The secret to fueling your employee recruitment and retention efforts? A competitive benefits package. And, the best way to create an employee benefits package that proves as a value-add to your team is through strategic employee benefits consulting. The benefits you offer employees not only help you retain top talent but boost your employee recruitment tactics to remain competitive and attract the best talent in your field.
Rather than viewing your employee benefits as an annoying expense, it’s important to change your perspective to see benefits as tax-free compensation – this will lead you to build a competitive employee benefits package that truly makes the difference for your employee recruitment and retention efforts.
Regardless of your company size, employee benefits are a core way to keep your most valuable asset – your people – healthy, happy and not searching for other opportunities. Additionally, a solid employee benefits package separates your organization from competitors in the talent war.
Not yet convinced you need to restructure your employee benefits plan? Here are 4 reasons a flexible, competitive benefits plan boost employee recruitment and retention.
- High-quality employee benefits improve employee health and productivity.
According to the AICPA, 80% of workers would keep a job with benefits rather than take one that offered more pay and no benefits. When you take care of your employees, you’re showing them they are a valuable asset to your organization. The more they feel valued, the more likely they are to remain loyal and have increased productivity.
- Benefits increase attendance and presenteeism at work.
The CDC says employees who prioritize their health through preventive care like regular check-ups with a primary care provider are more productive because they remain healthier than their less diligent counterparts. Plus, the implementation of direct or virtual primary care is a highly valuable benefit that removes barriers to care and leads to less time away from work.
- Great benefits plans improve employee recruitment and retention rates.
According to an SHRM study, retention (72%) and recruiting (58%) were the top reasons for increasing the quality of your employee benefits plan. While compensation is important for employees, they truly value the entire package of what is being offered – this includes pay, benefits, PTO, work-from-home flexibility, perks and more.
- Boost employee morale and loyalty with better benefits.
When you recognize and address the needs of your workforce, your employees will take notice. By showing that you truly care about your team, you can and will organically increase morale and the overall happiness of employees.
So, we’ve told you why a competitive employee benefits package is important to meet your employee recruitment and retention goals, but how exactly can you create that package? Keep reading for Part One of The Complete Guide to Building a Competitive Benefits Package.
The Complete Guide to Building a Competitive Benefits Package: Part One
Employee Benefits Consulting: Benefits Administration
Benefits administration is the combination of systems and processes required to enroll, manage, and support the benefits plans you choose to offer employees. An ideal configuration allows for online enrollment with a friendly user experience, seamless transmission of benefit elections and eligibility data, and year-round support for employees by phone and email.
The first step to creating a competitive benefits package that works for you is establishing a solid administrative foundation.
It’s no secret that this can be a significant challenge for HR departments that are already strapped for time due to the wide array of available platforms and stakeholders. When budget and unique circumstances are substantial challenges, one of the first things you should do is talk to the experts who work with these challenges every day.
When you consult a trusted advisor, you’ll learn how to build an administrative platform that most benefits your company and works to provide an exceptional employee experience.
Outsourced benefits administration has grown in popularity and for good reason. While there is a lot of temptation to manage the administration in-house, today’s market offers comprehensive benefits administration services that allow businesses to solve administration challenges without the burden of managing day-to-day tasks.
Key benefits of outsourcing include:
- Integrating your current software platforms seamlessly.
- Assistance streamlining your process by going digital and including options for your paperless employees.
- Delegating data management, but continuing to view and manage crucial reporting to measure the success of your benefits admin solution.
Employee Benefits Consulting: Engagement + Enrollment
If you have an employee benefits plan that checks all the boxes, but your team knows nothing about how to enroll or engage, your plan has failed.
Employees have a lot on their minds, professionally and personally, so it’s critical to develop a plan that increases enrollment and engagement of your employees.
Ask yourself: How can we best connect with our employees, wherever they are?
Often, the most crucial time of year for enrollment also happens to be a stressful time for employees, and benefits might not be on their high-priority to-do list. This increases the challenge of HR departments and business owners to engage, educate, and enroll their employees during a busy time of year.
No company hires only once a year. So, a great engagement and enrollment strategy should reflect that reality. Enrolling and onboarding employees as they become a part of your team throughout the year is an important piece of your overall plan. Depending on your current solution, you might need more flexible options that provide room for your business to grow and ensures that new hires are not forgotten.
Here are a few points to consider:
- Enrollment and engagement for Annual Open Enrollment are essential, but year-round support for new hires and qualifying life events is increasingly important, especially for growing companies.
- Part of a great engagement strategy will include continuous interactions with your employees, including but not limited to new hire welcome calls and enrollment, outbound calls and targeted message campaigns, and mobile text message campaigns, benefits reminders, and updates.
- Concierge-level support for beneficiary updates, claims inquiries, eligibility inquiries, and website navigation support are also good additions.
Employee Benefits Consulting
Benefits consulting is more than negotiating with insurance companies, presenting renewals, and tweaking cost-sharing. Employers have an opportunity to take a supply chain management approach to their employee benefits plan and build a program that’s customized to their unique goals, demographics, geography, financial position, and risk tolerance. By working with a benefits consultant that embraces this approach, you can increase the quality of care and improve the employee experience, while lowering costs.
The benefits consultant you choose should teach you about the variety of available tools, options, vendors, and resources — then help you design and implement a solution that is built around you and your needs. Education about the options available to you is a core part of successful employee benefits consulting.
You should leave with a plan that is compelling for employee recruitment and retention, maximizes employee health and wellbeing, and is aligned with your financial objectives.
Benefits consultant can help you explore strategies such as:
- Reference Based Pricing
- Centers of Excellence programs
- Direct Contracting
- Specialty Drug Programs
- Direct Primary Care
The most important thing to consider in benefits consulting is how you can be there for everyone. Your strategy should ensure employees and their dependents are getting the right care for the right price. A benefits consulting partner can help you customize a plan that meets each of your team member’s needs.
Stay tuned for The Complete Guide to Building a Competitive Benefits Package: Part Two. If you have any questions or would like to connect with a Totem Team Member, click here.
