An employee discount program provides team members with access to discounted products and services. These programs can include retail, wellness, travel, and voluntary benefits, such as specialized health insurance or legal services.
Discount programs allow you to easily tailor employee benefits to meet the needs of specific employee segments or individual employees without additional cost to your company. The programs can also be customized to your company's needs.
## Employee Discount Programs: Benefits of Customization
Customizing employee discount programs has many benefits for organizations and employees. Today's workforce is geographically and demographically diverse. Benefits that might satisfy and inspire loyalty in one employee may fail to influence another.
For example, Baby Boomers are nearing retirement and favor benefits that help them prepare for financial and health security in retirement. Generation X employees often feel the stress of supporting both their children and their parents and prioritize work-life balance. Employee assistance programs, [supplemental specialty insurance](https://employers.workingadvantage.com/blog-content?item_id=9e6df1d5-f1f5-4095-b8c9-9fb9c18fa4db), wellness programs, and flexible working conditions are popular with them. Millennials, on the other hand, want low-cost health care and flexible work-from-home options. Generation Z employees prioritize professional development, career advancement, and financial counseling. Each employee is unique, however, so the right benefits package for any one employee will vary even within a segment.
Offering the right mix of benefits is critically important for retaining employees. More than [40 percent of workers](https://unitedinsurance.net/publications/5-critical-statistics-about-benefits-and-employee-retention/) say they would be more loyal to a company if benefits were customized to meet their needs. Personalized discount programs are an affordable way to customize your benefits and retain your talent.
### Tailoring Employee Discount Programs to Your Company's Unique Needs
Organizations can also tailor corporate discount programs to meet their own unique needs. For example, if an organization's goal is to retain top talent by better recognizing employee efforts, it will choose a program with rewards and incentives. A rewards program can be combined with a [loyalty program](https://employers.workingadvantage.com/blog-content?item_id=05fe112b-6f00-486f-8c98-0761acd7e02a) to provide a greater incentive. Retail or brand discount programs can foster camaraderie as team members recommend their favorite products to each other. Companies that include employee wellness or work-life balance in their values statement might focus on providing the best discounts on wellness products and services or leisure time pursuits as a way of reinforcing that value.
#### Creating Customized Benefits Packages for Different Employee Groups
Companies can also use corporate discounts to customize their benefits packages for different employee groups. For example, they can develop a competition with rewards as an incentive for [the sales staff](https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/sales-competition) if they need to increase revenue. They also can offer discount programs that prioritize technology and home office setup for remote teams.
#### Employee Discount Programs: Importance of Flexibility
The key to successful discount programs is their flexibility. Companies that partner with large third-party providers can offer a range of discounts and voluntary benefits that employees can customize through their choices. Once employees have built their "perfect" benefits package, they'll be reluctant to consider changing jobs for any reason. Likewise, companies need flexible programs to evolve as their business and market conditions evolve.
#### Adapting Employee Discount Programs to Changing Business Requirements
Discount programs can be changed as the companies' needs change. Companies can easily scale these programs so that their impact increases over time. They can adapt and tie them to corporate goals. For example, if a company has a shortage of good leaders, it can prioritize and promote discounts on leadership training programs.
#### Ensuring Scalability and Longevity in Tailored Benefits Offerings
As companies grow, they can add more discounts to their programs. Companies can also monitor usage and regularly survey employees to determine satisfaction with the program and make changes based on the feedback. For example, if employees regularly use discount tickets to Disney World, the company might add discount tickets to other theme parks. If [gym memberships](https://employers.workingadvantage.com/blog-content?item_id=ef601443-4f17-4097-9001-cd67ede054cc) are popular, the company may add personal trainer discounts. Constantly monitoring the popularity of certain discounts guarantees the program will always be relevant and encourages long-term employee retention.
#### Leveraging Customization to Boost Company Culture and Employee Morale
Organizations can customize discount programs to boost employee morale. Examples include recognition and rewards programs, discounts on learning or professional development programs, and reduced prices on financial, physical, and mental well-being programs. Improved morale leads to a positive corporate culture.
Companies can also link their discount programs to the goal of building a particular company culture. For example, a company that wants to maintain teamwork in a distributed workforce would prioritize discounts that reward and promote collaboration. Companies whose culture is built around care and compassion might prioritize discounts that show they care about their employees.
## Implementing a Strategic Approach to Tailoring Employee Discount Programs
Companies can gain a competitive advantage by strategically tailoring their discount programs. By carefully customizing their programs, they
- Create space for a workforce that is geographically, culturally, and demographically diverse by providing flexible benefits.
- Improve employee engagement and retention, especially as they constantly monitor and fine-tune their programs to employee preferences.
- Tie discount programs to company values and goals and change the programs as market conditions change.
- Reinforce specific cultural values and promote a positive company culture.
Working Advantage provides a diverse array of discounts and rewards to customize to meet the needs of your company and employees. Join the more than 40,000 companies and sign up for [Working Advantage](https://www.workingadvantage.com/employer) today.
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