Does your company have trouble retaining the best employees despite offering great benefits, and fringe benefits? Are you looking for strategies to develop employee professional growth? How do you help your employees achieve their lifelong career goals?
Human Resource managers worldwide are waking up to a new workplace reality. Gone are the days of the traditional bonus cheques as a primary incentive. Today’s workforce is more willing to align their career choices with companies investing in programs allowing them to learn and grow.
Employers now realize that providing education stipends increases employee job satisfaction and productivity, which is good news. And as your company begins offering education stipends as part of its overall types of benefits offered, you will see almost immediate results like higher employee retention, improved employee work-life balance, and more legacy workers stepping up to fill skill gaps and hard-to-fill positions.
This article will provide a background on education stipends (which are usually part of a broader employee stipend policy), the various data on their effectiveness, and explain the best strategies for developing an education stipend benefits policy for your company.
Read on to learn more about this topic! Click on the sections below to jump right to your specific question.
In layperson’s terms, an education stipend is a cash allowance companies offer employees for learning and professional development. Employees can spend their education stipend – a non-taxable benefit – on acquiring knowledge or skills that boost career growth or perhaps pursue a passion. These vary by company and may include:
Education stipends can be monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, or yearly depending on the company’s budget. It is typical for organizations to cap the monetary value for each individual to save costs. And some companies may provide employees with specific items like books or pay for online courses every few months in lieu of a cash allowance.
A common thread from HR teams across different industries is the difficulty in attracting and retaining workers. And the 20% of employees who quit their jobs citing a lack of professional development programs is the most compelling reason companies should offer workplace learning initiatives, aka education stipends. A LinkedIn Learning article says 94% of employees would stick around if companies invested in their careers, and 68% of employees would prefer learning on company time.
Any self-respecting HR manager knows Millennials are a hard nut to crack because of their distinctive job expectations. A Gallup Workplace report reveals 59% of Millennials consider learning and growth and growth opportunities extremely important when applying for jobs, compared to 44% of Gen Xers and 41% of baby boomers. And they view professional development as a critical factor in remaining with an employer.
This data is significant because, by 2025, Millennials will constitute the majority of the global workforce. Your company can get ahead of the curve and benefit from implementing an educational stipend initiative as the default employee training and learning solution instead of a traditional learning program. The benefits of creating a continuous learning program that pays workers to chase personal learning objectives are enormous, as we shall read below.
Apple’s Education Reimbursement program is an excellent example that offers employees up to $5,250 annually for education expenses. The program is touted as one of the main secrets behind the company’s remarkable 28% employee retention rate. Under the program, Apple employees can take personal finance, business, and software skills courses at Apple University. Employees can also attend seminars on diverse topics and learn about Apple’s company structure, including how to develop problem-solving skills like Steve Jobs.
Other benefits of offering employees an education stipend include:
Unique learning based company perks like education benefits are investments that pay the best interest of employers and employees. Data from HR teams, learning and development managers, and third-party research reveals that most employees favor continuous learning and personal development programs paid for by benefits like an education stipend.
There is little doubt that education stipends encourage workers to stick around. Wyzant cofounder Andrew Geant admits that providing education stipends effectively attracts new employees and retains older workers at his company.
Your learning development program should offer employees access to the best online learning platforms. And you don’t need a huge budget to provide employees with access to these platforms. Buffer, a social management software startup in California, provides a $20 monthly education stipend per employee.
Since Buffer introduced the initiative in 2017, it has been interesting to see how its employees (Bufferoos) are spending their learning stipends.
Data Source: Buffer
You can see the data on the different learning methods and platforms Bufferoos uses.
Data Source: Buffer
Read our guide for an extensive review of what employees can spend their education stipends on.
Employees can register on online learning platforms for courses on diverse topics. These range from video tutorials to certificate or degree programs. Below is a list of the most popular online learning platforms.
Registering for club and association memberships is an excellent way of spending education stipends. Employees can build their networking skills and mingle with Industry professionals. Several platforms are a great source for building professional networks and discovering organizations offering networking services.
Spending an education stipend on books and audiobooks on professional development is a great idea. There is no shortage of brick-and-mortar and online bookstores with great titles. Access to E-book services like Amazon Audible, with over two hundred titles, can be yours for as little as $14.956 per month.
Employees can use education stipends to access coaching and mentorship programs. These resources remain among the most popular perks among employees who realize that hiring a career coach or having a professional mentor is a proven means of climbing the career ladder.
Industry magazines, news, and newsletter subscriptions are great information platforms and resource tools. Spending education stipends on such items offer employees leverage on information concerning the latest breakthroughs, trends, and developments in their field.
Many employees spend a portion of their education stipend on conferences and seminars because they desire to build their hard and soft skills. No matter your field, industry-specific conferences are designed to enhance employees’ professional development and build strong networks within their industry.
Your employees may spend their education stipend on learning new languages. Several home language learning services are committed to providing high-quality tutoring and materials for individuals.
Education stipends can be spent on tuition reimbursement for an employee’s college education. Companies like Amazon offer full tuition for its front-line employees, but the program is subject to certain conditions.
If we have convinced you of the importance of offering education benefits, but you think maybe it isn’t something you should implement just yet. We have a list of seven companies already offering fantastic education stipends and tuition reimbursement programs for employee professional development.
You can click on the company’s name if you want more information about their programs.
Amazon has one of the most ambitious learning development initiatives for its employees. Under the Amazon Career Choice Program, employees receive up to 95% reimbursement for tuition and expenses on certificate and diploma programs in transportation, healthcare, IT, and mechanical trades.
Indico offers its employees a $5,000 annual education stipend for career-related learning programs, including conferences and conventions.
Slack employees are eligible for a $500 annual education stipend to spend on personal development programs and $2,000 in annual learning benefits for professional learning and development.
Balsamiq offers employees $3,000 in learning stipends for personal or professional development.
Disney’s full-time and part-time employees who attend the Disney Aspire school network for undergraduate and graduate programs get 100% of their tuition paid by the company.
Help Scout’s Learn Something Stipend initiative provides a $1,800 annual education stipend per employee.
Chipotle learning plan covers 100% of tuition for specific diplomas, college preparation courses, and degree programs. Employees wishing to take additional courses or programs are eligible for an extra $5,250 annual payment.
Now you are ready to take the final step of setting up an education stipend benefits program. But how do you create a learning benefit initiative that will generate employee enthusiasm? You may also want to consider if it makes sense to offer a more robust lifestyle spending account or lifestyle benefits (some employers offer innovative benefits such as day care benefits for employees through a lifestyle spending account as well).
We have a few ideas on the best practices for building a fantastic learning stipend program that your organization and employees can benefit from.
By now, you must have understood the significance between education stipends and employee performance. We have shown you how employer-funded professional development leads to employee job satisfaction.
The reasons outlined below prove the benefits of offering your employees an education stipend.
Education stipends are not the only perks available to employees. Check below for a list of other perk stipends that are popular with employees today.
Some insurance companies offer their own wellness reimbursement program as well, such as humana wellness program, or the Go365 program by Humana.
Employees desire more than a paycheck from their employer, even if it raises eyebrows from a few conservative suits out there. And company-funded $20 piano lessons or coaching classes won’t disrupt your bottom line. Neither will it stop employees from wandering to other pastures. But the fulfillment from knowing that you care for their personal growth creates bonds that build teams, value respect, and support a company’s growth. If you would like to learn more about fringe benefits, check out this guide on the different types of fringe benefits you can offer.
Interested in speaking with a benefits expert, to see how you can offer an education stipend? Schedule an introductory call with IncentFit. We’ll learn a bit more about your company’s unique needs and point you in the right direction.
As we approach Social Wellness Month in July, now is the perfect time to explore…
Employee wellness isn't just about offering gym stipends or access to meditation apps. It's a…
Employer branding has quickly become a critical focus for companies competing for top talent and…
Workplace leadership plays a defining role in the success of any wellness initiative. It’s not…
It’s hard to imagine a forward-thinking, modern workplace that doesn’t prioritize employee wellness. Wellness incentives…
Supporting men’s health month in the workplace isn’t just about physical fitness, it’s about tackling…
This website uses cookies.
Read More
