The unemployment rate in America right now is lower than it has been in many years. After the "Great Resignation" of 2020 and 2021, businesses are trying their hardest to attract top talent. In our Voice of the Blue-Collar Worker (VBCW) survey, we found that job seekers are looking for competitive pay rates to compete with the rising cost of living and a robust benefits package that can cover their needs.

Benefits items to consider

Meager benefits like free coffee or a lunch-and-learn once a month is not enough anymore to attract talent you need for your manufacturing business. You need to think bigger, and listen to what your employees and candidates are searching for. Think of ways you can improve their work-life balance and their overall personal lives by implementing just a few of these ideas to follow.

Health plans

Health insurance is no longer an option. When a business offers affordable health care that is easy to understand and accessible, you can support your employees' healthy future. A healthy employee is more likely to work hard, take fewer vacation days and remain loyal to your business. In many cases, the only way someone can afford health care is through their employer. Find a health care plan that offers many options like gym reimbursement or smoking cessation programs. A great plan will cover pre-existing conditions as well.

Planning for the future

If your hiring goal is to find someone who wants to grow with the company, you need to offer not only job advancement opportunities but retirement plans as well. Your employees will not be working for you until they can't anymore, so your business should show its employees that you care about their future. A 401k matching program can encourage young employees to invest in both their retirement and your business.

Life-planning benefits

Life doesn't start once you retire. Your employees are planning to build a home, a family or the life they've always dreamed of — and your benefits package should reflect that. Offering extended paid-time-off (PTO) packages gives your employees the sense that they have time and space to live a life outside of work. This also helps your teams avoid burn out so they can continue to do great work for your business.

Flextime

Similar to accumulating  PTO time, flextime allows an employee to work toward flexible work hours as long as they are able to complete their tasks. You could set up the program where after the worker has been with the company for a certain amount of time and completed a set amount of work, then they can qualify for flextime. Flextime could be anything from taking a day, a week or part of the week off to attend to certain tasks they wouldn't otherwise have time for during the work week.