Powerful perks: Creating effective perks programs

August 7, 2025

Sara Maginn Pacella

Employees are the heart of every organization. While it can be easy to get caught up in the world of budgets and numbers, it’s employees who are at the centre of organizational success. Recruiting and retaining qualified staff often mean going beyond competitive salaries and basic benefits. The bottom line is that employee perks matter to those who matter most!

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What are employee perks?

Employee perks are non-monetary incentives that employers provide. These perks are closely related to an organization’s talent retention strategy.

How are employee perks different from benefits?

Workplace benefits are non-salary-related, need-to-have items in the workplace and are comprised of both mandatory and industry-standard benefits. Canada’s legally mandated benefits include vacation time, pension contributions, parental leaves, paid time off and employment insurance. Other common workplace benefits that are not required by law include health insurance, employee assistance programs (EAPs), bonuses and flexible work schedules. These benefits are paid to help provide stability to employees beyond salary.

Employee perks, often highlighted within employee handbooks, are optional, extra employment incentives that employers can implement as they see fit. The main objective of employee perks is to create a positive day-to-day experience that motivates employees and embodies and elevates a company’s mission and corporate culture.

” Employee perks matter to those who matter most! ”

Why offer employee perks?

Investing in talent retention saves money for organizations, as it is costly to recruit and hire new talent. Talent Canada reports that: “On average, turnover costs businesses $29,234 annually in expenses like rehiring and lost productivity. For nearly one in five hiring managers (17 per cent), that number climbs to $100,000 or more each year.” Turnover can cost over $100,000 per year for larger organizations.

Providing company perks can benefit an organization through:

- Improved talent retention and acquisition;
- Increased organizational innovation;
- Reduced health care costs;
- Increased employee engagement, productivity and performance;

Stronger employee relationships and corporate culture;

Improved company brand; and

Increased employee loyalty.

Popular employee perks

Employee perks offered vary based on the size of an organization, the needs of employees and the overall perks budget. Some popular perks offered by many organizations include:

Complimentary meals or snacks;
Retirement planning assistance;
Pet-friendly offices;
Paid volunteer time;
Travel stipends;
Wellness initiatives (gym memberships, fitness classes, etc.);
Remote work perks such as fully remote or hybrid work arrangements or home office stipends;
Professional growth, education and training (including mentorship opportunities, career coaching, CPR training or a lending library);
Tax services;
Donation matching;
Transportation perks (parking and mileage reimbursement, public transportation subsidies, biking incentives, car allowances and company cars);
Specialized on-site amenities (gyms, napping pods, meditation rooms, game rooms, etc.);
Seasonal events; and
Company discounts on items such as employees’ personal insurance (home, auto, renters, life, etc.); food, drink and entertainment; health; and travel.

Top employee perks

Forbes reports that some companies are working to incentivize employees through less common but highly sought after perks, offering employees unlimited vacation time, fertility support, student loan assistance, pet insurance, on-site child care and paid sabbaticals.

How to build the right perks plan

Go directly to the source and survey employees to identify which perks are most important and which perks are “nice to have.” This will increase the chance that the perks will be used and strengthen your ability to get better pricing from vendors if you offer a staff discount.

Ensure your perks plan aligns with the company’s mission, vision and brand. For example, if your organization is an environmental charity, offering perks to people biking, walking, carpooling or taking public transportation to work would make sense.

Take the time to communicate workplace perks. People will need to be reminded about offerings to take advantage of them. Use different vehicles for communication to ensure everyone is reached (company newsletters, flyers in the break room, regular email, etc.)

After employee perks have been in place, seek regular feedback and adjust offerings based on this feedback. Best practices suggest an annual review of perks programs. As staff ages and turns over, the perks people value most will evolve and change.

Perks on a budget

Effective perks don’t necessarily require a massive budget; they are about making sure employees feel appreciated. Smaller organizations, or those with more modest perks budgets, can still make an impact by ensuring their perks plans are creative, thoughtful and authentic. By arranging employee discount programs and focusing on discounts at vendors that many will utilize, you are in a better position to negotiate a larger staff discount.

The same rules apply to communicating why and how your perks are unique and showcasing how you care. A dog-friendly day in the workplace isn’t going to break the budget in an office full of pet-loving staff (it may also help to give others who may have allergies or aversions to pups the opportunity to work from home that day).

Perks are about the people

When building your perks program, be mindful of your target audience to ensure maximum effectiveness. No matter what the budget, don’t be afraid to get creative! Like any other initiative, meeting employee needs will take time, evaluation and evolution.

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