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Key Employee Benefits Your Business Should Offer

The job market is more competitive than ever. Offering key benefits to your employees helps retain and attract top talent.

You see it on business news all the time – today’s job market is more competitive than ever. There are more qualified candidates searching for jobs than open positions at most large businesses, which means the current job market is an opportunity for small businesses to find and retain top talent.

A study by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) cited in Factor Finders article found that small businesses generated about 64% of new jobs over the last 15 years.  In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that from 2021 to 2024, small businesses outpaced large businesses in job creation. Additionally, more than 50% of employees cite that a comprehensive benefits package is a key factor for accepting and staying with a company.

While the overall job market and economy are volatile, there is an opportunity for small businesses to enhance their appeal to job seekers by offering more competitive benefits.

In this article, we will break down the key employee benefits that small businesses should offer employees, and how business solutions from First Nation Bank and Trust can help you offer some key benefits.

Key Benefits Are Important to Job Seekers

There are several studies and sources that provide similar stats about what benefits are important to job seekers. However, the best source for a comprehensive employee benefits study is from the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM), the leader in Human Resource knowledge. Their 2025 Employee Benefits Survey sheds light and provides details on what is important to job seekers.  Here are some key highlights of the most important benefits to employees:
 
  • Health-Related Benefits: 88%
  • Retirement Savings Plans: 81%
  • PTO/Leave Benefits: 81%
  • Flexible Working Benefits: 68%
  • Professional and Career Development Benefits: 65%
 
The main takeaway is that if you currently don’t offer these benefits or are not robust enough, you may risk losing top talent. There are other considerations small businesses should consider when creating an overall benefits package, outlined in our Compensation Basics blog post.

Ensure You Offer the Legally Required Benefits

A good place to start is to refresh your understanding of the legally required benefits for running a business. You might have started your business small and quickly expanded, which may mean you could be missing some benefits.

A good place to start is with the IRS's overview of employee benefits. It outlines what is required, addresses fringe benefits, and workers’ compensation. Taking the time to ensure you’re in compliance can help you avoid costly fees and penalties during tax season. You can also take a look at our blog on required employee benefits for more details.  
 

Taking Stock of Your Current Benefits

The best way to know if your employees feel that they have comprehensive benefits that fit their needs is to ask them! After all, you don’t know what you don’t know. Having open and ongoing conversations does more than identify potential benefit gaps; it creates a more trusting environment for everyone.
Here are some tips to help you start the conversation and identify gaps:
 
  • Conduct surveys – if you are not already doing an annual employee survey, then it is a good idea to start. This is the easiest way to gauge how your employees are feeling about a variety of topics, including benefits.
  • Mix up question formats – you can gain a better understanding of your questions if they involve more than just a rating scale. Include open-ended questions that give more context to what employees need.
  • Review current benefits – another annual task all small business owners should be doing. You might have hired more staff or changed locations, which may result in more options from your insurance broker. Additionally, brokers change and add new benefits all the time, so ensuring you’re aware of all options is important.
  • Benchmark against similar businesses – taking the time to see how you stack up against similar-sized businesses can give you a better understanding of whether your current benefits package is sufficient. Find local businesses, professional groups, and associations to network with other business owners and consider partnering with a consultant to conduct research.
Being consistent in asking for feedback helps you become a better employer and retain top talent.

Benefits Solutions That Go Above and Beyond

While FNBT might not be a health insurance broker or offer customized employee training, they do offer some benefit solutions that can help you offer more comprehensive benefits for your employees.

401 (k) & IRA Rollovers
Providing access to investment and retirement products ranks among the top benefits employees want from a company. Our 401(k) & IRA Rollover accounts can give your employees the tools they need to save for the future. FNBT can help new employees roll over any old IRA accounts while opening a new one.

Bank At Work Program
Bank At Work is a great addition to your benefits package and offers great value to your employees, and it’s free to enroll for current FNBT business customers.

This program offers helpful resources and tools that give employees the power to take charge of their financial well-being:
  • Free articles, calculators, and tools to help you move closer to your financial goals
  • Debit Mastercard with Rewards plus free online banking and mobile app
  • Consumer loan discounts, along with discounts on home loan closing costs
Simply by offering Bank At Work to your employees gives them instant access to these great benefits and more!

BaZing Personal Checking Benefits
While many of your employees have a current checking account, they probably don’t have the perks of BaZing Benefits that come with a FNBT Personal one-Bank At Work Checking account.

On top of the great features and benefits Bank At Work offers, BaZing Benefits go above and beyond, giving more discounts and access to financial tools and services. These include:
 
  • Roadside assistance – 24/7 coverage, free to use, and up to $80 in covered service charges
  • Travel Accidental Death coverage3 – up to $10,000 in coverage for peace of mind
  • Billshark4 – negotiate your internet, cell phone, and home services to get a better monthly rate and discount
  • Financial Wellness4 – create Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Health Proxies
All of this is available to your employees when they open a one or Privilege Plus checking account. Showing you care for your workers and providing them with the best financial tools and services is a benefit that can’t be priced.

Make First National Bank and Trust Your Business Partner

Once you’ve reviewed your current benefits package and identified any gaps, connect with an FNBT representative to talk about how we can help improve your benefits. Explore solutions like:
 
  • IRA & 401 (k) Rollovers – help employees prepare for retirement
  • Bank At Work – gain access to a host of benefits and discounts
  • BaZing Benefits – get even more savings and access to services on top of Bank At Work
FNBT can even help cover the costs for additional benefits with a Business Loan. Visit FNBT at one of our locations in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, or email us today.
 
 
1 Participating merchants on BaZing are not sponsors of the program, are subject to change without notice, may not be available
in all regions, and may choose to limit deals. 2 Subject to the terms and conditions detailed in the Guide to Benefits. 3 Insurance
products are: NOT A DEPOSIT. NOT FDIC-INSURED. NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY. NOT GUARANTEED BY
THE BANK. 4 Requires additional activation to begin.