How can you create a competitive employee benefits package?

Before determining what your employees want, determine what your business needs. Your employees may not know what they want as they may be unaware of the different types of benefits that insurance companies offer (major medical, supplemental, indemnity, etc.). Ask yourself: Are you struggling to stay competitive to clients, is your turnover too much to bear, is your business struggling to turn a profit? Once you as a business owner have answered these questions, reach out to a benefits consultant or insurance broker and ask them what type of services they provide and how their services can help your situation.

The first step to evaluating your benefits is to look at participation. What percentage of eligible employees actually participate and what types of employees are participating? If participation is low and only higher paid employees participate, is that even a benefit? There's a 100% chance that your employees will see insurance as just another cost and by simply asking if they want insurance, they're all going to just say no. Which may put the business in a bizzare spot due to legal obligations. While it's important for the business to understand what's available, it's almost more important to simply understand the difference between voluntary benefits and major medical benefits. What do your employees need access to?

Some key things to consider at this stage is also the existing platform which you communicate the benefits. A well designed benefits offerings needs to offer a broad spectrum of mental, physical, social and financial well-being. Employees will never full engage with everything you offer but more 'pick and mix' from the offering what's appropriate to them at a specific time. So looking at what you have, engagement and how you communicate it with the team is also a vital process of your analysis. It can be worth looking at external support who can objectively look as they may be able to see trends and challenges or have employees talk more openly.

Many small businesses I have come across in the UK set up benefits at an early stage & as business growth pressures build there isn't always someone to review the quality & relevance of what has been set up. Benefits may have been selected because they were cheap or because an employer needed to tick a box. The person responsible may have left & little consideration given to whether they are the most suitable for their employees, some who have yet to be hired! When businesses are big enough to buy other businesses, there can be very different benefits on offer & this can lead to some employees receiving more than others. Reviewing & equalising benefits can seem like a very time consuming task, but the ROI is definitely worth it!

O aspecto-chave na cria??o de um pacote de benefícios competitivo é manter-se atualizado com as tendências do mercado. Isso significa estar ciente das práticas de benefícios emergentes e garantir que a organiza??o esteja oferecendo benefícios que estejam alinhados com as expectativas dos funcionários e com as melhores práticas do setor. Isso pode incluir benefícios inovadores, como licen?a parental estendida, assistência financeira para a educa??o continuada e programas de assistência à saúde mental.

Customised benefits are vital to supporting company values. An example can be where organisations have put slides and ball pits into the office to show they think different and are innovative. Benefits can say more about company culture than the value an employee takes away from them. So, looking at this example employees might not engage with the slides / ball pits but does that mean it was a poor decision? It all comes down to the objectives. If no one uses them but it impacts the culture of the organisation and helps attract a younger, creative work force then it was a great benefit for the company. Sometimes the secondary impact of benefits are greater than the practical use.

Employers should never worry about over communicating the employee benefits they offer. As long as the focus isn’t always on just one benefit, I have yet to come across an employer whose employees tell me they are bored of hearing about their benefits or they know everything! In the questions section of webinars and onsite employee presentations I conduct, I find that people are not aware of a lot of the detail of what is provided. In one to one meetings I have with employees, which usually begin with an interest in discussing their workplace pension, a more personalised discussion can take place which helps to bring to life the value of the benefits to the individual, the "what's in it for me" value.

One thing I always find beneficial is to build a baseline before engaging the benefits and then (depending on workforce size) either every 3, 6 or 12 months. Checking this where appropriate with contacts at organisations in a similar sector and then finding champions within the business who can link in with the reviews to provide qualitative data on top of the standard quantitative output.

Do you survey your staff and ask them about what you provide? Are there any benefits they’d like to see you offer? How do they rate the providers? A survey can provide you with feedback which may challenge your own or your close group of work colleague’s opinions & it can also have the effect of promoting benefits. Someone may be asked a question about a benefit they didn’t know they had. Employers can use this information to feedback to benefit providers who may be able to tailor their products better for you. Do you have the time to contact many providers & ask them to compete to provide their services? Is this the best use of your time or would an adviser be better placed to get to know your business needs & make recoomendations for you?

The research is clear, candidates are willing to select a position that offers benefits and pays less over a position that doesn't offer benefits and pays more. Reach out to benefits consultants at different insurance agencies and brokerages, explain your problem, and have them tell you what products they have available to help your situation.