ComptelPLUS Fall15 Show Daily Day 1

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COMPTEL PLUS Fall 2015 Business Expo
COMPTELPlus | Monday, October 19, 2015 Beka Publishing, 28
DAY 1
An organization’s employee benefits package
is, not surprisingly, a critical piece of that
company’s ability to recruit, retain and
engage top talent. An employee benefits package
should be strategically designed to support the
objectives of the organization and offer the most
effective benefits within a dedicated budget, while
at the same time sending the right message to
employees and employment candidates: “We want
you to work here and we want you to stay!”
What is an employee
benefits package?
Benefits can include both tangible and intan-
gible offerings, and it will be important to consider
each type of benefit as a company evaluates the
gamut of components that make up its unique
package. Some elements to consider include:
• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Flexible spending, health reimbursement
arrangements, health savings accounts
• Life and disability insurance
• Retirement plans
• Bonus and incentive programs
• Employee assistance programs (EAP)
• Education assistance programs and profes-
sional development opportunities
• Mentor programs
• Other insurance benefits (critical illness, legal
insurance, pet insurance, etc.)
• Paid time off (including holidays, bereavement
leave, sick leave and vacation)
• Leaves of absence (paid or unpaid leave
options, length of leave granted)
• Workplace flexibility (flexible schedules, accom-
modations for family or personal obligations,
working remotely)
•Workplace services (dry cleaning, chair massage,
grocery delivery, onsite oil changes, meal service)
• Employee discounts
• Technology (availability of updated or cutting-
edge technology, company-issued devices)
It’s also important to consider company culture.
Organizations should think about what makes
their work environments appealing and what
message they send by how they do things, how
employees feel when they’re at work, and the
company values, mission and vision.
The list doesn’t end there, either. An employee
benefits package will be a unique mix of offerings
that an organization can leverage to recruit and
retain talent. With the tightening labor market,
employers are finding that employee benefits can
be a deciding factor in recruiting and retaining
talent. As a result, they are looking for ways to
differentiate their workplace and consciously
fashion their employer brand.
Because there’s no magic formula for creating
the most effective employer brand and benefit
package design, it’s important to evaluate and
adjust employee benefits to best support the stra-
tegic objectives of an organization.
Benefits can include both tangible and intan-
gible offerings.
Analyze Your Strategy
Naturally, the first step in evaluating the effec-
tiveness of an employee benefits package is to
gather information regarding whether the current
strategy and design is effective. Here are several
questions companies should ask themselves as
they perform their analysis:
• Who are you trying to attract, recruit and retain?
• What is important to them? Are you meeting
that need?
• What do your current employees say about
your benefit package?
• What do exiting employees say about your
benefit package?
• How do you feel about your current benefit
offerings?
• How much of your budget do you dedicate to
employee benefits? How much are you willing
to dedicate?
• How important is it for your organization to
have a competitive benefit package?What is the
competition offering that appears to be effective?
• Does the design and philosophy of your benefit
package align with your organization’s culture
and values – both stated and implied?
Is the design of your benefit package facilitating
or impeding your organization’s strategic talent
management initiatives?
Define a Philosophy
An organization’s culture and values will have an
enormous impact on both the company benefits
package design and its ability to retain talent. If
company values do not align with the design of the
benefits package, employees and candidates will
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The Key to Crafting Employee Benefits Packages
(See Iowa Network Services, page 29)
By Iowa Network Services