Free Yacht Charters, Travel Discounts, Breast Milk Shipping: Employers Eye Unique Benefits

For most employers, benefits such as retirement plans, health care coverage, and paid time off (PTO) are a standard part of the employment contract: They’re important, sure, but they’re almost as expected as a work-issued laptop.

But a growing number of companies looking to attract and retain top talent are beginning to move beyond those table-stakes benefits. Think a travel discount program, free yacht charters, a rock-climbing wall, grandparent leave, and breast milk shipping.

Those are all part of the new world of employee benefits, which has gone from a traditional industry offering the same mix of perks to one that’s constantly evolving as companies embrace unique offerings. Innovation in this space is happening at a fast rate, industry experts say, with organizations coming up with out-of-the-box perks to woo and keep talent—and often helping employees and even reinforcing their brand along the way.

“Innovation in benefits has always existed in some form, but it has undoubtedly increased in popularity” in recent years, says Cheri Wheeler, vice president and senior consultant at Kelly Benefits Strategies, a benefits consultant firm in Sparks, Md.

“But in an increasingly competitive job market, a significant opportunity existed, and continues to exist, for employers nationwide to attract and retain talent through their benefits package,” she adds. “Now, there are niche organizations that have entered the marketplace and showcased their willingness to go the extra mile to do so.”

For instance, the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey listed 216 available benefits, up from 175 just two years ago. Some of the latest additions to the list are grandparent leave (granting workers paid time off to spend with their new grandchild) and menopause support.

Other benefits include wellness stipends and student loan benefits, which have risen in popularity over the past several years, and various caregiving resources and forms of family support. Then there are a host of very specific benefits offered by employers both large and small.

Hotel and resort operator Hilton offers a travel discount program for its employees. Boating rental company Getmyboat offers employees an annual credit toward a boating experience of their choice for any destination. Energy bar maker Clif Bar & Co. has a huge onsite gym for its employees at its Emeryville, Calif., headquarters, which includes a rock-climbing wall. Professional services firm KPMG annually offers two weeklong, firmwide closures, in addition to its other PTO benefits. And several companies offer breast milk shipping, a benefit tailored for nursing moms who must travel for work. It’s a perk offered by companies including QBE North America and Salesforce, and it is often touted by industry experts as a valuable offering to help mothers make a smooth transition back to work after they give birth. Breast milk shipping ranked first for unique benefits, according to a 2024 report from Preply, an online language learning platform.

Attracting Talent by Standing Out

There is an obvious reason for unique benefits: They pique the interest and attention of employees and potential employees. And that strategy also affects the bottom line for employers.

“Unique benefits are a powerful tool employers can utilize to help retain talent, showing current employees that they understand their needs and priorities and demonstrating a willingness to go above and beyond to ensure they’re taken care of,” Wheeler says. “This can improve overall workplace morale and directly enhance job satisfaction.”

That’s especially important in a tight labor market.

“Attracting and retaining talent in the workplace isn’t easy,” Wheeler says. “There is a lot of competition in the marketplace, and offering these types of benefits can help your company stand out from its competitors.”

Benefits in general are an effective way to get the attention of job candidates—and they are getting even more popular. More than half (59%) of job postings on jobs site Indeed now advertise at least one benefit, up from less than 40% in early 2020—a more than 50% increase, according to new data.

“It’s clear that employers believe that benefits are more important than ever in job postings, particularly for traditional benefits in sectors where benefits aren’t always a given,” says Allison Shrivastava, associate economist at Indeed. “But if an employer really wanted to stand out, then advertising a benefit outside of health, retirement, and leave would set them further apart.”

For instance, family benefits are mentioned in just 7% of job postings, according to Indeed.

Insurance company QBE North America, which has more than 2,700 North American employees, has leaned heavily on a competitive roster of family benefits over the past several years, offering breast milk shipping as well as a host of other child care and caregiving benefits. Those include family-building support such as adoption financial assistance, surrogacy assistance, and fertility help through provider Progyny.

Other child care and elder care benefits include backup care for children and adults, child care discounts, and free membership to Sittercity, a platform that provides online forums, tools, and resources to find and choose caregivers for various needs. QBE also recently enhanced its paid parental-leave program, offering at least 12 weeks to all parents inclusive of adoption, birth, fostering, and surrogacy—and nearly double that amount in some cases.

Those benefits are a boon to the firm’s competitive edge, but more importantly are a way to support its employees, says Rachel Pollack, chief people officer at QBE North America in New York.

“We really want our people to feel supported in these moments that matter—to create the best employee experience that they can have,” she says.

Reaping the Rewards

The recent report from Preply found that the companies offering more unusual benefits than industry standards see lower employee turnover rates and higher gross profit margins.

“Companies may lose sight of why benefits packages are so important to a company’s growth, but it’s simple,” says Andreas Kyprianou, senior director of people operations, total rewards, and analytics at Preply. “Top performers drive tangible business impact, and they’re going to go where they feel most appreciated and taken care of.”

At Hilton, those top performers are served by a number of competitive and in-demand benefits—including a comprehensive well-being program and mental health resources; caregiving support; pet care; earned early wage access through DailyPay; and free educational opportunities through provider Guild.

But the benefit that gets everyone’s attention, says Amanta Mazumdar, vice president of total rewards at Hilton, is its travel discount program. Through it, all employees get very low rates at a variety of Hilton hotels.

“That’s the team member favorite,” he says. “It’s so great, and the stories that we get are just incredible because they’re not just team members going out and having vacations, though there’s a lot of those stories, too. But it’s also, ‘I have a sick parent, and I was able to go spend a week with them at a discounted rate, which was lifesaving for me,’ or a team member that had to travel because they had to go get medical care.”

Getmyboat, a fully remote company with team members who work across many countries and time zones, started to offer the annual “Experience Joy” benefit—a credit for a free yacht charter—to its employees in 2022. It’s become a popular perk that’s garnered attention among workers, says CHRO Sholeh Esmaili-Montoya, SHRM-SCP.

“Our employees love having the opportunity to get out on the water and enjoy the great boating experiences, both in their local cities or during vacations, and share what makes their work special with family and friends,” says Esmaili-Montoya. “It has been fun to see photos and videos from the trips that we share in a dedicated channel on our communication platform.”

Be on Brand

Offering unique perks will likely get the attention of employees and potential employees, but they are often more successful if they align with a company’s mission.

That’s the case with benefits such as Getmyboat’s boating credits, Clif Bar’s rock-climbing wall, and Hilton’s travel benefit, all of which are very on-brand.

“It brings our team members closer to the business,” Mazumdar says.

Esmaili-Montoya says Getmyboat’s yachting benefit gives its employees a better understanding of the company.

“It is a very unique perk that helps team members feel more closely connected to our mission and provides them with an opportunity to contribute to improving our platform or service by bringing back feedback and/or ideas they have from their experience,” she says.

Although being connected with a company’s brand can be a plus, most importantly, unique benefits must resonate with the company’s current workforce or the talent they are looking to attract, Wheeler says.

For instance, “student loan assistance is a unique and personalized benefit that can truly help employees,” she explains. “But if your business employs an older workforce, providing a unique benefit like student loan assistance will not resonate as well. On the flip side, if you own a law firm and are hiring individuals who just graduated from law school and have significant student loan debts, this could be a great benefit.”

Wheeler says that when considering unique benefits, company and HR leaders should rely on employee surveys and interviews and other communications to obtain a general sense of how many employees are interested in utilizing a specific benefit.

“It’s essential to identify the needs of your employees,” she says, “and gear your benefits to meet them where they are at their current stage in life.”