If you read the news regularly, it seems like every article about business, from work arrangements to benefits, starts with some version of the phrase, “the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.” COVID changed the American workforce so much, in fact, that this era is now known as “the Great Resignation.” Why?
Well, if you ask employees, they’ll tell you that working from home opened their eyes to the downside of office life. They realized, for example, that bad managers in the workplace made their lives miserable. Once they got away from those managers during the pandemic, they experienced better mental health, decreased stress, and a greater sense of freedom. Not surprisingly, many chose the path of entrepreneurship over returning to the office. While that may be great on an individual level, employers are left wondering how to retain workers in an era when nearly everyone is tempted to jump ship.
Fortunately, companies can still offer one major advantage over entrepreneurship and self-employment: employer-sponsored healthcare benefits.
Employers Still Have Leverage Via Healthcare Benefits
Employer-sponsored healthcare plans are an attractive employee benefit for a couple of reasons. Not only do most employers cover some percentage of the monthly cost of insurance, but the overall monthly costs are much lower due to the group pool that employees pay into.
Health insurance rates for sole proprietors and small businesses are notoriously high, causing some entrepreneurs to forgo health insurance altogether. While this may work for some of the people some of the time, living without health insurance is never a good long-term strategy.
Admittedly, even group plans (like employer-sponsored healthcare plans) have seen a rise in costs in recent years. The good news is that a qualified health insurance broker will have options and ideas for offering quality plans for both small and large companies that keep Discussing these options with your broker is one of the best moves you can make to prevent ongoing employee turnover.
The data regarding employer-sponsored healthcare reinforces this recommendation:
- In a recent survey of 1,400 employees, 33% indicated that they would be more likely to quit their jobs if healthcare benefits weren’t offered.
- Another survey revealed that for 56% of employees, whether or not they like their current health insurance options is a critical factor in determining whether to stay at their job.
Industry experts agree that health insurance is among the most important benefits an employer can offer.
Moreover, if companies throw in additional health benefits like gym memberships, wellbeing programs, health savings accounts, vision insurance, dental insurance, and other extra perks, they’re more likely to retain top talent. Ultimately, employee health benefits are one of the most (if not the most) important factors in managing employee retention.
How’s Your Employer-Sponsored Health Plan?
If your company is struggling with employee retention in this (almost) post-pandemic world, it’s probably time to review your employer-sponsored health benefits. For many employees, those benefits will be the deciding factor between staying with your company and heading off to what they see as greener pastures. Employer-sponsored health benefits may impact your recruiting power as well. At the very least, this is the perfect time to review your company’s current offerings.
IOAUSA provides numerous healthcare options for companies of all sizes. For more information regarding employee health insurance benefits, Contact Roger today.
