Employee benefits: Dealing with rising costs and retaining satisfaction - Ceridian

With the ever-rising costs of health care, many companies have had to pass health insurance rate increases on to employees, and in some cases, cut back on secondary benefits. Do you know how your employees feel about the benefits package your organization offers to them? Are you able to offer a benefits mix that satisfies employee expectations?

A leading benefits research firm recently surveyed both benefits administrators and their employees to compare benefit perceptions and preferences between the two. The organizations that participated in the survey represented a variety of industries and company sizes. The survey measured satisfaction with the selection of employee benefits, the costs and enrollment options available.

The survey said. . .
The results of our survey found that employees often place greater value on secondary benefits than do benefits administrators. Insurance coverage, such as medical, dental and vision were considered equally important to both administrators and employees. However, employees also indicated that benefits such as long-term care insurance, financial planning, group legal insurance, college savings plans, annuities, convenience services and auto insurance are important to them as well. The feedback from benefits administrators indicated that they put less value on these secondary benefits than do employees.

While most benefits administrators believed that employees seek a balanced compensation package with both a good salary and a good benefits package, the survey found that many employees place a higher value on their salary than on the expense of their benefits package.

Participating benefits administrators indicated that they are relatively satisfied with the method of delivery used to distribute benefits information to employees. The methods varied from delivery to employees' desk or home to work email or Internet/intranet to individual or group meetings. The distribution of respondents indicating they use a certain method was fairly equal across the board, with email distribution barely edging out the others as the most common delivery method.

Offer your employees the right benefits mix
Offering your employees the right mix of benefits may be instrumental in attracting and retaining the best people. How do you gauge employee benefit perceptions within your own organization? Are you offering a competitive package?

A well-planned benefits package plan requires careful consideration. Taking some of the following measures may help you determine what the right mix of benefits is for your employees.

• Review all the options available through your benefits providers. There may be supplemental insurance, employee assistance programs and other resources that you can offer to your employees at minimal additional costs. These added benefits may be more important to your employees than you think.
• Take time to find out what your employees seek in a benefit plan and measure their satisfaction levels with the package your organization presently offers to them. Find out what benefits employees find most attractive and why.
• Look at your competitors. Find out what similar organizations are offering their employees. How does your benefits package compare to your competition? You don't want to lose an employee to another company because you offer a less-desirable benefits package.
• Take advantage of information available through human resource organizations and associations such as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to gain insight on national benefits statistics. These organizations often publish reports on industry trends and statistics. These reports can give you insight on what employers around the nation offer their employees.

FFG provides innovative benefits solutions for companies of all sizes. We can help you determine the right mix of benefits for your organization. If you'd like more information, contact FFG to speak with one of our Employee Benefits Specialists.