{"id":865,"date":"2018-06-15T14:39:08","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T14:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/?p=865"},"modified":"2018-06-15T14:41:04","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T14:41:04","slug":"benefits-employees-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/benefits-employees-want\/","title":{"rendered":"What Benefits Do Your Employees Want"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be a successful business, you need to be able to get and keep great talent. And one way to do that is through great employee benefits and perks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But depending on who you\u2019re looking to hire and what your competition has to offer, your current approach to group benefits may not be giving you the employee recruitment and retention advantage you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a highly competitive market, one size does not fit all. Organizations who put time and effort into their benefits strategy will be the talent winners.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>It\u2019s complicated<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It used to be that employees were pretty happy with the standard health and retirement benefits offered by their employers. But today\u2019s work\/life reality is very different, and both healthcare and retirement have become exponentially complex and expensive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gone are the days of 100% coverage and employer pensions. Hindered by the exploding cost of providing these things, many employers have cut back on their offerings. And employees are feeling the pinch\u2014 or the punch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As financial realities and workplace expectations continue to evolve, employees are re-defining what benefits are most important to them, and using these priorities to guide them when making career decisions. Employers who want to give themselves an edge in recruitment and retention should take note.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Employees are worried<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.willistowerswatson.com\/en\/insights\/2016\/02\/global-benefit-attitudes-survey-2015-16\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global Benefits Attitudes Survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Towers Watson, employees have big concerns, many of which are financial. Survey respondents reported being worried about short-term and long-term finances, as well as the viability of retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data from US workers provided a stark look into this new reality:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a036% of employees reported being concerned about the level of debt they face<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a052% of employees said they were experiencing short or long-term financial worries and\/or were currently struggling financially<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a066% of those who were struggling financially reported higher levels of stress<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a076% of employees believed they\u2019d be worse off in retirement than their parents<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This study also backed up the obvious: Employees with financial worries have higher levels of stress, and higher levels of stress lead to poor health outcomes for employees and reduced productivity for employers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t need a doctor to tell you that high stress and poor health will also lead to higher claims on your health plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long story short: Having stressed out employees isn\u2019t just unhealthy. It\u2019s expensive.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>But you can make a difference<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an employer, you have the power to attract great talent and help alleviate financial anxiety, all at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some ways you can make a difference, both for your workforce and your organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Offer medical benefits<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at a low cost to your employees can relieve a considerable amount of emotional and financial stress, especially when those benefits extend to partners and family members. They can also improve the overall health and wellbeing of your team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Paid time off<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> policies also encourage employee wellness. As technology allows work to creep into your employees\u2019 personal time and personal lives, it\u2019s important to give people time off to rest and recharge. Offering sick time is important, but only granting time off when people are sick isn\u2019t a good wellness strategy. Flexible PTO policies will be much more appealing to current staff and potential employees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Dental and vision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> plans are often seen as \u201cextras\u201d by insurance providers and employers, but if you\u2019ve ever suffered through a midnight toothache, dental care sure doesn\u2019t feel superfluous. Being able to see seems pretty critical, too.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/02\/the-most-desirable-employee-benefits\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research shows<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that employees value dental and vision coverage, and will take these benefits into consideration when making employment choices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Retirement plans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and contribution matching can help ease worries about long-term finances and provide a sense of security. These programs are also an effective way to for employers to demonstrate that they are willing to invest in their employees over the long term, which could make them more likely to hang around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But far too many energetic, young employees can\u2019t even think about retirement, much less contributing to a retirement plan, because they are still so buried in student debt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Student loan repayment<\/b> <b>programs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are quickly becoming a coveted employee benefit. According to SHRM, only 4% of employers are offering help with student loans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, in a survey conducted by<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.asa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/life_delayed_whitepaper_2015.pdf\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Student Assistance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 76% of respondents said that if a prospective employer offered a student loan repayment benefit, it would be a deciding or contributing factor to accept the job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking for up and coming or highly skilled talent, this is an area where you could gain a serious competitive recruiting advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Moving in the right direction<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re having trouble finding great candidates, it\u2019s time to re-think your approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The employee business landscape shifts and changes constantly. As an organization looking for new talent, you need to consider who you\u2019re looking for, where you\u2019ll find them, and what benefits they\u2019re likely to value most. And you can\u2019t do that if you\u2019re sitting still.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employee recruitment and retention strategies that worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Or even later this afternoon. If your employee benefits broker or strategy is stuck in the past, it\u2019s time to get moving in a new direction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recruiting and retaining employees is easier when you can proudly offer a comprehensive benefits plan that makes your team members feel as valuable as they are. At Sonus Benefits, we build cost effective, long-lasting employee benefits strategies to keep your business and your employees in optimum health.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To be a successful business, you need to be able to get and keep great talent. And one way to do that is through great employee benefits and perks. But depending on who you\u2019re looking to hire and what your competition has to offer, your current approach to group benefits may not be giving you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Benefits Do Your Employees Want - Sonus Benefits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/benefits-employees-want\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Benefits Do Your Employees Want - Sonus Benefits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To be a successful business, you need to be able to get and keep great talent. 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