Flexible schedules and the option to work from home are high on many candidates’ lists
By Patti Singer
BridgeTower Media Newswires
The days when an employer told a job candidate about their company’s benefits package with the implication to take it or look elsewhere are on unlimited PTO.
“I think everybody recognizes there's been a dramatic shift into the employees’ hands in terms of options and flexibility and power in the marketplace,” said Adam Clouden, employee benefits consultant with Lawley. “Every employer you talk to right now is hiring and they have open positions.”
Businesses that have a handful to a few dozen employees may more acutely feel the gap caused by a vacancy.
“It plays into job seekers’ or current employees’ hand in terms of being able to leverage that to get what they expect,” Clouden said. “Honestly, I think that's a good thing because you're balancing family and work life to find the situation that best fits. And they have the power to go get it.”
What once were called perks now are expectations. The offerings go beyond health insurance, and have expanded to include access to mental health and overall wellness services.
Today’s job candidates seek voluntary access to accident or disability coverage as part of a total compensation package, as well as opportunities for advancement and training. Retirement plans are almost a given. Now, flexible schedules and the option to work from home in order to establish that coveted work/life balance are high on many people’s lists.
“I’ve seen more people that I know move jobs again in the last year and a half because once the total work from home model went away and they got used to it; they wanted to continue with that,” Clouden said. “So they found a job that offered that as a condition of employment.”
In some instances, a candidate may be willing to give up a little in salary if the total value package meets the prospect’s needs.
“Small business owners need to be able to package it so they can accurately convey to a candidate that your pay is (this amount), but also let’s look at the total package of what I’m offering,” said Alison Stevens, director of HR services at Paychex. “These are the benefits that I’m offering that you might not be able to get down the street at competitor B or C.”
Paychex conducted a retention survey in early May 2022 of 604 employees in small to midsize businesses. The results showed that health insurance and retirement plans were the top two benefits that kept employees in the long run. Financial benefits such as tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment and child-care support ranked third.
Paychex also looked at the employer side. In a survey of 1,000 human resource decision-makers at U.S. companies with 20 or more workers, the Pulse of HR survey found that organizations have increased the benefits they offer by 22% on average since 2019. Among the changes: 72% of organizations with 20 to 500 employees offer health insurance benefits compared to 61% before the pandemic. The increase in benefits came from listening to employees’ needs about their families and worker desires for more options.
Stevens said it’s crucial for small employers to listen to their workers about why they stay, and why they leave. They also need to hear what they, as leaders, can do and make sure their staffs understand how those offerings meet their needs in the current workplace.
“I look at all the things we’ve learned and how that translates into new experiences for employees and the fact the flexibility is a much larger part of the conversation than it was before, where companies never even considered what was possible” before COVID-19. “Dear God, let’s hope we will not face another pandemic. But we all learned we can do hard things and so that agility becomes really important.”
Erick B. Bond, president of Bond Benefits Consulting, said that offerings among small businesses tend to be more variable.
“You've got some who are saying, ‘I want to kind of do the bare minimum to get by,’ but others who are saying, ‘Hey, employees are my family and I want to take really great care of them,” he said. “So there's really a wider disparity in what's offered and in how much employers pay in the small employer marketplace.”
In general, he said small business owners are choosier in what they offer, to make sure the benefits are valued by employees and, in the case of some types of insurance, get enough workers to participate.
But the flip side is that these owners may have more leeway to offer benefits that align with their personal and corporate values.
“Understand that you as an employer can use benefits to attract and retain the people you want. You can use that to set and reinforce your values.”
Bond mentioned a client who believes in education, to the point where the business offers tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment assistance. He said that is unusual for a small business, “but it very much aligns with the owner’s values and, frankly, with the employees that the business is trying to recruit and retain.”
Dan Martin, strategic benefits and communications consultant at Gallagher Benefits Services, said successful employers look holistically at the needs of their employees. “We all recognize coming out of the pandemic that we're coming to work for different reasons and we have different purposes that we're looking to fulfill in life.”
The most effective rewards packages help employees be better at their jobs and also at home and in their community. “That's extremely important moving forward as we start to see the shift and expectations of employees,” he said.
Employers who win recruiting battles recognize that benefits aren’t costs – they are investments in building partnerships with workers.
“When we’re talking to employers or CEOs and owners of organizations, one of the first questions out of my mouth is, ‘Do you feel like your employees are so lucky to work for you, or do you feel like your employees are so lucky to be working with you?’ said Kevyn Rustici, strategic human capital consultant at Gallagher. “Very big difference. … If we’re working as a team, you value my insights, you value my feedback, I’m trusting of the environment.”
An effective benefits package improves what Martin called presenteeism – the ability of the worker to focus on the job and not be distracted by worries about how to manage child care or tend to aging parents.
“Employers have a vested interest in ensuring that they’re addressing those different areas of stress,” he said. “(Employees) are not only present to do the work, but they’re passionate about being there and understand why they work with that particular employer.”
