Chrystine M. Heier is the president of Sullivan Benefits, based in Marlborough.
Updated: February 6, 2023
4 Things
4 Things I Know about ... Making your benefit program a powerful retention and recruitment tool
By Chrystine M. Heier
Rising interest rates, inflation, recession concerns, and major corporate layoffs continue to fuel labor market uncertainty, leaving employers concerned about retention and attracting talent. Beyond wages, your benefit program can be a key tool to help you retain and hire the best. Ensure your benefit program is an effective asset.
1) Have a multi-year strategic plan. Diverse and rapidly changing employee needs and rising costs demand a longer-term approach. A strong plan moves you from reactive to proactive, aligns your team around a common goal, increases efficiencies, allows you to evaluate and capitalize upon opportunities, and charts a path towards success.
2) Compare yourself to high-performing employers. Over the years we’ve identified several commonalities:
a. They benchmark their programs against competition.
b. They operate with a high-level of transparency in their programs, collecting and tracking data where possible.
c. They create simple administrative, compliance and communication processes and automate them where possible.
d. They set key performance indicators to assess their programs and track success.
e. They regularly review their strategic plan and the overall health of their program.
3) Maximize the dollars you spend for better outcomes. For most employers, employee benefits are their second highest expense after wages. When was the last time you evaluated overall benefit program costs, program funding, what your vendors are paid, and the tools and resources available to your employees? You owe it to yourself and your employees to make sure your program is producing desired results and not just on autopilot. Often employers can do better without additional spending.
4) Communicate, communicate, communicate. Do you want your employees to highly value the program that is your second largest expense? We cannot overemphasize the importance of a communications calendar; after all, your employees can’t value a program they don’t understand. You need to market your program to them, remind them what you provide and how your program works. Providing regular communication builds trust and confidence, promotes the value of your program, and elevates your employee relationships.
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