3 Employee Benefits and Retention Obstacles Your HR Team is Dealing with — and How to Remedy Them

Mar 15, 2023

We’re living through tough economic times. With a recession looming, we know both your Executive and HR teams are feeling the pressure. It’s one thing to say that you relate to and understand the obstacles your team is facing, but it’s another to offer up solutions to the three most common employee benefits and retention challenges.

3 Employee Benefits and Retention Obstacles and Solutions

Obstacle 1

We need to cut costs, but we don’t want to reduce the value of our employee benefits package.

Solution: Putting cost containment strategies into place doesn’t mean you have to strip away the value of your benefits plan from employees. Restructuring your employee benefits plan with Totem means working with the best vendors and technology to direct your employees to top-quality physicians in their area. 

When your employees receive high-quality care, there is a 35% decrease in the cost of care.    Counter-intuitive to popular thought, high-quality care actually costs less because of avoidance of errors, reduced readmission and complication rates, avoidance of unnecessary procedures and overall efficiency. When employers save 35% on healthcare spend, they’re able to enhance benefits and reduce employee out-of-pocket, making a real difference for employees. But best of all, high quality healthcare results in healthier employees and family members. 

Obstacle 2

Our top employees continue to resign, and we can’t continue to dedicate resources and funding to retention efforts. 

Solution: According to Human Resources Director Magazine, companies are now needing to switch their focus from buying talent to building upon the talent they currently have. While retention is more cost-effective compared to recruiting efforts, many employees are jumping ship and taking new positions that pay more. HRD reported, “62.6% of recent hires said they received a pay increase when they switched jobs.”

So, how can you compete with competitors offering your top talent higher salaries? Cue your employee benefits retention strategy. Your employee benefits plan is a significant value-add for your employees. But are your employees aware of the benefits they have at their fingertips? It’s crucial to implement effective employee communication tactics, benefits technology and support centers to make navigating benefits easier for your employees. This will increase employee satisfaction and boost your retention efforts.

Obstacle 3

History tells us that another recession is around the corner. How can we best prepare?

Solution: Economic uncertainty is top of mind for everyone. While there are many areas of your business that require preparation for a recession, starting with your employee benefits packages can help in multiple ways. When you partner with a benefits consultant like Totem, we work with you to create an employee benefits plan that is tailored to your business needs and helps you reach your goals.

Your employee health plan has the potential to be your best ROI. Times have changed, and an average benefits plan is no longer enough. When you partner with Totem, we’ll help you achieve:

  • Improved employee satisfaction and perception of benefits.
  • Increased productivity with your HR Team due to fewer benefits administration tasks on their shoulders.
  • Reduced cost of care for you and your employees.
  • Better health for your employees and their dependents.

An optimized Employee Benefits plan can be the silver bullet to attracting and maintaining a top-notch workforce without increasing your costs. It’s time to re-strategize and optimize your employee benefits plan.

Ready to get started? Book a free consultation with our team today.

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