Heather HuhmanThe talent at your company loves vacation. Who can blame them? Most workers would rather be sitting on a beach sipping a drink than staring at a computer screen. Even companies are starting to come around to the importance of a little R&R. A great vacation policy can surely nab your top talent looking for a fun company culture. While most candidates won’t ask about your vacation policy in their initial video interview, that doesn’t mean it’s not on their mind.
In fact, a recent survey showed that nearly half of American workers would swap a workplace benefit for more vacation time. Who needs a private office when you can go out and see the world?
More companies, from established corporations to fledgling startups, are realizing the mental benefits of increased vacation time. In fact, many companies are doing away with vacation restrictions altogether. Companies like app developer Evernote and video rental giant Netflix have implemented unlimited vacation policies.
Here are some reasons you might also want to think about revamping your company’s vacation time policy:
Helps You Recruit
A good vacation policy doesn’t just keep employees happy, it also attracts employees to your company. The top talent you want to see on the screen across from you in a live video interview will undoubtedly have a lot of companies trying to woo them. A generous vacation package will be a way to set your company apart from the pack and brand it as a great place to work. This vacation policy will attract the top talent your organization needs to grow and prosper.
Prevents Employee Burnout
Even the best employees get burned-out. Worse, once burnouts start these former office superstars can become serious energy drains. You’ll be losing productivity and your burned-out employee will be bringing down employee morale. Sometimes all great employees need is a little time away from the office to recharge. Employees will come back as happier and more productive workers.
Shows Trust
Generous vacation packages show employees the company trusts their discretion. For example, an unlimited vacation policy puts an incredible amount of trust in workers. It shows the company has faith in employees to be responsible and use their time wisely. Employees who abuse this policy will be obvious to spot, allowing your company to get rid of a bad hire. For the most part, however, companies adopting these vacation policies are seeing their faith in workers’ judgments rewarded.
Less Turnover
Employee turnover can really cost your company big time. In fact, it can often cost a company up to 150 percent of the employee’s annual salary! That’s a lot of money your company can’t afford to bleed, especially in this economy. Like previously mentioned, burned-out employees will be less productive for your company. They will also be more likely to go from passive to active job candidates. This means if your employee doesn’t have the opportunity to unwind occasionally, they’ll be more receptive to job offers from your competitors. Having an attractive vacation package will be a benefit employees want to stick around to enjoy.
More employers are realizing generous vacation policies are not only attracting great candidates, they’re also keeping them in your company. So why not let your top talent travel to far off places? Especially if they return to your organization to do great work!
Do great vacation benefits attract great candidates? Share your thoughts in the comments!
SOURCE: Harris Survey (Denver Business Journal); BloombergBusinessWeek; MSNBC Today; The Advisor (William G. Bliss)
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Kenzoka
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