In order to attract and keep the best employees possible, you need to make sure you are providing the right incentives. A good salary is a promising start, but you really have to sweeten the pot. The harsh reality is, being paid well is fantastic, but that money vanishes all too quickly if it needs to be used to supply benefits that would otherwise be provided by the employers.
Let’s take a look at how benefit packages, with health insurance getting special emphasis, can recruit and retain better employees. This matters because those professionals who have the elite skills and talents can have more than one choice of where to go, even if the economy isn’t completely robust yet, and having quality employees means a stronger, healthier company. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
Money-saving perks like good health insurance plans will net you a better collection of job candidates!
Health Benefits: A Crucial Piece of the Puzzle
Health care is expensive, no doubt about it. While this consideration may not be foremost on the minds of some young, vigorous hot-shot who’s just two years out of college, keep this in mind: if you want experienced people, that implies a slightly older age demographic, as a rule. They’re the people who’ve spent a handful of years honing their skills may have also settled down, started a family, and are starting to become aware of the big picture, the expenses down the road. They’ll want to make sure their family’s health is covered, and also become aware that as they age, they’re going to need coverage in order to stay healthy.
That’s why offering a good health plan will matter more to those experienced employees. Giving them the peace of mind of good coverage, as well as a means of maintaining good health for their families goes a long way towards attracting the kind of far-thinking, thoughtful professionals your company can benefit from.
If you as an employer really want to go the extra mile, there’s a consideration about health plan lapses when luring that professional from their old company to yours. As pointed out in the article “Health Considerations for Job Seekers”, there’s a mandatory waiting period from the date of hire until coverage begins. Perhaps a little perk to sweeten the pot and help mitigate the inconvenience of that gap could make the difference?
Other Attractive Perks
Now that we’ve pretty much hammered the health plan benefit into the ground, let’s look at a few other perks that could be the tipping point that induces that professional to sign up with your company.
- Life Insurance. Many companies provide life insurance policies that pay out a multiple of the employees’ salary, usually double, with options to increase this at a small cost. Like health insurance, this perk may mean more to the more mature professional rather than the recent college graduate.
- Working From Home. This is a good perk if your company is pressed for room, or the potential employee has children and is trying to save on daycare. Yes, it’s another “attractive to the slightly more grown-up professional” perk.
- Paid Holidays. Most companies offer the usual suspects: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (and the day after, usually), and Christmas Day. Sometimes you find a company that adds in a few more holidays like Veterans’ Day and Presidents’ Day. But the best places offer a couple of paid personal days or floating holidays.
- Signing Bonuses. Ah, money. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. A good signing bonus may be the difference-maker in signing that hotshot professional you’ve had your eyes on.
Businesses that want to lure the best and brightest need to make it worth their while. A good benefits package, with an excellent health insurance plan front and center, can be the deciding factor. If you need some guidance on putting together a package, a resource like “Creating A Benefit Plan Your Employees Will Adore” can help.
