Employers right now are dealing with a lot. The economy is evolving, there are new societal pressures, and, oh yes, a pandemic has caused all manner of tumult. Add to that a very labor market, and organizations need every edge they can muster to beat the competition.
A great benefits program is a great way to help with recruitment and retention. Organizations are increasingly expected to not only provide benefits but a great package, at that, with heretofore-nontraditional elements such as behavioral health and health savings programs. Provision is to your advantage, since not only will you be better able to attract and keep talent, but healthy employees are more productive.
Most organizations want to provide quality benefits, but they still must manage ever-rising costs, with an eye on business goals. These days, it’s more important than ever that companies get top value for their offerings. So, it’s the proverbial balancing act.
One thing is for certain, and that’s that it’s advantageous for you and your employees to tailor employee benefits to their needs. Here’s why.
Recruitment and Retention
Contents
If this hasn’t been hammered home enough, the provision of attractive benefits is paramount to the ability to lure and keep talent. This is especially true if you’re a small or medium-sized company that can’t pay top wages. Such offerings send the message that you care about your workforce’s wellbeing.
A great benefits package can also keep absenteeism and turnover rates low. After all, it is expensive to hire and train new employees, and that’s on top of advertising costs.
Accommodate Older Workers
The U.S. workforce has been aging for the last 50 years. While many older employees have left their jobs amid the pandemic, still more can’t afford to retire. This means organizations must reshape their benefits offerings to make sure they’re taking care of employees ages 50 and older. Doing so will not only help you retain experienced and desired workers but, since the word does get around, it will also help you recruit.
So, do consider benefits such as life insurance that are tailored to older workers to help make them feel more secure about their financial health as they age and may need to support their physical and mental health.
Improve Wellbeing
It’s a fact that employees who feel valued and cared for are happy employees, and happy employees are more productive and thus are better for your bottom line.
But times are stressful. So, to keep employees happy at work, focus employee benefit solutions more on their mental as well as physical health. Provide supportive benefits that include counseling, for example, or other help with behavioral health. Not only will doing so boost morale and workplace productivity, but it will reduce absenteeism.
Improve Engagement
With flexible working hours and remote work on the rise, it’s incumbent upon you to alter your strategy for rewarding and engaging talent. Sure, it’s great to offer unconventional benefits such as free yoga on Fridays or monthly guest speakers, but with so many people working varied hours or remotely, it’s easy for some employees to feel left out.
You can offset this trend by offering opportunities for, say, online personal development courses, or by providing upgraded equipment for employees’ home offices.
The takeaway here is that to remain competitive, you must have all employees in mind when you’re crafting your benefits program.
As you can see, tailoring an employee benefits program to your employees’ needs is essential — if you want to compete in a tight labor market. If you need help balancing costs with attracting and retaining talent, we suggest you contact Mercer, which can use its holistic approach to give you the competitive boost you need.
