Half of all your workers think that benefits are the most important thing for their general job happiness. Believe me, this is very telling and also very helpful once you start listening to it!
Support and reward your employees with things like health insurance plans and retirement plans – this all starts with a strong benefits program. These all kinds of programs help your team with morale and can help keep them around, too. You will end up with a more motivated, healthier, and much more loyal group.
You should first know well what exactly goes into a great benefits program. I will also teach you how to make one that changes your company for the better.
Interested? Let’s talk about it!
What Are Benefits Programs?
You have three main kinds of benefits programs: traditional, fringe, and statutory.
Traditional benefits give you health insurance and retirement plans like 401(k), life insurance, and disability insurance. Paid time off (PTO) that you can use for vacations, sick leave, and holidays is also included.
Now, let’s talk about those fringe benefits. These non-traditional ones might excite you a bit more because they also include stock options and wellness programs, and they also give extended PTO, education cost reimbursements, and professional development programs like those workshops and courses you might want to try.
Then there are the statutory benefits. These are by law and cover unemployment insurance, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections, and paid annual leave. You should think about how these benefits can help your company.
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A good benefits program is very helpful for getting and keeping employees happy. In a job market where everyone is looking for the best possible talent, a good benefits package can help you get and keep that top talent. These benefits play a big role in lowering stress and improving productivity, too, and they show your company’s values and commitment to taking care of all employees. That shapes your company culture.
When starting to design the right benefits program, you should know your employees’ needs. Get feedback so the benefits offered meet the needs of your different workforce. Think about giving some family-building support – that might be a big plus. You should explain these benefits during onboarding and create refreshers once in a while. I recommend adding some personalization by letting employees customize their benefits packages. Keep an eye on how often these benefits are used to continually help with your products. What else should you think about when starting a benefits program?
To put a good benefits program into action, create policies that match your company’s culture and values. I’ve found that getting support from important stakeholders will ensure things go smoothly. Also, staying compliant with laws is very important, so consult with legal and financial experts. Develop a complete communication plan to avoid misinformation and ensure an easy rollout process.
The cost of employee benefits can be high and might make up about 31% of total compensation in the US. But the value they give you can often outweigh these important costs! Benefits programs help with efficiency, reduce absenteeism, and increase employee satisfaction – all of these lead to cost savings for your company. Have you seen how popular benefits programs have become?
About 90% of employees legitimately think that benefits are very important to their job satisfaction. Think about that, too!
Why Start a Benefits Program?
Starting a benefits program is a big way to help your entire workplace. You can see benefits very soon, like better employee satisfaction and also enhanced productivity. Just to give you an example, 81% of employees think an employer’s benefits package matters when they take a new job since this actively shows just how helpful benefits are in getting top talent. Why does this matter? When you get better candidates, your recruitment work gets easier and more helpful since this then leads to a stronger and more motivated workforce.
But getting top talent is only part of it. A good benefits program helps keep employees, too. Just to give you an example, 63% of companies find keeping their employees harder than hiring them. Giving benefits can give employees a big reason to stay. Think about benefits like paid vacation time, flexible work schedules, and remote work-from-home options. These can reduce employee stress, and they help avoid burnout and build job satisfaction. Employees are more likely to stay with a company that cares about their general health.
What about the company’s core beliefs? The benefits package you give can show these beliefs and make your company more interesting to people who share them. Let me give you an example. If caring for the environment matters to your organization, and it has benefits like help with public transport and incentives for buying electric vehicles, you show your full commitment to these green beliefs since this might draw like-minded employees who care about these important issues.
Also, good benefit plans can affect company culture. Good company cultures lead to more productivity, less burnout, and higher employee retention rates. Real-life examples often show companies that have seen these benefits firsthand. Just to give you an example, employees of a tech firm with a strong benefits program reported higher general morale and also a more supportive work environment since this change ended up leading to more sustainable productivity and higher employee satisfaction!
Keeping valued employees also means cutting turnover costs. On average, it costs over $4,000 to hire and train a new employee. When you keep employees happy with a strong benefits package, you can avoid these extra costs and the non-stop worry that turnover often brings.
Employee satisfaction is another important area that has been positively impacted by great benefits. Employees who like their powerful benefits are more involved and content in their roles, and they are more likely to stay long-term since this eventually leads to higher general retention.
How to Choose the Right Benefits?
To choose the right benefits for your particular company, you need to look at all kinds of things. First, take a close look at the actual cost of each specific benefit. Pick what you can afford and think about all kinds of options based on your specific budget limits.
You should know exactly what your employees need. Create complete surveys and hold regular one-on-one meetings to get feedback on all the benefits they like most since this strategy lets you customize the package to meet their needs.
Ask yourself this one important question: What are these exact competitors giving? Checking what other companies in your specific industry usually give helps you stay competitive in the latest job market. Giving similar benefits can help you get and keep the top people.
Think now about more flexibility in your benefits plans. Giving customizable options will definitely make sure employees can choose benefits that match their individual needs since this increases the general worth they see in your benefit package decisions.
You should have clear communication with all your staff. Explain the benefits package during onboarding and throughout the year since this makes sure employees understand and like the benefits you give.
Track how employees often use the benefits to find areas to always help with since this helpful info makes sure your benefits actually match the latest employee needs. Don’t ever ignore the major role of health and wellness programs. Give strong health benefits like free mental health services – wellness programs always help with general productivity and retention!
Giving a good retirement plan like a standard 401(k) is great for long-term satisfaction. Knowing their future is eventually protected gives employees greater peace of mind.
Also, I think you should always think about giving extra benefits. Paid time off and flexible work schedules are good examples. Professional growth opportunities can also help with your complete benefits package. These important factors contribute to a great work environment.
Are legal factors also part of your first planning? Make sure your benefits comply well with legal needs – avoid possible compliance issues. Often, they review and maybe change the full package to meet new employee needs and fluctuating market conditions.
Creating Your Benefits Program
To set up a powerful benefits program, start by thinking about your specific goals. You should also think about what you want to get, how many employees you have, where you are located, and understand your budget limits. These goals might mean you need to get and keep the top talent. Remember, you have to stay within your budget, get good benefits, and make sure you stick to all legal needs.
Now, let’s talk quickly about the next steps. Give your employees real benefits that they actually need and like. Have you ever seen how you can do that? You should also create surveys to learn about their preferences. Give you traditional benefits like health insurance and retirement plans. I recommend adding ones like paid vacation and sick leave and skill development programs, too.
Once you have grabbed all this data, it’s time to create your strategic benefits plan. I recommend you prioritize benefits based on what the survey results show and add features that come with extra costs. Remember the administrative overhead costs. Choose if you need an in-house team or a third-party administrator to also manage the program.
Now, let’s move from just planning to actually doing it. Make sure your employees get the new benefits plan by also giving very clear information and FAQs. You might want to assign a specific contact person for administration and explain all eligibility rules. The goal is to help them completely understand how the plan works and what to expect.
Next, always monitor all your negotiations with all kinds of service providers. Do your research and compare all the different providers. Use the number of your employees and try to negotiate better rates. Sometimes, a light-hearted strategy can help. I remember joking once with a provider about needing a “superhero discount” for my team, which actually ended up leading to an easier talk about potential cost-saving options.
Finally, set up a tough way to keep looking over often and improving the benefits program. Get together feedback through surveys, regular meetings, or focus groups. You need to make sure the program changes with your employees’ needs and your business processes. Keep an eye out always for changes and make adjustments as needed.
Communicating Benefits to Employees
You should share all kinds of benefits with your employees – so here’s exactly why. It makes sure you actually know and use all the bonuses available to you. Start with some very fun ways to spread the important news. Email and the company intranet and newsletters and meetings and signs and app alerts work well since this way, no matter your preferred way of getting things – you will always get the info you need.
You should make everything super easy to understand and just follow through. You need to break things down into smaller, easy-to-digest pieces. Use clear examples and also visuals, and address people with respect by name when you can. Creating easy templates for each department works well, too.
Show empathy by noting you have different and changing needs and serious concerns. Customize the info to build trust and make a personal connection with you. A dedicated benefits website helps centralize all the important info you need quite a bit. It makes it very easy to find everything you want. Easy info design is always important. Present the relevant data basically and with very clear and quick instructions.
During onboarding, you might want to teach all your new employees about these benefits with some helpful checklists. Managers should make sure everything is quickly understood and signed well. Train your very capable managers to see benefits as part of your general pay and important tools for solving your major problems.
You should have regular conversations all about the benefits program. Bring up benefits through quarterly and informative emails, share inspiring success stories to inspire, and always use online tools like employee apps and regular surveys. I’ve seen that knowing where and how to get info on benefits always helps. Make sure you have very clear contact details for vendors and insurance companies – this is a big help.
Mix your benefits strategy well into a bigger employee engagement plan. Use mainly online communication to reach you where you are most involved. Also, personalize and better target messages based on specific things like your life stage, latest location, or age. Set business goals for benefits communication to make sure they often match well with the company and HR initiatives to get the best possible outcomes.
Finally, reply to any feedback to build trust and help with the entire program since – always smart thinking!
How to Maintain Your Benefits Program?
When I think about making and maintaining a very strong benefits program, it becomes very clear to me that a regular commitment and being very flexible are very important. You always need to keep looking at and updating your benefits program often since this makes sure it completely matches all your employees’ many and always changing needs. This isn’t just something nice to do; it’s a must. You should continuously fine-tune, driven by the latest industry patterns, and complete employee feedback to help build a motivated workforce. You might wonder, how often should those regular reviews take place? Well, you should frequently make this a regular conversation with structured reviews once a year, maybe even twice.
Also, the positive effect of a good benefits program on the general company culture and morale can’t be overstated! Just think about a workplace where the benefits aren’t just benefits but solidly show the company’s true commitment to its people. These expanded programs help to build trust and loyalty – they lead to much better morale and higher retention. You might have seen the difference in employee engagement when all employees feel completely supported. It’s huge!
So, why wait? It is important to take proactive action and either start or revamp your benefits program today. A good, reliable benefits plan is a cornerstone of a happy workplace. On that note, if you want important advice to help your business with custom incentive programs, then look no further than Level 6.
We keep a close eye on improving your sales team’s performance and general employee satisfaction. Our services, like branded debit cards and advanced employee rewards programs, meet all your business needs efficiently. We create personalized programs that drive real results.
Reach out today for a free demo. See exactly how we can help businesses – like yours – increase their sales. Investing in your employees is the best possible investment for your future success!
Claudine is the Chief Relationship Officer at Level 6. She holds a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology. Her experience includes working as a certified conflict mediator for the United States Postal Service, a human performance analyst for Accenture, an Academic Dean, and a College Director. She is currently an adjunct Professor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University. With over 20 years of experience, she joined Level 6 to guide clients seeking effective ways to change behavior and, ultimately, their bottom line.
