How Offering Employee Benefits Can Put a Small Business Ahead When Hiring
By: Mary Thompson, Capstone Brokerage President, November 19, 2014
Everyday a company somewhere is experiencing the hiring process. Ads are being placed, interviews are happening, and training is being conducted. Hiring is just the beginning, employee retention should be every businesses priority. Maintaining key employees saves businesses money, keeps customers happy and helps businesses run more efficiently. I believe that employee retention directly relates to employee benefits in most cases. A company that has a lush benefit package often has satisfied employees that stick around and enjoy being part of the team.
What are employee benefits?
Benefits come in many forms:
401(k), Vacation, PTO time, Life and Disability Insurance, Retirement Plans, Holiday pay, Ancillary Benefits, Legal Assistance and of course Health Insurance.
What benefit is most important to employees?
According to Forbes health insurance coverage is a must for employees. Health insurance is now required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for individuals to have in place, making the desire to work for a company that provides coverage even more important to those in the job market. A company that offers health insurance verses one that doesn’t will almost always fall short when an individual is considering employment.
Health insurance is expensive, lets face it, and many companies don’t think they can afford to offer it. However, not offering could be costing business owners great employees in the long run? Glassdoor has created a ranking of the top 25 companies based on compensation and benefits. What makes this ranking different from most is it is based entirely on employee feedback. According to the Survey, when asked what benefits are the most important to employees, aside from salary and compensation, three out of four (76 %) employees report medical plan/coverage.
There are ways to offer health insurance to employees without costing a business to run in the red. There are options such as Premium Reimbursement programs that allow a business owner to financially contribute while having a fixed cost. Other options are to provide group insurance and pay a set dollar amount for each employee. Obtaining health insurance coverage for employees is easy to do with the guidance of a knowledgeable insurance consultant. I personally have helped many small businesses in recent years offer health coverage to their employees at a cost that they are comfortable with.
For most business owner’s, growth is important. The key to a successful small business is a combination of things. Employees are the veins of a company, they keep work flowing. Having a benefits package in place that includes health insurance is important and may contribute to your growth.
