Why (and How) to Offer a Compelling Total Compensation Package

When hiring, you want to attract the best talent to fill your open positions. This can be even more challenging amidst a competitive job market and in cases where qualified candidates have multiple job offers. By offering an appealing total compensation package, you can differentiate your job offer and more easily convince great talent to join your team.

What Is Total Compensation?

You may wonder, what is “total compensation” and how does it differ from salary? When searching for a job, many candidates tend to focus only on the pay. However, that’s not the whole picture. A total compensation package includes salary, plus all the other perks and benefits the employee will gain by working for you. Everything has a value — it just needs to be explained.

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What to Include in the Compensation Package to Attract Top Talent

Aside from the salary, there are several perks you can include in the compensation package to make it more attractive to prospective employees. Total compensation packages may vary from company to company, but things they could include are:

• Medical insurance
• Paid vacation
• Paid sick time
• Bonuses based on performance
• 401(k) and retirement contributions
• Life insurance
• Wellness spending account
• Tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities
• Reimbursements for parking, home office equipment, etc.

If you can offer several of these employee benefits, then you’ll be on your way to building a compelling compensation package.

Communicating the Compensation Package to Job Seekers

It’s crucial that employees and job seekers understand the value of the compensation package so that they don’t look just at the salary. For example, if health insurance is one of the employee benefits, determine its total annual cost (how much of the premium do you pay?) and show the dollar amount when offering the job. Do the same for any bonuses, retirement contributions, and so on.

At the end of the offer, add all the figures up and show the total compensation package. You may have to estimate some figures, such as performance bonuses.

Employer Benefits of an Alluring Compensation Package

When job seekers compare two or three offers, they can visually see the total value they are earning by working for your company. By adding the extra perks with a dollar amount attached, employees will see that they are making more than they think. For example, if you didn’t offer medical insurance, they would have to pay for it out of pocket. This would be an expense they won’t have due to the generous compensation package.

Additionally, a total compensation package can make up for shortcomings in salaries when needed and help convince candidates to accept job offers, simplifying the hiring process. If a person only looks at the salary versus total compensation, you might lose a good potential employee. So, be sure to show them the entire package and its value.

Finally, providing a valuable compensation package will enhance your employer brand. Offering additional perks beyond salary shows that you care about your employees’ wellbeing and professional and personal growth. This sets you apart from the competition as a great place to work – recruiting and retaining employees even easier.