Many workers apply for positions and remain in them for years at a time entirely because of employee benefits. The value of good health insurance, retirement savings accounts and other services make it difficult to seek new employment even if the pay is even substantially more. For this reason, companies meet with employee benefit consultants to create appealing packages.
Rising costs sometimes make it difficult for businesses to remain profitable while giving their workers sufficient coverage. Many companies take on the price of such increases themselves because they fear the reaction such actions will produce in their staffs. Consequently, it's hard to raise costs without alienating many personnel.
However, a lot of businesses have found they have no choice but to do that. A Willis Group survey of employers from the end of 2011 found over one third intended to increase worker contributions to benefit plans in the next year. This may seem drastic, but it can actually be done subtly and with less cost to workers than one might imagine. That's especially the case when employee benefit advisors lend their experience and expertise to make it so.
For instance, the choice between plans with higher deductibles and those with higher premiums is an important one to make. Younger workforces, for instance, probably won't make use of their insurance plans nearly as often as their older counterparts and therefore won't necessarily mind higher deductibles.
Conversely, low premiums don't mean quite as much to veteran employees with higher salaries and more frequent visits to healthcare facilities since they'll need to hand over larger sums of money when they need medical services. Make sure to discuss this in detail with an employee benefit specialist so it's possible to please your workers as well as your own bottom line.
