by Jennifer Durrant, publisher of Sourced Media Books
In this competitive job market, some companies turn to generous benefits packages as a way to attract and retain valued employees. And, in many cases, it’s doing the job. In a recent survey of 2,000 U.S. workers, 88 percent of those surveyed would consider accepting a lower paying job with a generous benefits package over a high paying job that lacked things like vacation leave or a robust health benefits package.
Based on this survey, the most desired benefit is health insurance. “After health insurance, employees place the highest value on benefits that are relatively low-cost to employers, such as flexible hours, more paid vacation time, and work-from-home options,” says Kerry Jones, whose company, Fractl, conducted the survey. “Furthermore, we found that certain benefits can win over some job seekers faced with higher-paying offers that come with fewer additional advantages.”
But not all offers are alike. We compared seven of the industry’s highest-rated consulting agencies on Glassdoor to see how each company ranked in health insurance, flexible hours, PTO, vacation, and sick leave packages.
Health insurance.
All seven companies researched offer a comprehensive health insurance package offering coverage for medical, vision, dental, and prescription. In addition, two companies offer medical flex plans and HSA programs. Simplus will match HSA contributions up to $1,000 for family and $500 for single plans. PwC does not match HSA contributions, but it does offer a $5,000 flex plan.
Flexible hours.
In terms of offering flexible shifts, compressed hours, telecommuting, or a remote option, all seven companies offer flexibility based on the department. It’s interesting to note that it’s not just the policy that influences flexibility. Rather, it’s the work culture. For example, one Glassdoor reviewer said that employees who utilized the work from home option with his former employer were frowned upon by management for not contributing more to the workplace. So, along with offering flexibility, the company that most encourages innovative work arrangements within the work culture is Simplus.
Simplus: Flexible shifts, work from home option.
Deloitte: Workplace flexibility.
PwC: Flexible shifts and work from home options are based on department.
EY: Flexible shifts and work from home options are based on department
KPMG: Flexible shifts and work from home options are based on department
McKinsey & Company: Flexible shifts and work from home options are based on department
Boston Consulting Group: Flexible shifts and work from home options are based on department
Professional Development Reimbursement.
Although not considered a traditional part of work flexibility, offering compensation for personal and professional goals is worth mentioning since all seven companies have policies that support and enable employees to expand their skill set.
Deloitte: Pays 40 percent of salary for employee sabbatical for professional or personal development.
Simplus: Full reimbursement of costs associated with Salesforce certifications. Pay increase upon completion.
PwC: Partial-to-full reimbursement for professional certifications.
EY: Up-front reimbursement of one certification review course and exam. Offers bonus for certification.
Boston Consulting Group: After five years with firm, offers eight weeks of paid sabbatical time.
KPMG: Pays 20 percent of base pay for three months for personal development and sabbatical endeavors.
McKinsey & Company: Five to ten weeks unpaid annual personal time.
PTO/Vacation leave.
Simplus: Unlimited.
EY: Upon hire, offer 33 days of combined PTO and sick leave. Also offer ten days of personal/family care leave.
Deloitte: Offers 30 to 35 days of PTO leave, which includes sick and vacation time.
KPMG: Based on tenure, offer a range of 20 to 30 days of PTO leave.
McKinsey & Co.: Offers 25 days combined PTO and sick leave.
Boston Consulting Group: Offers three weeks PTO with more based on tenure.
PwC: After one year, offer 15 days. After two years, offer 22 days.
Sick leave.
Simplus: Unlimited.
PwC: Unlimited.
Boston Consulting Group: Unlimited.
Deloitte: Offers 30 to 35 days of combined sick, PTO, and vacation leave.
EY: Upon hire, offer 33 days of combined PTO and sick leave. Also offer ten days of personal/family care leave.
KPMG: Based on tenure, offers 20 to 30 days of combined sick, PTO, and vacation leave.
McKinsey & Co.: Offers 25 days of combined PTO and sick leave.
When it comes to sick leave or personal time, the diverse options offered by these seven companies illustrates the gradual shift of companies to adopt more open leave policies. Companies like Simplus, who tout both unlimited sick and PTO leave, make up only about two percent of today’s companies who offer such benefits to employees, but who are making great strides toward positive work cultures and exploring innovative ways to redesign the workplace to better support work/life balance.
Jennifer Durrant, publisher of Sourced Media Books, is a writer, editor, and publicist with more than 20 years of experience in the book, magazine, and newspaper publishing industries. Her writing has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, Huffington Post and in daily newspapers throughout Utah and California.
