Help Your Employees Get the Most Out of Your Benefits Program

You may offer employees a benefits package because you believe that it helps your small business recruit and retain employees and makes your company more competitive. However, to maximize the value of your employee benefits program to the company you must maximize its value to your employees. Here are five ways to be sure that your staff is getting the most from the employee benefits you offer them.

Find Out What They Want. Survey employees about what benefits they value the most. Since you probably have a limited benefits budget, use that cash most productively by being sure that it goes toward your employees' most-desired benefits.

Be Honest about Your Choices. Be upfront with your employees about your benefits choices. If you can't afford to offer health insurance at the moment, let your employees know that. Also, explain to them your rationale, based on cost and employee preferences, for making the benefits choices that you did.

Explain Employee Benefits Clearly. Provide straightforward information about your employee benefits package, both in writing and in meetings with your workforce. Some valuable employee benefits get overlooked or underused because employees either don't understand them or believe that they are too much trouble to utilize. For example, a flexible spending plan for medical expenses (or a similar plan for dependent or child-care expenses) is a valuable benefit that allows workers to pay for health care expenses with pre-tax dollars. However, in order to encourage employees to take advantage of this benefit, you may need educate them about how it works, how easy it is to use and how much money it can save them.

Give Employees Choices. If your employee survey of benefits preferences doesn't result in a consensus, but, instead, reflects a diverse workforce with diverse benefits needs, consider a plan that emphasizes personal choice. Give each employee a benefits "budget" to be applied to a menu of benefits choices. While a little more complicated than a one-size-fits-all benefits program, this can be a winning arrangement that results in greater utilization of employee benefits and higher employee satisfaction.

Be Creative. If your small business has cash flow constraints and simply can't offer a full benefits package, don't overlook the value of "soft" benefits. Quality-of-life benefits such as being able to dress casually at work, to bring a pet to the office, to work at home one day a week, or to arrange a flexible schedule are more important to many employees than some traditional benefits like life insurance. Also, little things can mean a lot. Bringing in lunch for the office staff once a month, giving out gift cards, or providing product discounts are relatively inexpensive ways to let employees know they are valued.

Sources:

David Meier, www.entrepreneur.com,The Basics of Employee Benefits - Entrepreneur.com

Darrell Sahorsky, sbinformation.about.com, 8 Uncommon Employee Benefits Your Staff Will Love

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http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7927775/should_your_business_offer_employees.html?cat=3, Should Your Business Offer Employees a Traditional 401(k) Retirement Plan?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7779920/choosing_a_retirement_plan_for_your.html?cat=3, Choosing a Retirement Plan for Your Small Business

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7802882/5_mistakes_small_businesses_make.html?cat=3, 5 Mistakes Small Businesses Make