Many businesses struggle to attract and retain key staff. They may not be able to match other salary offers, but they can still compete. It is possible to provide an attractive benefits package for employees that will make them look past a salary offer. There are a number of benefits a company can provide to help attract and retain employees with essential job skills. 

Getting Started 
According to an article in Entrepreneur Magazine, most companies will decide to begin putting together benefits packages for their workers when they have between six and ten employees and want to attract more. According to the Principal Financial Group study, employees believe health insurance is the most important benefit. This was the opinion of over 90 percent of employees surveyed. It was considered more important than retirement benefits. When putting together an employee benefits package, a company must realize there are a number of plans available. Many can be designed to meet a company's specific needs. 

Flexible Work Schedule 
One of the most popular benefits among employees today is the ability to have a flexible work schedule. This has shown to better accommodate the needs of a worker's personal as well as business life. A study was conducted by the New York-based Families and Work Institute. It showed most employees both nonprofessional, as well as professional, believed having a flexible work schedule is something very important to them when looking for a new job. Flexibility was extremely important to over 86 percent of workers who participated in the study. 

Dental And Vision 
Some of the benefits that are important are full coverage dental insurance as well as vision insurance. When an employee is able to take care of their teeth and eyes, it will make a difference in their life as well as job performance. 

Child Care 
Many companies are finding a benefit to providing or subsidizing employee childcare. Some companies are able to provide on-site child care. This may make it possible for the employee to spend lunch time with their child. When a company is not able to provide child care on-site, they may still be able to work with a child care center close to their location. The company could make it possible for their employees to get discounted group rates. 

Telecommuting 
This is a very popular benefit. It seems to be more valued by employees than a large salary. There are a number of benefits for both the company and the employee when it comes to telecommuting. An employee will save the costs associated with commuting. This includes everything from gas to a bus fare, lunches, a wardrobe that meets an office's dress code and more. A company will not have to pay for office space and may be able to offer a lower salary. 

Time Off 
Most companies will provide their employees with benefits that include vacation time. Many employees also look for the ability to have maternity and paternity leave. Some companies are able to provide flex time off that enables their employees to have a number of personal days. Other companies provide their employees emergency days they can take if a tragedy occurs in their personal life. 

Training 
It is possible for a company to provide their employees with important training and career development. This makes it possible for an employee to increase their skill level and value to the company. Some companies will pay for their employees to earn various certificates as well as license. They will pay license renewal fees. It is also possible for a company to pay for classes associated with meeting continuing education requirements that help an employee maintain a professional license. 

Company Ownership 
A very attractive benefit for many employees is the chance to own a small portion of the company where they work. Many benefits programs are designed to provide the employee with the opportunity to own more of a company over time.