HR Strategy – Page 16 – Pinnacle HR Solutions

Why Propose Benefits for the Unbenefited? 3 Reasons

Guest blog content provided to Q4iNetwork consultants by freshbenies

What are you doing for employees that don’t qualify for benefits or didn’t elect health insurance coverage?

Although rising health insurance premiums may make this question more challenging for employers to answer, it’s also become increasingly important to ask. There are two distinct ways to serve the unbenefited:

Benefits the employer can provide
Benefits the employer can offer

Here are three reasons why you should consider proposing benefits for your unbenefited employees.

1. Unmet needs = opportunity

These two groups of employees represent a severely underserved benefit population:

Those who aren’t eligible for medical coverage
Those who didn’t elect medical coverage

The latest Milliman study shows costs for healthcare are increasing for employees at an even faster rate than employers. This factors into the number of employees who don’t elect medical coverage. Add to this the 28 million Americans who work part-time and you can see both the need and opportunity for innovative benefits to serve this population.

Here’s a recent example:

A new broker asked me for a proposal for 800 employees. After we discussed the group in more detail, he explained the 800 employees already had medical coverage, but there were over 4,000 employees in the entire group. I asked him, “What about the other 3,200+ employees?” There was silence on the other end of the line.

Our 71% average utilization rate more than justifies adding freshbenies to employees with existing medical coverage, but there’s arguably even more value created by providing services like freshbenies to ALL employees.

Plus, with the newest freshbenies membership, employers have scalable options including a stand-alone freshSAVINGS PACK – 9 savings networks for Rx, Dental, Vision, Chiropractic and more. This bundle adds tremendous value to a population of non-benefited employees, plus it can be further customized with optional voluntary Add-Ons.

2. A holistic benefits strategy

Providing benefit solutions for an entire group, not just those with existing medical coverage, is a strategy that both recognizes and leverages the interconnectedness of employee satisfaction.

Let’s take two employees: Jack and Jill. Both are eligible for health benefits. Jack declines coverage while Jill opts for the new high deductible health plan. Both Jack and Jill work equally hard and are equally valuable to their company. Yet, over the course of the next twelve months, Jill’s employer will likely contribute hundreds to thousands of dollars toward her benefits. Meanwhile, they will contribute nothing toward Jack’s.

Which employee do you think will feel more valued by their company? Which will be less likely to look for another position? Which would readily refer a friend for an open position? Of course, the answer is Jill. But doesn’t Jack deserve some benefit love from his employer, too?

And, there are so many more benefits you can offer. You have the standard worksite benefits like disability, accident, critical illness, long-term care, etc.

There are also perks like Telehealth, pet insurance, identity theft protection, legal savings, other savings networks, student loan repayment, parental leave, tuition reimbursement programs, remote working options, wellness stipends or reimbursements, behavioral health/counseling, volunteer time off, entertainment passes, etc.

Employers who provide benefits for all their employees, independent from the health plan and eligibility rules, can also expect to benefit through:

Differentiating themselves from competitors
Increased retention and hiring referrals from current employees
Employees who are more productive and engaged while at work

3. Better benefits leads to better performance

Putting together a holistic benefit strategy is a win-win scenario. Doing so will allow you to deepen and solidify your relationship with your employees by making sure their pain points are being addressed.

At the same time, you’re also able to differentiate yourself as an employer by providing a comprehensive (and attractive!) benefits packages for current and future employees.

Your employees are the engine that make your business run. Make sure they’re feeling healthy, happy, and valued, and they will take you far.

Photo credit andriano

The Three Letter Word that Can Bring Down Your Business

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of workplaces like the dreaded F-word: The Flu. Nobody wants it. And nobody wants to see it ripping through their organization.

Not only can it make you miserable, it can also make your businesses run miserably.

A case of the flu typically knocks people out for one to two weeks. That’s a lot of missed work! Estimates have put the cost of lost productivity due to flu season as high as 15 billion dollars. Yes, we’re talking BILLIONS. That’s enough to make any business owner feel sick.

Luckily, there are ways to help mitigate the damage. And with the health of your employees and your business on the line, they are definitely worth exploring.

Embrace healthy workplace habits

Exposure to the flu isn’t always obvious. People can be contagious without even knowing it. When flu season rolls around, it’s good to establish (or re-establish) healthy office habits that help prevent transmission.

Keep it clean – Encourage frequent hand washing. Keep hand sanitizer, tissues and disinfectant readily available. Remind people to cough and sneeze into the crook of their arms and not their hands.

Take time off – Offer paid sick time and make sure everyone (including you) knows it’s okay to use it. Make it clear that sick employees should stay home, especially if they have a fever or other flu symptoms. “Working through the flu” may seem admirable, but the ROI just isn’t there. Not only are sick employees less productive, they’re much more likely to spread their misfortune to other staff members. Employees who stay home can help prevent the domino effect.

Be flexible – If your employees have the ability to work from home, flu season is a great time to let them take advantage of it. If they are feeling under the weather, they don’t have to make that difficult decision about whether or not to trek into the office. And if they’ve got sick kids or other family members, remote working can offer some much needed flexibility.

Meet less often – If the flu is spreading like wildfire, throwing a bunch of employees into a room together and closing the door is the equivalent of creating an office Petri dish. Assess which meetings need to happen and which ones don’t. And consider using conference calls, video chats, or other technology to make them happen.

Hold the handshakes – A good, solid handshake is a business staple. But if it’s contaminated with an undetected virus, you’re better off skipping it. Encourage employees to skip the shake. A smile, nod or wave will often do the trick.

Immunize yourself. And your team.

Flu shots are no guarantee that you won’t get sick, but they definitely help. Studies show that the flu vaccine reduces the risk of flu illness by about 40% to 60% among the overall population.

There are some definite upsides to getting vaccinated. Studies show that flu vaccines not only reduce the risk of influenza, they also:

Make your illness milder if you do get sick
Reduce the risk of flu-related complications and deaths
Protect pregnant women and reduce the risk of flu illness in their babies for several months after birth
Protect the people around you, including babies and children, elderly people, and individuals with certain chronic health conditions

And while it is true that you can get the flu even if you get the vaccination, this is only the case if you:

have a compromised immune system
catch a strain of the flu that isn’t covered by the shot
were exposed to the flu before you got vaccinated
are exposed to the flu after the shot but before the vaccine has time to do its job (1 – 2 weeks)

In fact, one study showed that flu vaccinations reduced deaths, ICU admissions, and overall duration of hospitalization stays for flu patients.

Stop it before it starts

If you could reduce the number of employees with the flu by 40 – 60 percent, would you do it?

As an employer, you can reduce the risk of a flu outbreak by encouraging immunizations. You may even want to go an extra step further and host a flu shot clinic, making it easy and convenient for employees to get their shot. If cost is a barrier, consider subsidizing or covering the expense.

It’s a small price to pay for a healthier workplace.

Photo by Kian Khoon Tan

Does Your Company Need a Social Media Policy?

Well, that depends. Are you an organization of one? Then you might be okay. As long as you don’t accidentally sleep-tweet.

For everyone else, the answer is yes.

Even if you think you have the best employees, who would never post anything inappropriate, confidential, or offensive— you still need to have a policy in place. Not only will this help set the ground rules for social media use at work, it will also spell out the consequences for if – or more likely when – things go awry.

Still not convinced?

It’s understandable. You’ve built a great culture and hired fantastic employees who share the same core values. Things are going super smoothly. You’re not worried at all.

Until you are.

All it takes is one post, from one person, on or off the clock, and you’ve got yourself a situation.

They don’t call it going viral for nothing. Social media moves at the speed of light, and social media scandals move even faster. People will seize on a controversial post or idea immediately. They won’t wait to react. They won’t adhere to your time zone or schedule. You could go to sleep one night worry-free and wake up to a serious problem.

In this scenario, your reaction time needs to be equally swift. But that’s hard to do if you don’t have a framework for how these situations will be handled. And the last thing you want to hear from an employee after the fact is, “I didn’t know!”

Avoid the confusion

Putting out fires as they happen is exhausting. Why not take a lesson from Smokey the Bear and try to prevent them instead? Or at least put an emergency action plan in place for when the flames come rolling through?

A comprehensive social media policy will help you effectively deal with issues when they arise. It will also let your employees know what your expectations are and what happens if they don’t follow them.

Here are some key things to include when putting your plan together:

Social media use at the workplace

On company accounts
On company devices
On company time

Social media use on personal accounts

Sharing confidential information about your company, coworkers, and/or clients
Inflammatory comments and/or hate speech
Harmful, negative or damaging comments about your job, colleagues, and company
Personal blogging about workplace issues

Inappropriate usage

Using photos or video without consent
Harassment or bullying
Confidentiality breaches
Discrimination

But what about networking?

Ah, yes. Social networking. Often, this is a significant part of our career lives. Many employers encourage and expect participation on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others, which brings up additional questions that need to be addressed.

Who can friend who? Is it appropriate for HR to connect with employees? Should supervisors be friends with reports?
Can managers make professional recommendations for their current reports? Could these recommendations be used against your company if an employee is subsequently terminated?
What kinds of photos and videos are appropriate for posting? Do you require consent before sharing?

You may think privacy is dead, but here’s a little something to consider: I once met a woman who declined being in a “fun” workplace photo for Facebook because she had escaped from an abusive relationship in the past. Her former partner didn’t know where she was and she was terrified at the prospect of being found. Now, just imagine if I had snapped that photo and posted it without a second thought. A small thing to me, a big thing to her.

And that, my friends, is the point.

Something that could seem harmless, clever, or hilarious to one person can often be harmful, offensive, or downright devastating to another.

Any organization that wants to win the hearts of consumers, clients, staff, vendors, and advertisers needs to recognize the critical importance of what is being said and done online.

If you don’t have a social media policy in place, now is the time to create one. If you do have a social media policy in place, you’ll want to revisit it annually to see if it’s still relevant to your current organizational structure, processes, and online activities.

Make sure your policy aligns with your company code of ethics to paint a clear picture of how your core values guide organizational actions and behaviors, then spell out what behaviors are appropriate and what behaviors are prohibited. Include detailed information about the consequences of not following protocol, and have someone go over this policy with each new employee during the onboarding process.

It’s a work in progress

Never assume that simply having a policy in place will protect you from social media blowups. Also never assume that your employees will instinctively know how and what to post based on the set of rules you’ve put together.

Lead by example and teach your employees how to use social media effectively. Host social media clinics and LinkedIn lessons. Assign media mentors and have people work in teams. Consider putting a vetting process in place for what goes out on company pages, and always follow the gut-check rule: If a potential post causes you to hesitate for any reason, listen to your intuition and hit delete.

You’ll never lose sleep over that bad post that didn’t go out. But you can lose a lot more that that over the one that does.

Photo by Ion Chiosea

You’ve found the perfect candidate! Now what?

It’s not always easy to move from a great candidate to a great offer. And in a tight talent market, it can be even more difficult.

You need to make your coveted candidate an ideal offer. One that’s going to make them as excited to say those three little words as you are to hear them.

“I’ll take it!”

Gone are the days of expecting an immediate yes, with no problems and no negotiations. Employers, hiring managers, and human resources teams are realizing that making an offer is a nuanced process that needs to take both parties into account. Job seekers have more leverage than ever, and employers will need to adjust their expectations and processes accordingly.

Speed up to slow down

Because quality candidates are likely to have multiple leads, they may not be willing to wait very long for an interview or an offer. Moving high priority candidates through the process quickly can be the difference between being successful and being ghosted.

If your current talent search procedure involves multiple interviews, hiring committee meetings, and approval processes, now is the time to evaluate the necessity of each component. Get rid of any extraneous requirements, then find ways to streamline the critical pieces so your progress doesn’t get stalled and your candidates don’t get frustrated.

You may also need to adjust your strategy and timelines regarding the acceptance of an offer. Today’s job seekers may need more time to fully evaluate their options and commit to a decision. This might sound like a double standard, but it’s important to remember that hiring isn’t just about what’s right for the hiring manger or the organization. For your candidate, it’s all about making sure you’re the best fit for them. If the answer is no, it’s in everyone’s best interest to have that person move on. If the answer is yes, the extra day or two will be well worth the wait.

Flexibility is the new “Sign here.”

Hiring contracts have always been negotiable, but whether or not job seekers decide to do so depends largely on the market. When job demand is high and positions are few, candidates are much more willing to accept an offers as is. Likewise, when jobs are readily available and applicants are few and far between, employers should expect negotiations and counter-offers.

Once again, it’s time to take a look at your processes. Are you offering fair compensation, generous paid time off, and attractive employee benefits? If so, are you including these things in your job postings? Your future employees aren’t just making major career decisions. They are making major financial decisions as well. And in order to do that, they’ve got to have adequate salary information. Don’t let people get all the way through the process only to find out they can’t accept the job. It’s a waste of their time and yours.

Be honest about what you’re offering. If, for whatever reason, you really don’t have any wiggle room in your offers, be upfront about that from the start. If you neglect to make that clear to your candidates during the search and interview process, you could easily get burned when it comes time to hire.

Don’t take it personally

Candidates who negotiate during the offer phase aren’t doing it to be difficult or to offend you. It’s all part of the decision making process. Being flexible on some of these things could give you a huge hiring advantage.

Keep in mind that negotiating with a potential new hire can be an easy way to create a happy, engaged, loyal employee. And in many cases, it’s not just about cash. Every applicant comes from a unique situation and has a unique set of personal and professional goals. Here are some common issues your future employees may be wrestling with:

Student loans
Stagnant salary
Long commutes
Inflexible schedules
Affordable childcare
Lack of paid time off
Toxic boss or culture
Non-existent career paths
Limited professional development
Inadequate health, vision, and dental coverage

If you can make life easier in any of these areas, it just might tip the scales in your favor.

Sealing the deal

To make the negotiation process go smoothly, you’ll want to consider a few key things before going in:

What is the full salary range for the position, and where do new hires fall within it?
What is the top dollar amount you can realistically offer without offending your current staff members?
Are there additional ways to compensate employees that don’t involve increasing wages?
Do you have other qualified candidates in line for the position?

Never assume you know what your candidate wants from an offer. It could be an unrealistic expectation, but it could also be a very simple and reasonable request.

If your hiring process is transparent and designed to filter for cultural fit, it will likely weed out any unrealistic expectation candidates— and you’ll be left with a talent pool that’s worth investing in.

Photo by tomertu

The Powerful Recruitment and Retention Benefit You’re Not Offering

Employers who want great employees are having to work harder and harder to find them, and to get them to stay.

This has many innovative organizations and Human Resources departments re-thinking their employee benefits strategies as a way to attract and retain talent, which is good. But there can often be a disconnect when it comes to perceptions about what employees really want. And too many employers are missing the elephant in the room.

Crushing Student Debt

The elephant metaphor works all too well here. Student debt is a huge issue that weighs heavy on your employees. And yet few employers are recognizing the extent of the problem.

Many people associate student debt with a particular subset of the workforce, namely fresh college graduates and junior employees. But a riveting study by CommonBond tosses those ideas out the window.

The reality is that student debt affects a huge portion of your employee base. Of 1,500 workers surveyed:

72% reported currently having student loans or having had student loans in the past
59% of employees aged 22 – 44 currently have student debt
21% of employees over the age of 45 currently have student debt

But that’s not the end of the story.

21% of respondents said they plan to take on debt in the next five years to finance someone else’s education.
And 10% of respondents said they are carrying their own student debt, plus that of a friend or family member.

With the total U.S. student loan debt sitting at 1.4 trillion dollars, there are far reaching consequences, both for your employees and your business.

Debt rolls downhill

Employees starting their careers with massive amounts of debt are less willing and able to “put in their time,” “work their way up,” or “take one for the team.” It’s not that they don’t see the value in some of these things. They simply can’t afford to do them. The days of “paying your dues” are over. For today’s workers, it’s all about paying your loans.

If you’re wondering why job hopping seems to be the new normal, it’s all related. Research shows that the best way for an employee to get a significant pay raise is to get a new job. In this kind of employment environment, those with sizable loan debt won’t think twice about accepting a more lucrative offer somewhere else.

Debt-ridden workers in all stages of their careers are delaying important life decisions because of student loans. For many employees, things like getting married, having children, buying a house, and retiring are concepts that seem far out of reach.

In the meantime, their debt is seriously stressing them out. Between 46 and 53 percent of workers with student debt reported worrying about their personal finances “most of the time” or, worse yet, “always.” If you think this isn’t affecting workplace productivity, you’re still not seeing the elephant.

Here’s the deal

Your employees took out loans to improve their skills and make them more valuable to employers. Now that they’re employed, they want financial stability. But their student loans are getting in the way. And they need help.

And it’s not just recent graduates who feel this way. The CommonBond study showed that the vast majority of employees want to see their employer offer student loan benefits.

Here are the percentages of employees who have (or plan to take on) student debt that want their company to offer student loan tools and resources, broken down by age:

22 – 34 81%

35 – 44 77%

45 – 54 75%

55 + 65%

But it doesn’t end there.

Across every single age category, these numbers jump significantly when those employees were asked if they would be more inclined to stay at their company if they were receiving student loan repayment benefits:

22 – 34 87%

35 – 44 88%

45 – 54 83%

55 + 78%

If you’ve been searching for that magic employee attraction and retention tool, look no further. It’s right in front of you.

But you’re not offering it

SHRM research has revealed that only about 4% of employers are offering some kind of student loan repayment benefits. With demand being what it is, this seems downright silly. Especially in a tightening labor market.

One reason that helps explain why student loan benefits aren’t more common is that employers haven’t quite caught on to the fact that this is a top concern for their employees. Perceptions of company leadership and HR are often quite different from those who are actually working within the organization, on everything from what motivates them to what attracts them and makes them want to stick around.

If you want to attract and retain the best employees, you need to start thinking like them.

What kinds of things are they looking for in an employer?
What values do they care about?
What issues are they struggling with?
What’s holding them back from being the best employees they can be?
How can you help?

Still not sold? Here’s one more statistic for you:

The American Student Assistance survey found that with all else being equal, if a prospective employer offered a student loan repayment benefit, 80% of respondents said it would have a considerable impact or be the deciding factor in the decision to accept the job. Talk about a hiring advantage!

If you haven’t thought about finding ways to help your employees with student loans, now is the time. The sooner you get on board, the more you can differentiate yourself as an employer of choice. And start helping your employees become, more productive, more financially stable, and more likely to stick around.

Photo by Elnur Amikishiyev