Tech companies are famous for their employee perks, but cool and outrageous perks are no longer the driving force behind attracting and retaining top talent. Today, we’ll look at the perks that tech companies are known for, the ones that top-performing employees really want and how BeniPlus can help tech companies drive recruitment and retention with flexible benefits.Famous tech company perksTech companies—including tech start-ups—are famous for the perks they offer their employees. Fun perks include game rooms, catered meals, beer on tap and weekly parties. On the epic side of the per spectrum are weekly surfing lessons, mandatory vacation, unlimited vacation, iPads, meals prepped by personal chefs and everything an employee could need to basically live at work. Google was even featured in the Business Insider for letting an employee live in a truck in their parking lot to save 90% of his income.All this sounds amazing, but the benefits employees value the most are more meaningful than fancy snacks and on-site foosball tournaments.The perks and benefits that top-performing employees wantMillennials now make up the majority of today’s workforce. And according to Gallup’s report, How Millennials Want to Work and Live, they work for a purpose, not just a pay cheque. This report also found that millennials are pursuing professional development, not job satisfaction. Though toys, games and free food that employers use to boost job satisfaction are nice, these cool perks don’t compel employees to stay if their true needs aren’t being met.The Gallup report indicated that millennials want:

• To experience purpose and meaning in their work.
• Professional development.
• Coaching, not command-and-control leadership.
• Ongoing performance conversations.
• To build on their strengths.
• Jobs that fit with their lives and values.

Additionally, the RBC Insurance Survey found that:

• 72% of Canadian employees would perceive their company more positively if their employer offered virtual care or telemedicine as part of its benefits package.
• 53% of employees aged 18-34 would use virtual care to consult mental health practitioners.
• 51% of employees aged 18-34 would get mental health counselling by video or telephone.

Start-ups that don’t offer health and wellness benefits are at risk of losing their top talent to bigger companies (and not getting top talent in the first place).This research suggests that tech companies—including start-ups—can make their benefits packages more enticing by offering options that support their employees’ quests for meaning, professional development and virtual solutions for mental health and wellness.If your benefits program is currently focused on cool perks, that’s okay. There’s no need to scrap the ping pong table and free pizza. Instead, explore how you can add meaning to your program and help all your employees—including millennials—get the benefits that matter most to them.

How BeniPlus can help tech companies drive recruitment and retention with flexible benefitsAt BeniPlus, we designed our Benefit Wallet to help tech companies and start-ups make the most of their benefits. The Benefit Wallet is a flexible spending account for employee benefits that lets you offer meaningful benefits to your employees, including health and dental, wellness, savings, charitable giving and personal insurance.Here’s how the Benefit Wallet supports millennial employees looking for meaning, professional development and virtual health support:

• Charitable giving – Employees can use their benefits to support causes they care about through our charitable giving partnership with CanadaHelps.
• Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) – Employees can make a meaningful contribution to their retirement with our RRSP program on the Wealthsimple platform.
• Wellness Spending Account (WSA) – Employees can use the funds in their WSA for professional development courses, conferences and seminars, including transportation.
• Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) – The HSA covers employees for medical expenses that they use, including prescription glasses and medication and visits to healthcare professionals.
• Virtual healthcare – We’ve partnered with Tia Health to bring virtual healthcare to you and your employees.

The Benefit Wallet is designed to meet the needs of technology companies so you can provide benefits to your employees at a cost you can afford while giving your talented employees the benefits they want. And that’s even better for recruitment and retention than local beer on tap!Take 10 minutes today to get a quote for our simple, flexible and affordable employee benefits program.