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Some employees may want great perks.

Key Point

• Adequate workplace benefits can make a job offer more attractive.
• A company offers important benefits that help attract new employees and keep existing employees happy.
• Citi offers to pay employees to earn a college degree from certain schools it has partnered with.

In today’s tight labor market, many companies still struggle to attract and retain talent. Offering higher wages is a great way to entice people to accept a job (or stay in it), but the reality is that pay increases alone may not do the trick. Rather, companies should seriously rethink their employee benefits packages. And one major employer has taken a big step.

Main benefits

It’s no secret that the cost of higher education has skyrocketed in the last few decades. And many people who could walk away with a college degree will inevitably end up plagued with debt. As such, tuition assistance is becoming an increasingly desirable workplace perk. And now City offers it.

Citi recently announced that it will offer employees access to fully funded college degrees from a select list of schools with which it has partnered. An estimated 38,000 Citi Banking employees will be eligible for free college admission.

Just to be clear, Citi is not alone in offering this benefit. In his EdAssist, a tuition management service, he saw a 33% increase in the number of companies offering free degrees to their employees in 2022 alone. These include big names such as T-Mobile and McDonald’s.

Should I look for a company that will pay me to go to college?

Many companies offer their employees tuition assistance as a benefit. However, in reality, only a minority of people pay the full cost of their college tuition. If you don’t like the idea of ​​going into a lot of debt in the process of completing your degree, it’s a good idea to focus on its benefits specifically during your job search process.

That said, it’s very important to look at the big picture when it comes to compensation when looking for a new job. In other words, you need to evaluate not only the salary offered, but also the total benefits that come with it. These benefits include:

• generous health insurance
• Plenty of paid time off (some companies offer unlimited vacation or sick leave)
• Wellness benefits like complimentary gym and yoga studio memberships
• retirement match
• Contribution to HSA
• Parental leave for childbirth/adoption
• subsidized life insurance
• great pet insurance
• Continuing education opportunities (such as courses to improve job skills)

The list could really go on, so it’s important to do your research and consider what benefits a particular company offers on top of your wages. Additionally, while you may love the idea of ​​free college tuition, often the perks include things like having to work for your employer for a certain amount of time, being restricted to a certain pool, etc. You should also know that there are problems involved. of schools that may or may not offer the program you want. So don’t just stick to free college tuition, really look at the whole package when deciding where to work.