The 10 Best Employee Benefits to Attract and Retain Talent

A solid salary might be what convinces a prospect to sign an employment contract. But the reality is that compensation alone rarely defines today’s employee experience. 

That shift has made selecting the best employee benefits one of the most important—and most revealing—decisions a company can make.

The baseline has also moved. Health insurance and retirement plans still matter as benefits, but they’re so common that they’ve become expected. What’s drawing people in and keeping them engaged are the comprehensive packages that cover well-being, financial support, and more.

Types of benefits to offer employees

So, what does a strong benefits package include?

Health and wellness benefits

A benefits package that actively supports well-being is good for both employees and the business. When people feel physically and mentally supported at work, everything else tends to follow.

Here’s what those benefits should cover in practice.

1. Mental health and emotional well-being

Although mental health support is part of healthcare benefits, having access to adequate resources is a reasonable and essential expectation. Companies that take mental health initiatives seriously are already seeing the impact on culture and employee retention. In fact, research by Metlife found that, of the portion of respondents considering leaving their jobs, 39% would stay if their employees better catered to mental health in the workplace.

Strong employee benefits examples typically include access to employee assistance programs (EAPs), therapy apps, mindfulness tools, and mental health workshops. For remote and hybrid teams, virtual community-building spaces that reduce isolation are becoming increasingly important.

When employees know you take their mental health seriously, trust increases—and the company culture reflects it.

2. Physical well-being 

In hybrid and remote-first workplaces, maintaining employees’ physical well-being has become a core part of company benefits design, and it goes beyond the desk setup.

Gym memberships, fitness subsidies, and wellness stipends help employees stay active and feel their best outside of work hours. For onsite teams, access to fitness facilities or wellness classes serve a similar purpose. When people feel physically well, they show up more energized and resilient.

3. Wellness and lifestyle support

Wellness stipends and lifestyle subsidies are becoming common work perks among companies competing for talent. These unique employee benefits can tip the balance when applicants compare offers. That might look like the mental and physical benefits listed above, but could also include transit reimbursement, childcare budgets, or home Internet stipends.

Professional growth and work-life balance

People evaluate roles based on how much control they have over their time and how invested the company is in their growth. That’s where these professional workplace benefits come in.

4. Flexible and asynchronous work models

Flexibility has become one of the most competitive differentiators in the talent market among companies with the best benefits.

Asynchronous work options, remote-first policies, and hybrid models give employees more control over how they structure their time. These flexible work options improve work-life balance, which can have a meaningful impact on both well-being and performance.

5. WFH stipends

Working from home (WFH) is effective when people have what they need to do it properly.

WFH stipends that cover home office equipment and internet connectivity are essential employee benefits ideas for distributed teams, especially for fully remote employees who spend every workday in their home environment. Monitors, comfortable chairs, footrests, and other ergonomic devices can all improve the WFH experience.

These stipends signal that the company sees distributed work as worth investing in.

6. Career development and growth support

Learning and development budgets, certifications, and mentorship programs all contribute to stronger employee benefits packages. These development opportunities improve engagement and reduce turnover by giving employees a clear path to grow within the organization.

7. Time off and leave policies

Time away from work makes sustained performance possible.

Modern company benefits now go beyond standard paid time off (PTO) to include paid parental leave and volunteer time off. These policies reflect an approach to work that recognizes employees have different needs and supports them accordingly.

Financial and retirement benefits

Financial stress is one of the most persistent drivers of disengagement at work. That’s why financial support is a defining feature of the best employee benefits packages.

8. Retirement and long-term savings

Retirement benefits are still among the most consistently valued popular employee benefits across industries.

Programs like 401(k) matching, pension contributions, and other long-term savings plans signal commitment from employers. For employees, they provide financial security. For companies, they reinforce stability and help attract experienced talent in competitive markets.

9. Financial well-being and family support

Financial stress doesn't always stay at home. It follows people into work and quietly chips away at performance over time.

Benefits like student loan repayment assistance, childcare support, caregiving resources, and financial wellness tools help ease that pressure. Companies that acknowledge these in their benefits design have the potential to build deeper loyalty than those that don’t.

10. Employee recognition and referral rewards

Recognition is one of the most underestimated retention tools available and one of the cheapest to get right.

Structured employee recognition programs reinforce a culture where contributions are seen and valued. When recognition is consistent and specific, it improves engagement and supports long-term employee retention.

How to create a competitive employee benefits package

The top employee benefits strategies focus on relevance, flexibility, and long-term value. Here’s how to approach it.

Start with what employees need

Before deciding what to offer, find out what matters to your employees. Surveys and employee feedback often tell you more than instinct ever will.

Needs also vary more than many employers expect. A 28-year-old in a major city may prioritize flexible work, wellness programs, or student loan repayment, while a 45-year-old with dependents may value childcare assistance and retirement planning.

Personalize where you can

A single package designed for everyone often ends up fully resonating with no one. That’s why more employee perk programs are moving toward flexibility. Instead of deciding what matters for all employees, give them room to choose.

A wellness stipend of $2,000, for example, doesn't have to be prescriptive. One employee might put it toward therapy and mental health support; another early in their career might use it for learning and development. It’s the same budget with a very different impact.

Benchmark against your market

It’s important to know what other companies in your industry offer, helping you understand the landscape and expectations of employees. 

The goal is clarity. Some benefits will be baseline expectations (like health coverage or PTO), while others (like remote work support or financial wellness tools) can set you apart. Strong HR leaders use global benefits benchmarking to decide where to match the market and where to differentiate their company benefits strategy.

Review and evolve regularly

A benefits package isn’t something you set up once and forget. What felt competitive a couple of years ago might feel outdated today.

Checking in regularly helps you spot what’s working, what’s underused, and what might need to change. Sometimes, it’s a communication issue because employees don’t know the benefits are available to them. Other times, it’s just that employees’ needs have shifted. Either way, consistent review keeps your employee benefits package competitive.

Benefits of adding unique employee perks for global teams

The more relevant your employee benefits packages are across regions, the easier it becomes to attract and keep great talent.

Here’s what changes when you do:

• Stronger talent attraction: When benefits reflect local realities, your offer stands out. Benefits like childcare support and wellness programs can be the difference between someone choosing you or a competitor.
• Improved employee retention: According to MetLife, employees who feel genuinely cared for by their employer are approximately 1.3 times more likely to stay. When benefits feel relevant to employees’ actual lives, that sense of being seen builds loyalty in a way generic packages rarely do.
• Better employee experience and engagement: Supportive benefits change how people experience work. Mental health resources and flexible schedules help employees feel less stretched and more supported. These employee perks reduce burnout and improve how people show up every day.
• Greater alignment with local expectations: Operating globally means navigating different layers of benefits obligations. Legally, every country has its own mandatory requirements, from statutory healthcare and minimum leave entitlements to social security contributions. Getting these right is non-negotiable. Culturally, what employees value is often beyond the legal minimum. When employee benefits are adapted to those realities, they become more relevant.

Grow your business with confidence with Pebl

Regardless of where you operate, administering benefits packages successfully is a major task for HR teams. Add in distributed teams or global expansion, and you have dozens of to-dos to juggle. 

But benefits selection across multiple countries doesn’t need to be one of the things keeping your HR team up at night.

Pebl's global benefits manager helps companies stay ahead of country-specific requirements, while layering in competitive perks that attract and retain the right people in every market. The result is a benefits strategy that’s locally relevant to employees and manageable at scale for the teams running it.

Ready to build a benefits experience that scales with you? Contact Pebl today to get started.