role driving employee engagement than compensation and benefits do.