Group benefits are a must in today’s tough job market. The best candidates for your business will evaluate the benefits your company offers – but how can you build a benefits package you can afford, and which will appeal to the employees you want on your team? It takes strategy.
To plan an attractive group benefits package, you must evaluate several issues:
It is difficult for a small to medium-sized company to compete with the largest companies in your industry. Still, employees understand this, and many prefer to work at a growing firm that offers other benefits, such as stock options, advancement opportunities, remote work, or others. Your company may be required by law to provide several benefits, based on the number of employees. Your benefits package can be crafted to include the following:
You may choose to offer perks to attract and keep the best employees:
All business owners agree that the quality of employees has everything to do with success in the marketplace. Quality employees who are well-trained, loyal, and plan on staying with your company are a significant factor in continued growth. Unfortunately, employee turnover is one of the most expensive costs of doing business. The costs of attracting, identifying, onboarding, and getting a new hire up to speed can range into the tens of thousands. Employee retention is always an issue, now more than ever. Many of your employees are being bombarded with offers. A competitive benefits package can be a powerful incentive for the best employees to stay.
The most cost-effective benefits packages are customized to suit the individual business. With the help of a local group benefits professional, a plan can be crafted that works for a company bottom line. Every aspect of the package will be evaluated against the available budget. For health insurance, the options range from fully insured, partially self-funded, high-deductible, PPO, and HMO. Your plan can be crafted to provide the employee with the ability to choose. Employees may prefer to enroll in a high-deductible plan with lower premiums, coupled with an HSA (Health Savings Account), with funds invested pre-tax to pay for some medical expenses.
A “cafeteria plan” can be offered, in which other benefits are offered, pre-tax. Employees can choose from the range of benefits offered, such as adoption assistance, dependent care assistance, Health Savings Accounts, and others.
With the help of a professional who can guide you through the many options, a custom group benefits package can be created that matches your budget and is attractive to potential and existing employees.