Written by: Andrea J Munn, SHRM-CP, PHR, Tilson HR Department Manager
Annually, most employers go through a benefit review, assess their current offerings, and look at the renewal they receive to determine what is the best option(s) to provide to their staff. But what are you really looking for? What are you trying to achieve? As summer is winding down and we start heading towards the end of the year this is the perfect time to ask yourself the following questions!
- Do you have a pulse on if the current benefit offerings are meeting your employees’ needs?
- Can you sustain your contribution strategy long term, or do you need to increase or adjust?
- Are there other benefits outside of health, dental, vision that your employees want or need?
- How can you increase your value proposition to your employees via your overarching benefit package?
- What do you consider to be a part of your benefit package?
Let’s talk about the questions and why you should review these and then, what do you do with the information you discover!
Pulse of Employees – What your employees are saying, what do they like, not like, have concerns about, etc… If you hear and understand how your employees are utilizing their benefits and are aware of any concerns or issues this information can help you better define what it is you need. And, it can help you and Tilson focus on employee education and resources to explain the benefits and support the use of the benefits.
Contribution Strategy – The financial impact of what you are contributing as the employer is not small and needs to be sustainable long-term. However, in today’s market, with inflation, cost of healthcare, and prescriptions, it is possible that you may need to adjust your contribution strategy to allow the benefit to, in fact, be a benefit to your employees.
Other Benefits – What else can be considered a benefit? Do you offer assistance for educational attainment, do you provide paid parental leave, do you provide adoption assistance, etc…? What about those animal lovers, would you offer pet insurance? Do you offer ongoing professional development or continuing education hours? These are all benefits that could be offered and may increase your staff retention and/or recruitment strategy. These additional benefits fall under IRS Fringe Benefit rules, however, we can assist you in creating proper policies to allow for these additional benefits.
Value Proposition – Do employees know what you contribute? Do they know what the cost of the benefit programs are? If not, tell them! Letting employees know what you are providing and showing them, via compensation statements, the additional benefit cost on top of their salary brings an overarching perspective to their TOTAL COMPENSATION.
Gross pay + Benefit Contributions/Allowances + PTO + Retirement = Total compensation!
Benefit Package – What is this, what do you consider to be included in this package? This is not just your health, dental, vision, and life insurance. You can also consider and include items such as, paid time off, wellness programs, retirement program, flexible work schedules, remote work environments, technology tools and allowances.
Now, what comes next? You’ve asked questions, listened to staff, and contemplated your options. So, what’s the next step?
- Consider, will your staff size increase or decrease for 2024?
- Will you have any strategic changes to your operations in 2024?
- What is your company culture like?
- Are benefit offerings impacting this?
- What additional services or benefits could help you?
- Learning Management System (LMS)
Please know as you review your benefits, your Tilson HR Advisor is here to assist you. We will be reaching out to clients to discuss their benefits as well as overarching needs. However, please feel free to review our resource page and reach out with any questions!
Don’t currently use Tilson’s services? Reach out to our sales team today and discover how you can provide your employees with high-quality health coverage comparable to Fortune 500 offerings, all at an affordable cost.
