Yourworkforce is made up of a number of different personas, so youshould take steps to ensure that your company provides benefitsoptions that fit everyone's needs. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The talent market is on fire right now. Withunemployment at historic lows, businesses arebeing forced to buckle down and hustle to recruit and retain the best talent.

Beating out your competition to hire rockstar employees is the key to a strongtalent pipeline. Of course, the first way to do that is to ensurethat your pay offering is in line with, or ideally, above, themarket average when you're hiring. Another facet of your total compensation package that you cannotoverlook is your benefits plan. More frequently, job seekers areechoing the needs for competitive pay, but a top-notch benefitsplan is a close second in terms of career “must haves.”

Related: Bad bosses, PTO and other reasons employees quittheir jobs

Your workforce is made up of a number of different personas, soyou should take steps to ensure that your company provides benefitsoptions that fit everyone's needs. Building a holistic plan thatappeals to an entire employee base is important because the needsof tenured employees with families to support probably won't alignwith the needs of a single individual fresh out of college.

Who are your workplace personas?

Right now, there are five main generations making up today'sworkforce. These generations have different values and fall intoone of these five categories:

Traditionalists (1939-1947): Strongly focusedon their careers and largely adhere to social norms; generally,have single-company loyalty.

Baby Boomers (1948-1963): Typically,hardworking and motivated by the three Ps of position, perks, andprestige; they often define themselves by their professionalaccomplishments.

Generation X (1964-1978): Less committed to asingle employer and willing to change jobs to get ahead; they'remore tech savvy than previous generations and place a strong valueon work/life balance.

Millennials (1979-1991): Have high expectationsof their employers, willing to trade high pay for flexibleschedules, plugged into technology.

Gen Z (1992 – present): Raised with an iPhoneor Android device in their hands, more entrepreneurial and wary ofcorporate America, highly value personal and professionaldevelopment opportunities.

What do they want?

In the 1970s, when the cafeteria plan first made an appearance, ratherthan being boxed into a traditional benefits program, employeesfinally had the ability to select the exact types of health carebenefits they needed with their payroll deductions taken outpre-tax. Today, the number of traditional and voluntary benefits options available toemployees has essentially transformed the humble cafeteria planinto a smörgåsbord of options.

While it's important to consider the workplace personalitytraits of each generation, this should not be the only factor toconsider when you're determining which benefits to offer yourworkforce. For some, an individual's needs when choosing hisbenefits plan aren't necessarily going to be driven by his birthyear, but by where he is professionally. For example, consider anemployee who is 70 years old, has been with a company for 40 years,but isn't quite ready for retirement. She's going to be highlyinterested in pension plans and 401(k)s. She also places atremendous value on traditional healthcare benefits.

On the flip side, look at a 30-year old with a spouse and twochildren. Because he's thinking long-term about his family'sneeds–i.e., health benefits for his spouse and small kids,retirement down the road–he's also interested in the identicalbenefits as your 70-year-old employee. Although one is a babyboomer and one is a millennial, they both want the same things, fordifferent reasons. That's why it's so important to tailor conversations about benefits to youraudience to be sure you're addressing their particularconcerns.

Finally, there are some benefits that have wide, if notuniversal appeal, such as summer schedules and flexible hours,in-house workout facilities (or discounts for local gymmemberships), onsite dining, an open or casual work environment andcell phone and commuter stipends.

Gen Z: A large percentage of Gen Z islikely still on their parents' insurance plans when they enter theworkforce, so healthcare benefits might not be something that'simmediately top of mind – but don't rule out the appeal of petinsurance! Much like Gen X, many in this group appreciate, or evenexpect, flexibility and autonomy in the workplace. Additionally,64% pinpoint career growth opportunities as the priority whenthey're considering a full-time job, so a comprehensive careerdevelopment program ranks highly on many of their benefits wishlists. Lastly, consider that digital natives (Gen Z andmillennials) who were raised with the constant stimulation of theinternet, were also raised to appreciate the need to unplug andrejuvenate, so you might also consider ways to accommodate thatdesire, such as unlimited PTO and sabbaticals.

Millennials: Millennials generally aremore interested in financial benefits. This group may be moredriven than prior generations by their belief that Social Securitywill either run out or be a drop in the bucket when they retire.For plan designers, understanding millennials' insecurities heremight help them create innovative programs such as a student loan payoff program (in returnfor a lower salary) and retirement planning tools or seminars.Also, consider Paid Family Leave, including maternity and paternityoptions, for millennials who are starting families.

Generation X: According to a MetLifesurvey, Gen X is busy raising kids, so they're responsible fortheir children's medical expenses as well as their own. Since thisgroup is likely to have children in age groups that are prone toaccidents, especially sports and playground injuries, a solidhealth insurance plan is important to them. Unfortunately, manybusinesses need to step up the fine-tuning of their programsbecause, according to a study conducted by Barclays, 87% of GenXers feel their current benefits package isn't flexible enough tomeet their changing needs.

Baby boomers: A growing frequency ofchronic conditions makes this generation high consumers of healthcare. So, much like Gen X, 52 percent of boomers would be veryinterested in having more health plans to choose from, but for verydifferent reasons. They also seek to protect their retirementsavings against the risk of unexpected out-of-pocket medicalexpenses. Additionally, many Boomers are taking care of agingparents and family members, so consider giving them non-traditionalleave options. Traditionalists: While theymake up only about 3 percent of the workforce, sometraditionalists are still trucking along at their jobs. In additionto wanting a solid healthcare benefits plan, Traditionalists aremore likely to sign up for voluntary benefits such as cancer orcritical illness insurance. They lean more toward a preference forusing a PPO rather than the HDHP that younger employees favor.

Bottom line: When you're creating or modifyingyour benefits plan, it's important to steer clear of acookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all program. Yes, there are certainthings every employee wants from a company: job security, work-lifebalance, and a good relationship with their employer, but eachemployee has distinct needs that should be factored in to yourfinal decision.

Read more on how to build a stellar benefitspackage:

• Expanding and simplifying benefits packages toincrease engagement
• Unique benefits to recruit and retain femaleemployees
• Open enrollment tips for benefits managers: Gettingready

Karen Crone is chiefhuman resources officer for Paycor.