HR: Expand employee benefits for success

Do you want happy employees? Offer more benefits
Is the key to having happy employees is to provide them with more benefits?
Recent research conducted during the pandemic shows that employees are becoming more concerned about all benefits — not just health insurance. And if companies don’t deliver, employees may be willing to leave — even during an uncertain job market.
Employees: Show us the benefits
According to Prudential research, 75 percent of employees think benefits are more important now than ever before because of what’s happened in the pandemic.
In the past, good health insurance was seen by many to be the main benefit employees wanted when moving to a new company. However, things have changed. While health insurance is still the most important benefit, others that take care of financial problems are increasingly important, according to Prudential.
If employers want to keep their best people, they now have to offer benefits like retirement savings, disability insurance, and life insurance.
The pandemic hits home
Employees are more concerned with benefits now because they saw the furloughs and layoffs that occurred in 2020. Even if it didn’t happen to them, it happened to their friends or family members. If people were still employed, some are doing it at a reduced income, making it harder to make ends meet.
With all the financial problems, they are looking to their employer benefits for help in the short term.
Why this is important for companies
Employees trust in their company’s benefits selection is decreasing. The Hartford released research that showed 55 percent of respondents said they trust their company in making the best benefit decisions for them, down from 61 percent in an earlier survey.
Research from The Hartford also shows that 44 percent of respondents rate their benefits package as average compared to the marketplace, down from 56 percent in an earlier survey. The changes have opened an opportunity for employers to rework benefits packages to meet employee needs better.
One area to do that is with commuter benefits. As commuters head back to the office, commuter benefits can help them pay for rides and parking as well as save money tax-free in their paychecks. Employers save on the payroll tax.
Whether you are reevaluating your benefits or not, commuter benefits are a great way to help employees save some money. Visit www.commuterbenefits.com for more information.