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Employees are the backbone and driving force of any business, and with Employee Benefits Day fast approaching, now is the perfect time to strengthen your workforce for the long haul. A recent study by Forbes reveals that 40% of all employers believe workers leave their jobs in search of better employee benefits, highlighting recent employee priorities.
Employee Benefits Day provides a meaningful opportunity for you to show appreciation and prioritize the needs of your employees. If you want to know the best way to honor your employees, read on to discover more about Employee Benefits Day, its impact on retention, and see five creative ways to celebrate the day in your workplace.
What is Employee Benefits Day?
Employee Benefits Day is a dedicated day to spotlight the importance of employee perks and benefits in workplace culture. Officially established by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), this day offers organizations an opportunity to showcase their commitment to employees’ well-being and promote a positive employee experience. As employee priorities shift toward benefits and perks, celebrating Employee Benefits Day reinforces your organization’s commitment to enhancing the employee experience and fostering engagement.
When is Employee Benefits Day?
Employee Benefits Day is on April 2, 2025. Celebrated across Canada and the United States, this day raises awareness around benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and other workplace perks. Simply put, it’s a day your organization can celebrate giving back to employees and encourage staff to prioritize their health and wellness.
Why Celebrating Employee Benefits Day matters
Prioritizing employee well-being not only shows support for staff but also brings significant rewards for employers. Celebrating Employee Benefits Day helps boost employee morale, improves retention, and reinforces company values. These outcomes all contribute to creating an environment where your staff feel supported and empowered, enabling them to make positive contributions to your company.
Let’s break these down a bit further:
Enhances employee morale
When employees feel their needs are being met — whether through healthcare, flexible schedules, wellness programs, or recognition — it cultivates a sense of being valued, boosting employee satisfaction. When staff are aware of the full scope of benefits available to them and how those benefits directly contribute to their work-life balance, they feel appreciated, reducing stress and increasing job satisfaction. This sense of appreciation can lead to increased loyalty, a more engaged workforce, and higher levels of employee motivation, ultimately driving productivity.
Improves retention
It’s no coincidence that comprehensive benefits are linked to lower turnover rates. According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), “providing affordable and comprehensive benefits packages is the greatest area to attract and retain workers.”
Employee turnover is a major challenge for businesses, often driven by poor work-life balance, burnout, and inflexibility. However, offering benefits such as paid time off, remote work options, and health insurance can help address these concerns, making employees feel valued and supported in their careers.
Highlights company values
Spotlighting benefits such as flexible work arrangements, employee wellness programs, and mental health support plays a key role in creating a work environment that is supportive and responsive to employees’ evolving needs. By actively promoting and reminding employees of the perks and benefits available to them, you help ensure that they feel valued and cared for.
Regularly reinforcing these benefits goes beyond simply offering them — it contributes to building a stronger company culture and fostering a sense of inclusion, trust, and well-being. This creates an atmosphere where employees feel empowered to thrive, knowing their well-being is a top priority.
5 ways to celebrate Employee Benefits Day
Ready to take the lead in celebrating Employee Benefits Day? From hosting a benefits fair to organizing a personalized perks day, each approach helps to reinforce your organization’s commitment to employee well-being.
Below are five impactful ways to celebrate Employee Benefits Day — from interactive events to personalized experiences — that will not only highlight your benefits but also enhance the employee experience:
1. Host a benefits fair
Invite vendors to showcase your organization’s perks, where employees can explore their benefits firsthand. A benefits fair allows benefit providers to explain offerings in detail, providing employees with an extensive guide to help them better understand their options and maximize their perks.
Consider inviting representatives from:
- Travel benefits
- Professional development
- Retirement plans
- Health insurance
Keep your company engaged with hands-on activities, like workshops, games, demonstrations, or raffles. To promote participation and engagement, consider implementing a hybrid-friendly format with both a virtual and in-person option.
2. Launch new perks
What better day to launch new perks than Employee Benefits Day? Use this opportunity to unveil new exciting offerings, like wellness stipends or professional development funds. When selecting new perks or benefits, consider employee needs and priorities, your company’s budget, and your organization’s culture and values.
To make your perks launch a success:
- Keep the announcement separate from other company news to avoid overloading employees with information
- Use various communication channels
- Add a personal touch by including goodies or sweet treats with the launch
Launching new perks on Employee Benefits Day creates a memorable experience for employees, upholding a positive company culture that prioritizes employees’ needs.
3. Share success stories
Sharing success stories can be a powerful way to connect benefits packages with employees’ real-life experiences. While perks and benefits are designed to support employees, hearing a personal success story can boost morale and encourage others to take full advantage of what’s available to them. These stories make benefits feel more real and impactful, inspiring employees to use them to improve their own lives.
Consider highlighting specific benefits that have positively impacted employees’ professional and personal lives. Some examples include:
- Healthcare
- Parental leave
- Tuition assistance
- Commuter benefits
- Professional development opportunities
4. Conduct a benefits Q&A
Hosting a Q&A session about your benefits is a great way to engage employees and address any questions they may have, and it helps save time by answering multiple questions at once. It allows employees to understand the details of what may come with certain benefits and give feedback about their priorities.
When planning a benefits Q&A, let employees know in advance, giving them time to prepare questions, and include an anonymity option for those who may not be comfortable asking outright.
5. Personalized perks day
Just as every person is unique, so are your employees’ needs and preferences. Providing employees with a budget to choose a personalized perk that’s meaningful to them helps make employees feel valued as individuals. This significantly enhances diversity and inclusion in the workplace, fostering greater employee satisfaction, engagement and retention.
Some examples of personalized perks include:
- Subscriptions to a favourite hobby
- Personalized fitness classes
- Company-funded courses or certifications
- Extra paid time off
Ensure that personalized perks options align with your employees’ age ranges, needs, and priorities while staying within the company budget.
How employee benefits drive engagement and retention
Competitive benefits are strongly linked to improved employee retention. According to a Gallup study, pay and benefits were among the top reasons employees left their jobs over the past year.
Employee retention is also closely tied to employee engagement. When employees feel recognized, supported, and secure — whether in terms of well-being or financial stability — they’re more likely to stay with a company. Offering competitive benefits such as paid time off (PTO), flexible work arrangements, or comprehensive health benefits are key drivers of employee engagement.
To build a strong company culture and boost benefits awareness, employee recognition software platforms like Achievers can help. As the industry’s leading active usage platform, Achievers empowers you to align your business goals with employee recognition, allowing your company to grow while retaining top talent.
Tips to maximize the impact of Employee Benefits Day
Wondering where to start? To maximize participation, it’s essential to communicate clearly and consistently across multiple channels. Additionally, implementing strategies that use the right measuring tools — like surveys or feedback platforms — will help you gauge success and adjust when necessary.
Below are three tried-and-true tips to start your event off on the right foot:
1. Communicate early and often
To maximize participation and engagement, it’s best to announce Employee Benefits Day several weeks in advance and use a variety of communication channels to spread the word. Examples of internal communications channels to promote the event include:
- Instant messaging platforms (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
- Employee newsletters
- Virtual or in-person meetings
Consistency in messaging is key. Schedule multiple touchpoints and provide more details as the date approaches to help maintain interest leading up to the event.
Tip: To boost engagement further, offer incentives for employees to attend, like allowing employees to vote on personalized benefits or offering prizes and food.
2. Tailor benefits to your workforce
Every team has specific needs and understanding what employees value most ensures your benefits remain relevant and impactful. Use surveys, chatbots, and informal check-ins to collect feedback on workplace perks, wellness programs, and professional development opportunities. Employee feedback fosters open communication between staff and leadership, helping to build trust and alignment.
By giving employees a platform to voice their opinions, employers gain valuable insights into what truly matters to their workforce. This approach helps to refine benefits offerings and strengthens the overall connection between teams and leadership.
3. Measure success
Tracking engagement with the day’s activities is essential for assessing their impact and improving future celebrations. To gather constructive feedback, consider the following methods:
- Using Quick pulse surveys or interactive chatbots
- Encouraging employees to share what they enjoyed, what could be improved, and any new ideas
- Monitoring participation levels, social media interactions, and overall sentiment
- Creating impromptu opportunities for real-time feedback, such as a suggestion box or informal check-ins
Analyzing this data helps you fine-tune your approach and enhance future events to better align with your employees. This process of ongoing improvement will help you create even more successful and engaging celebrations in the future.
Elevate Employee Benefits Day for lasting results
Employees recognize the value of strong benefits and perks, yet many organizations fail to prioritize them, leading to high turnover rates and disengagement. Celebrating Employee Benefits Day is a powerful way to highlight the importance of a well-supported team and fosters a positive work environment.
Thinking about hosting your own Employee Benefits Day? This occasion gives you the perfect opportunity to showcase your company’s commitment to its employees, boost morale, and improve retention. Whether your goal is to raise awareness about available benefits or simply show appreciation, our tips can help you make the most of this special day.
Not sure where to begin? Achievers provides customized solutions to help your business elevate employee recognition and benefits programs. Discover how you can create a lasting impact on your workforce today.
