Low-Cost Benefits Can Bring Valuable Employee Loyalty

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You might not be ale to afford to give your employees a raise this year, but there are a few things you can do to bolster benefits — without breaking the bank.  Supplemental benefits and company-subsidized perks go a long way toward fostering employee loyalty, a new study finds.

There are a number of things you can do to beef up your benefits offerings:

• Supplemental Insurance – Offer dental, disability and life insurance. These programs can be very inexpensive, especially when you split the cost with your employees. Yet, many companies do not realize their value, the MetLife study found. While 59 percent of small business employees say these benefits contribute to their feelings of loyalty toward their employer, only 34 percent of employers recognize this.
• Wellness Programs – Deliver wellness programs to aid productivity and help control medical costs. While 61 percent of larger employers offer wellness programs, just 22 percent of small companies do. However, 67 percent of small businesses believe wellness programs are effective at reducing medical costs. Options include leveraging local health organizations and associations that can help to educate employees on healthy behaviors, or providing convenient access and time off to participate in wellness programs like weight loss, exercise and smoking cessation.
• Financial Planning Assistance – Consider tapping into local financial institutions and services to provide retirement and/or financial planning options during work hours. About one in five small business employees admits to having taken unexpected time off (or spent time in the workplace) to deal with a financial problem in the past 12 months. In fact, 64 percent of small businesses strongly believe that employees’ productivity is impacted when they are worried about personal financial matters.
• Benefits Communication – Only one in five small business employees believes their employer’s benefits communications are effective. Simplify your benefits communication and make sure you have someone on staff or at your insurance broker’s office who can answer questions.
• Work-Life Balance – Provide opportunities for work-life balance. Small business employers can take advantage of their company culture and the flexibility made possible by less bureaucratic workplaces to foster an environment where work-life balance, which garners employee loyalty, is the norm.

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