We recently wrote about the changes and trends in health care benefits. Much is changing, but one thing that remains the same is that health insurance is one of the most important and most expensive benefits to offer employees. Outside of traditional benefits such as health care, dental, vision, long and short term disability, what other benefits do employees want your organization to provide?
We were working with a client recently to identify what benefits are important to staff, an exercise we do often with clients. Regardless of the size of the organization, the answer is always “it depends.” Now that may seem like a vague response, but when it comes to importance of employee benefits, it really does depend on your employee population and demographics. Either way, as an employer it’s imperative to examine the benefits wanted by your employees to remain competitive, and attract and retain top-tier talent. Here are some common trends we have been seeing with our clients lately.
Time Off. Traditionally, younger generations are interested in the time off and we have all seen the trend of organizations combining their leave practices and creating a PTO plan. Although there are still many organizations that have traditional leave plans (separate banks for Vacation, Holiday and Sick Pay), many organizations are now creating a ‘sick leave bank’ that can be accessed by all staff. For example, if an employee needs to go on leave for a short-term disability and has used up all his/her sick leave, since short-term disability often doesn’t pay 100% of the employee’s salary, this employee can borrow or receive from the company’s sick leave bank to avoid seeing a reduction of pay.
Retirement Plans and/or 401k or 403(b) Plans. With the depressed state of the economy over the past few years, many employees knew the financial hardships placed on employers nationwide. But as the financial markets continuing to do better and the economy rebounds, many employees are looking to their employers to begin increasing and/or establishing their 401k plan contributions. For employers, helping employees look long-term is perceived as being a responsible employer. Also, providing financial guidance through the 401k vendor or a financial services firm can be extremely helpful to employees planning for retirement.
Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave. Today, more and more employees are seeking flexibility and options around the birth of children. Many organizations are being progressive and offering paternity leave along with maternity leave so that fathers can stay home with their newborn children in the first few months. The same applies for families adopting newborns or children. Providing this flexibility is a big hit with many younger employees as they begin to have children
Four Legged Family Members. Pet insurance is becoming more and more popular. Pet insurance through your benefit provider is often cheaper than plans through commercial pet insurance carriers such as Trupanion and can be deducted from employees’ paycheck. Those of us who have pets understand the expenses that occur while having Hunter, Junior or Samson as part of the family and offers substantial savings on pet expenses.
It’s important to understand what your employee’s priorities are as far as benefits. When is the last time you looked at what you offer your staff? Is it working? A robust benefit plan will help employers retain talent and serve as a key recruiting tool to bring talent into the organization. Remember, be flexible, offer options, you’d be surprised what’s important in some cases for employees.
