What employees want most
Providing your employees with good pay, showing them respect and acknowledging their efforts when they achieve a goal are all vital in maintaining their job satisfaction. However, there’s one other thing that all employees seem to want in order to be truly happy with their job: great benefits.
Benefits are a sticky issue for employers (small business owners in particular). The simple truth is that no benefits plan is going to satisfy all employees. Most employers can’t afford to give their employees all the benefits they want, but the best employers are able to work out a plan that satisfies as many employees as possible, without breaking the bank.
Many employers try to cut back as much as they can on benefits because they see it as money wasted. This isn’t the right attitude – instead, think of benefits as an investment. Benefits spending is part of your company’s competitive place in the market. A generous benefits package will help you attract and retain the best employees, which will increase your revenues.
Do you need some help figuring out what your company’s benefit plan should cover? According to a recent survey, the benefits that employees want the most are:
·Full healthcare coverage. Simply put, employees want the peace of mind that comes with knowing 100 percent of their healthcare coverage will be paid by their employer. Many employees rate this as more desirable than a higher salary.
·Company-matched 401k investments. This is self-explanatory. Employees also want other financial incentive programs, such as tuition reimbursement.
·Choice. Where possible, employees want to be able to customize their benefits package to suit their lifestyle. For example, older employees may be more concerned about health coverage, whereas younger employees may want child care coverage.
Minimum Requirements
Not all small business owners are aware that there are laws regarding what benefits they are obligated to offer their employees. The only benefit employers are legally obligated to offer is insurance for worker’s compensation (alternately, employers can choose to be self-insured). However, in order to fully protect your business from potential liability for work-related accidents involving third parties, it’s a very good idea to maintain liability insurance.
http://www.capital.com/business-operations/benefits.aspx