Small Business Employee Benefits

Small business employees meeting to discuss employee benefits and health insurance

Do you own a small business? Do you want to attract and keep employees? The benefits package can be an important part of considering a job offer. This means employers need to think about providing the right options for health insurance, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, and retirement plans.

Health Insurance
Research shows that health insurance is the most important benefit to employees. When choosing between a higher paying job and a lower paying job with better benefits, 88 percent of respondents said that health insurance might make them consider the lower paying job.1

Know your industry. Before you decide to offer health insurance for your employees, you should do some basic market research. Be sure that offering benefits will be beneficial to your business. Start by looking at other companies. What are your competitors doing? Do they have a group health plan? How competitive is your market? If so, you may want to think about offering health insurance too.

Make sure you can afford it. Offering benefits has to make sense for the company’s budget. Talk with your chief financial officer or accountant to see what you can afford to pay toward monthly premiums. Many plans offer options that could work for even a small budget.

Know what changes make an impact. If you already offer health insurance but want to change plans, make a list of which benefits can be better. Ask your team what they would like. You may find that extras like online tools and 24/7 support are valued more than lower premiums. And don’t forget about dental insurance for employees and vision coverage.

More Employee Benefits
Offer more to attract more. Other employee benefits, like retirement plans and group insurance, are often viewed along with overall compensation. They can give you a competitive edge when recruiting employees. Group insurance and retirement options are designed to protect your employees long-term. Including these benefits is a way to show that you value their total wellbeing.

In recent years, there has been a shift in what workers value in the workplace. Flexibility is becoming one of the most important work perks employees look for. In fact, 74 percent of workers want the ability to work flexibly.2 Good news for you – this one doesn’t cost much! Offering more flexibility for your employees could include letting them work from home or working flexible hours.

Your employees are the lifeline of your business. Offering competitive benefits can help your small business succeed by retaining and attracting the best talent.

 SOURCES:

1Harvard Business Review (2017, February 15). Web page: The Most Desirable Employee Benefits. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2017/02/the-most-desirable-employee-benefits.

2Fortune (2016, December 28). Web page: What Employers Will Worry About in 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017 from http://fortune.com/2016/12/28/employers-2017-employee-retention-unemployment/.

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