Experience has enabled most business owners to know that by offering employee benefits, they're significantly improving the lives of their workers, providing a lot of security to their health and well-being, both physical and financial. However, a recent study suggests that many job seekers aren't putting as much emphasis on coverage as they should be, resulting in losses later on.
Roughly 40 percent of individuals who decided to quit their job on their own volition did so because they wanted to improve their financial standing, according to a recent survey commissioned by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Additionally, while close to 75 percent of people wound up with a new employer, just 41 percent took the same amount of time taking into consideration their coverage benefits as their salary.
Adam Hamm, NAIC president, indicated that this is a common theme among many people who are considering alternative employment.
"All too often, people only think about salary when considering a new job," said Hamm. "We urge consumers to consider all the financial implications of a job change, including insurance. Total compensation is more complex than salary alone."
In the same poll, NAIC found that 1 in 4 respondents who changed jobs witnessed a change in benefits that was either slightly or greatly worse than the one they had with their previous employer.
It's estimated that roughly 10 percent of U.S. workers' total compensation is insurance benefits, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this rate varies among employers, NAIC pointed out.
What benefits should provide for
When assessing the types of benefits to offer to workers, they ought to address several different needs, according to the NAIC. For example, should something serious happen to an employee that prevents them from being able to work for an extended period, are there safety nets in place that protect their loved ones, specifically spouses and children? Additionally, plans should appropriately balance how much salary a worker needs to come up with for benefits with that of the company's. Traditionally, businesses pay for the larger share of coverage benefits.
Insurance benefits can help improve retention levels for employers so that they can keep more of their highly qualified workers on board. However, this isn't always enough. Another important aspect to keeping workers on board is employee engagement.
According to the Human Resources Professional Association, there isn't one hard-fastened definition of employee engagement, but it's essentially a measuring device that assesses how involved workers are in the production process, whatever industry it happens to be.
In a survey of 850 human resources professionals, approximately 80 percent said that employee engagement was something that's become increasingly important in the hiring and employee management process.
Kristina Hidas, vice president of research and development at HRPA, noted that the attitude business owners have and display has a heavy influence on the company staff's work ethic and happiness level.
"Respondents said the most commonly shared drivers of engagement are supportive managers, compelling work, career opportunities, good salary, work/life balance and recognition," said Hidas.
