Is Offering Voluntary Benefits More Important Than Ever Before?
Most employers understand the importance of offering competitive benefits to their employees. A great benefits package could mean the difference between a new hire and a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, many employers don’t know which benefits to offer. Fortunately, with the right help, most businesses can build a benefits package that attracts the attention of quality employees.
In addition to health insurance and retirement plan benefits, employers should consider offering voluntary benefits as well. Voluntary offerings allow employers to build a benefit package that meets the specific needs of employees. This might be especially beneficial now, as employees have increased interest in preparing for the future.
Supplementing existing core benefits with more personalized benefits helps support employees at a time when they need it most. Many employees have witnessed and experienced the impact of COVID-19 first-hand. Offering voluntary benefits could give employers a competitive edge when recruiting new candidates.
Off-Cycle Enrollments Becoming More Common
Traditionally, benefit cycles have been based on core offerings. Today, more employers are electing off-cycle enrollments. This approach allows employers to highlight and focus specific benefits that might be of particular interest to employees. Off-cycle enrollment also provides employees with more time to evaluate and review the types of benefits offered.
Types of Voluntary Benefits to Offer
According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans’ (IFEBP) Employee Benefits Survey, employee benefits make up around 60% of an organization’s total employee compensation. While the right employee benefits package could help candidates choose to work for one company over the next, it’s important that employers decide carefully which benefits to offer.
IFEBP found that 88% of companies now offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and other wellness benefits. Newly emerging employee healthcare benefits include fertility services, transgender-inclusive benefits, and genetic testing services. Several companies have already begun offering these benefits with much success. Millennials especially want to see companies offering benefits that show inclusion.
As we make the shift back to pre-pandemic times, benefits like financial planning and counseling, tuition reimbursement programs, onsite fitness centers and wellness programs, back-up childcare, and elder care are increasing in popularity. These benefits help protect employees and their families when the unexpected occurs.
The IFEBP survey also found that companies are offering employees more types of paid leave than ever before. Several organizations around the U.S. now offer paid leave for bereavement, jury duty, volunteering and community service, personal days, maternity and paternity leave, adoption, and family/caregiving reasons.
Final Thoughts
If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s the importance of preparing for the future. Offering voluntary benefits allows employees an opportunity to obtain the benefits they need to better protect themselves and their families.
MEBO works directly with leaders to evaluate their needs and create a customized benefits package. Our employee benefits specialists have years of experience working with companies across a wide range of industries. Please contact us for information about our services.
