Perks Zimbabwean Employees Prefer

Zimbabwean employers have traditionally offered their employees a number of benefits as part of trying to attract and retain them. It is incumbent upon employers to periodically check if their perks are in line with what employees need and their ability to pay and sustain such benefits.

We surveyed over 500 employees across all sectors in the Zimbabwean economy and this is their preference in terms of benefits.  The least valued benefits are the provision of a company bus and subsidised meals. The most valued perks are housing loan, school fees for children, training opportunities’ and car loans.

When we assessed benefits preference according to gender, we noted some differences that stand out which include females’ greater preference for medical aid which is shown at 70% in contrast to the males 67%. Males on the other hand show greater concern for school fees allowance at 63% which does not fall in the females’ top five preferences. This may be as a result of the varying priorities between the two groups.

The most preferred benefits by age group analysis are medical aid, housing loan, education assistance for professional development and pension. Those employees below 35-year-old showed a lower interest in pensions as a benefit.

It is interesting to note that only the heads of organisations and those who report to heads of organisations who a higher preference for holiday allowances at 59% and 57% respectively. For other levels, there is a higher preference for education assistance for professional development at 67% for non-managerial staff and 69% for supervisory/ professional staff/ junior managers.

The current economic environment requires that employers be creative when structuring the salaries and benefits for their staff. The objective of any remuneration philosophy is to help you attract, motivate and retain competent employees. For you to be able to achieve these objectives, you need to provide remuneration that is relevant to your employees – obviously within the confines of what you can afford and sustain as a business. This survey presents insights that should help inform you how to better structure your remuneration packages.

I also observed that the findings from this survey fit quite well into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Every benefit you offer employees falls into one of the categories in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualisation.) Just like there are different levels of human necessities to meet our needs, there are some benefits people need before additional benefits or trendy extras should be offered, for example, medical aid can be seen as more important than lunch allowance.

To receive the full Perks Employees Prefer Report, contact me on the details below.
Memory Nguwi is an Occupational Psychologist, Data Scientist, Speaker, & Managing Consultant - Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd a management and human resources consulting firm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/memorynguwi/ Phone 481946-48/481950/2900276/2900966 or email: mnguwi@ipcconsultants.com or visit our website at www.ipcconsultants.com