Employers have struggled to find ways to attract and retain talented employees pre-pandemic, and the issue has not changed as we move into the post pandemic employer/employee relationship.
Compensation is a primary driver in attracting and retaining employees. But what does compensation entail. Monetary consideration and employee benefits make up a large portion of an employer’s total compensation package. Let us think about our own situation when considering staying with or moving away from our current employer. The benefits package is a key consideration. When discussing how employers and employees alike rank benefit offerings we have found the following list to be the most common response for our clients’ and their employees:
- Medical
- Dental
- 401k
- Paid Time Off
- Vision
- Life
- Disability
- Voluntary Benefits (Group and Worksite offerings)
Most employers offer core benefits at no to reduced cost to their employees. But as the cost of medical plans have risen, employers have shifted the cost to employees to figure out the best way to keep core benefit programs strong while balancing the ever-increasing strain on their employee benefits budgets. Voluntary Worksite benefits are playing a huge role in helping employers keep their core benefit budgets in line while providing quality benefits that help fill the gaps in core medical plans. Some of the key voluntary benefits that help retain employees are the following:
- Critical Illness
- Hospital Indemnity
- Accident Indemnity
These three benefits have become more popular pre- and post-pandemic due to their ability to help employees cover some, or all, out-of-pocket expenses that come along with increasing deductibles to control medical plan costs.
In today’s workplace Voluntary Benefits have four distinctive features1:
- They must provide a value that is not available elsewhere
- They extend beyond traditional health benefits
- They are completely employee-selected and either partially or fully paid for by the employee
- They can be purchased via payroll deduction
Offering voluntary benefits has become more prevalent than ever in a post pandemic workforce. More than half of American workers have expressed that the financial, physical, mental, or social health concerns they face lead to higher stress levels and lower productivity, while over 90% believe that they become more productive and engaged at work when they feel secure in their lives.2 To provide the right support for a workforce’s well-being, employers need to pay closer attention to the benefits employees are asking for.
In conclusion Offering Voluntary Benefits to employees is no longer just a nice to have benefit, it has become a main component of every employer’s benefit package. Developing a clear and concise voluntary benefit program begins with constructing a program that:
- Fills in the gaps of your core benefit program.
- Constructs a clear communication plan which is imperative in helping employees understand the value of the plan and how it will directly benefit each employee and their family.
Employees are focused on benefit offerings more than ever before. A Prudential Insurance survey during the pandemic discovered that 52% of employees would leave their current job for another with the right benefits for them.3 Voluntary benefit strategies will become the norm in the retention and attraction of employees in a post pandemic workforce.
Resources
- The World Has Changed, So Have Employees’ Needs – Are your benefits changing at the needed pace? Corestream article, February 16, 2022
- MetLife (2021) Redesigning the Employee Experience: Preparing the Workforce for a Transformed World. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.metlife.com/employee-benefit-trends/
- Moran, G. (2020, September 29) 6 Ways the Pandemic Is Changing the Benefits Employees Want. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://www.fastcompany.com/90556268/6-ways-the-pandemic-is-changing-the-benefits-employees-want
Andy Slobiski is Employee Benefits Consultant at Bankers Cooperative Group.
