To say that the tech industry is often ahead of the curve when it comes to modernizing American business doesn’t quite capture or express what’s taking place.
In nearly all aspects of business, the tech industry has been at the forefront of the various sweeping changes that have revolutionized commerce over the past half century, in part because the output that the tech industry produces - both in terms of hardware and software - is the foundational structure around which much of modernity has been built.
In this recent piece from Business Insider, a recruiter for Meta - one of the largest tech companies in the world - lists the top employee benefits that seal the deal with tech recruits, which we have included and expanded upon below.
While all industries and talent pools have characteristics that make them unique, of course, given how frequently current tech industry business practices become future business practices across industries far and wide, some of these listed benefit package components and perks may look familiar already, and some likely will soon.
Given the ascendance of remote and hybrid work in the years following the onset of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that where, when, and how employees work is factoring heavily into the benefits that Meta is emphasizing in the piece.
For example, office amenities - especially those that help employees solve practical problems efficiently - are great for attracting applicant attention for in-office and hybrid positions, but there are comparable and sometimes complementary offerings that can serve a similar function for remote positions, as well.
For in-office and hybrid workers, the prospect of commuting to a central location when required is made more appealing by providing perks like laundry services, a barbershop, free meals, and valet parking, for example. Further, in many cases housing, transportation, and relocation assistance is provided in order to make the process of getting to the office as convenient as possible.
To appeal to remote workers, on the other hand, the company offers things like stipends to enable employees to set up a home office or gym and make their own place of work as efficiency-enabling, comfortable, and productive as possible.
In-office, hybrid, and remote workers alike also need time away from work of course, which is why competitive vacation perks remain a crucial component of strong benefits offerings.
In Meta’s case, the company offers 4 weeks PTO for all employees, with an additional 30 days of PTO for workers when they hit the 5-year mark of employment. It's also worth noting that the additional 30 days can be used as a single block to enable employees to more thoroughly recharge before returning to work.
Beyond PTO, time away from work is essential for seeing to many of life’s non-work-related responsibilities as well, including caregiving and maternity/paternity leave, for which the company offers 4 months paid time-off to all employees.
The third category into which the remainder of Meta’s top benefits offerings fall involves the alignment of employee incentives and compensation, which is accomplished through a combination of bonuses and equity packages designed to directly link the financial benefit of both employers and employees.
Also, the company has developed a system that enables new trainees to choose their own roles from a variety of teams across various divisions within the organization where their skills are currently required, which further entrenches employee feelings of ownership over their work and highlights employee autonomy and agency about how and where to best put their skills to use for everyone’s mutual benefit.
...
While some of the top talent-attracting benefits and perks outlined in the piece may be more common in the tech world than in many other industries, that’s not likely to remain the case for long, and forward-thinking companies would be wise to begin imagining how these trends might be best translated in their own industry.
You can read more about this topic here.