With the great resignation upon us, offering value with benefits has never been more important. “The great resignation is coming,” says Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University who’s studied the exits of hundreds of workers. “When there’s uncertainty, people tend to stay put, so there are pent-up resignations that didn’t happen over the past year.” (Source: Bloomberg — “How to Quit Your Job in the Great Post-Pandemic Resignation Boom“)
In popular culture, companies are celebrated when they offer unique and valuable benefits as part of their total compensation packages. Salesforce, Google, Facebook, Netflix are examples of companies renowned for industry leading benefits such as tuition reimbursement, complimentary child care, health and wellness allowances, and more.
The definition of benefits
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition for benefit, is something that produces good or helpful results or that promotes well being. Employee benefits are provided in addition to normal earnings to help employees and their families offset living costs, and support total health and wellness. Compensation packages are becoming increasingly more complex. In today’s world, employee contracts are made up of a variety of benefits.
Examples of benefits within a package may include:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Profit-sharing
- Retirement benefits
- Wellness benefits such as reimbursement for gym memberships or race registrations, weight loss programs, and smoking cessation
- Well-being benefits such as access to coaching, or meditation and fitness apps
- Health spending accounts (HSAs)
Why do benefits matter?
Benefits are important to employees because it shows them their employer is invested in their overall health and wellness. Benefits are a non-wage form of compensation that can have a direct impact on employee retention and recruitment. According to Indeed, “employee benefits increase the value of working for a certain company and can improve your or your team members’ health and quality of life. When applying for jobs, candidates may look at the benefits each organization offers and take those into consideration along with salary when deciding where they want to work.” (Source: Indeed — “Why Are Employee Benefits Important? Types and Advantages“)
Benefits can help employers differentiate their business from competitors. Understanding what benefits are important to your unique group of employees is the first step in creating a competitive advantage when recruiting new talent for your organization.
Insurance Benefits
Health insurance plans include health and dental, life, disability or critical illness coverage. Finding the right blend of insurance for your group of employees to meet their families’ needs is important. There are tax deductions and EI rate reduction benefits for companies that offer insurance benefits. A licensed insurance specialist or broker can help you determine the right product fit for your company. A licensed benefits advisor will educate you on product innovations, research market competitiveness, and even survey your employee group.
Retirement Plans
Employer sponsored retirement plans are an attractive benefit for employees. When a group of employees save for their retirement together, the economies of scale allow for lower investment management fees than at a retail Financial Institution. Employers can offer matching employer contributions to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), a Registered Pension Plan (RPP) or a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP). These registered investment vehicles are tax sheltered savings plans that support employees and their families with their retirement goals. Creating a plan design with an increasing contribution schedule relative to years of service encourages employees to stick around longer.
Additional Compensation
Bonuses are additional compensation over and above your base earnings. Employers may offer bonus opportunities to employees for performance, project management, or for recruitment.
Time off
Paid time off is almost always included as a benefit in employee contracts. Most paid time off benefits increase as years of service accumulate.
The most important thing to remember is you don’t have to do this alone. Please reach out to one of our benefits consultants to access the right benefit package for your unique group of employees.