Small business owners mistakenly believe they either cannot afford to offer benefits to their employees or that they only need to offer the minimum health benefits to them. Today, employees are looking for a more! They want a diverse benefits package that fits their needs. And while going without these types of benefits may save your business money upfront, it can hinder your success in the long run. There are also numerous advantages for employers who offer employee benefits. For example, by providing a well-rounded benefits package, you have a better opportunity to attract and retain quality employees who are committed to the future of your business.
Here are just a few reasons to offer a more robust benefits package to your employees.
Increase Employee Retention
An ongoing struggle for most small business owners is convincing top talent to join their team over a competitor or more established business. Once you find the right person, it’s typically your hope that they’ll remain loyal to your company and help you grow over time. By offering these employees a good salary and competitive benefits package, they’ll likely be more willing to stay. Thus, you can reduce employee turnover by enhancing your benefits package with things like favorable coverage, more retirement options, increases in employer contribution and/or paid time off. Don’t make a lack of benefits the reason your employees leave. This type of turnover can cost your business unnecessary time, productivity, money and frustration.1 Instead, increase employee retention by offering benefit plans designed to meet their specific needs.
Greater Tax Incentives
As a small business owner, much of the money you put into employee benefit plans can come right back to you in the form of tax incentives. For example, the premiums you pay for group health insurance benefits are tax-exempt. This means those costs are not part of any tax calculations for your business. By taking advantage of this incentive, you can significantly decrease your tax liability.
Improve Work/Life Balance and Morale
In addition to health benefits, it’s important to focus on leave benefits, flexible working benefits, wellness benefits and family benefits. All of these encompass a strong work/life balance that provides your employees the tools they need to be happier inside and outside the workplace — and make them more likely to stay with you long term. Furthermore, these initiatives can help improve your employees’ overall health and well-being, which in turn benefits your company. A few examples of ways you can improve your employees’ benefit offerings include:
- Working remotely when possible
- Flexible work hours
- Parental leave/daycare options and incentives
- Providing an on-site gym, fitness service or yoga class
- Stress management classes
- Preventative health screenings
- Providing healthy snacks in common areas
Companies who have an integrated employee wellness program typically have higher employee engagement, productivity, a more positive employee culture and higher retention. 2 Overall, wellness and work/life balance initiatives help your employees enjoy their lives in and out of the office.
“As a tight job market continues to help drive increases in employee benefits offered by organizations, health and wellness along with employee programs and services are the benefits most likely to be increased, according to the results of the 2018 Employee Benefits Survey released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).”3
Have more questions on how your business can create a more robust, well-rounded benefits plan? Give us a call or contact us here to learn more.
Source:
- https://recruiterbox.com/blog/employee-retention-5-ways-small-businesses-can-avoid-employee-turnover
- https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/273/8-key-benefits-of-employee-wellness-programs
- https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/agency-extends-relief-for-grandmothered-health-plans.aspx