If you own a small business, or are in charge of the employee benefits for such an organization, offering group benefits (medical, dental, life, retirement) could play an important role in recruitment and retention of your staff. Though offering benefits comes with its own administrative issues, doing so can make things run smoothly in so many ways.
Some business owners are concerned that the current transfer of power in Washington – with health care being a major initiative on the table – means that they should wait to see what happens. In truth, the transition to the new health insurance reform will have little effect on Group Medical coverage.
All monetary and legislative considerations aside – because I’m not here to talk about the bottom line – there are other people-oriented advantages to offering group benefits that can go far toward team building.
As an employer, surely you don’t want to hire people who are only there for the benefits, but the truth is that without offering them, you run the bigger risk of losing talented prospects who know they can get benefits with another company even if it means earning a little less. Many people will place more weight on a benefits package than the basic pay structure in their decision to accept a job offer.
So, in offering group benefits, you attract many more qualified candidates to your “Help Wanted” post. A Blue Cross survey showed that 75% of employers who offered benefits said it was a factor in their success in hiring people who went on to become loyal employees. Which means the payoff for you is not only fairly immediate, but on-going.
Once you do get that solid staff on board, because you’ve saved significant time and effort in recruitment, you can re-direct it toward training. Having attracted a more qualified squad, though, you may in turn find it possible to make the training much more efficient, getting people to work quicker, moving you forward toward your company goals. Then, when it comes to retention, you’ll find your organization free to foster the needs of your employees, ensuring the highest level of job satisfaction and productivity.
Removing at least some degree of financial burden from the shoulders of your team members and providing them with various opportunities to improve their overall quality of life and sense of future security can have a transformational effect on their well-being. It’s the old “prevention is the best cure” principle. In doing so, employees are more likely to show up for work consistently, and ready to be in the moment while they are on the clock.
Happy crew, happy you, right?
Horihan Insurance offers a wide variety of health, dental, life and retirement options to suit the circumstances of your staff. If you think that you are ready to streamline your process by implementing group benefits, visit us at horihan.com to find your nearest Horihan office. We look forward to working with you.