Tag Archive for: employee benefit specialist

Looking to Hire the Class of 2021? Add these Employee Benefits Now

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Studies show that employers are planning to hire 7.2% more college graduates from the Class of 2021 than they did from the Class of 2020. While young talent can bring fresh ideas to the workplace, employers may need to adjust their benefits to attract new applicants.

The global pandemic has changed the way that workers view their workday and college graduates are no exception. Many of these graduates finished their education at home, without any in-person interaction from professors or peers. This has created resilience and a strong work ethic for most. It has also led to a much more independent workforce.

What the Class of 2021 Really Wants

In addition to adequate compensation, top benefits requested by the Class of 2021 include medical coverage, 401(k) match, and flexible work hours. Increased interest in 401(k) match and health benefits reflects the younger generation’s fears surrounding financial insecurity and potential health issues caused by another pandemic. This generation of workers are more interested in ensuring future protection for themselves and their families.

Above anything else, young talent wants quality health benefits that include mental health coverage. In a LaSalle Network report, 40% of recent graduates listed mental and emotional health as a top concern when entering the workforce. Providing quality benefits may be just what employers need to attract and retain young talent.

Current Labor Shortage Impacts Employers Around the U.S.

ManpowerGroup recently reported that 7 in 10, or 69% of all companies have experienced talent shortages and difficulty hiring this year. In late April, there were over 9.3 million open jobs in the United States. Currently, the U.S. is experiencing both a labor shortage and record-high unemployment rates. Many states have begun reducing unemployment benefits in an effort to get more people to apply. However, this is doing very little to resolve the labor shortage. According to BTIG, only 3% of individuals were earning enough from unemployment to have no financial need to return to work.

Flexible Work

Employers that wish to attract quality talent need to consider the reasons why workers don’t want to return to the office. Before the global pandemic, employers told workers they needed to come to work each day. Forced closures and reduced occupancy rates pushed employers to consider alternatives to the traditional workday. Millions of American workers shifted to remote work in a matter of months. While this presented challenges at first, over time most workers and their employers realized the benefits of working from home.

As we move past the pandemic, it’s become much harder for employers to justify in-office attendance. Many workers have decided they simply will not go back to a job that does not offer flexible work arrangements. While some workers may work remotely full-time, many would be willing to accept a hybrid schedule with 2-3 days spent in an office environment.

MEBO works with leaders to create customized employee benefit plans. Please contact us for information about our services or to schedule a consultation with one of our benefit specialists. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

New Ruling Requires California Employers to Reconsider Their Wage Premium Payment Practices

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On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court ended a long-standing dispute regarding premium pay. The ruling surprised many California employers and left organizations across the state scrambling to catch-up. It’s crucial that employers learn all they can about this new ruling and how it might impact their business.

Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC

Earlier this year, a bartender in California filed a class action complaint against her employer alleging she was not properly compensated for noncompliant meal and rest breaks. The complaint alleged the employer omitted nondiscretionary incentive payments when calculating premium payments. This is common practice, and many California employers have used base hourly rate to calculate premium pay.

The trial and appeal courts ruled in favor of the employer, stating that premiums payments should be based on employee base hourly rate. However, this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court of California. The California Supreme Court ruled that the regular rate of compensation under meal and rest break rules must encompass both hourly wages and all nondiscretionary payments for work performed by the employee.

California’s Meal and Rest Period Rules

In California, all nonexempt employees are entitled to a 10-minute rest period for every four hours or majority thereof of work performed. Employees must also receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for every five hours worked. Employees can choose to waive their meal break if they work six-hours or less. Employees that work ten hours or more are entitled to a second meal break. However, employees can waive this break if they work twelve hours or less in one day.

Meal and rest period rules and premiums are meant to encourage employers to provide employees with regular breaks throughout the workday.

What Does This Mean for Employers?

Starting immediately, employers need to determine premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks in the same way they would calculate overtime pay.  This ruling is retroactive, meaning employers may face liability for past practices of paying premiums at the base rate of pay. Employers are strongly encouraged to review premium payment history for the past four years and issue true-up payments to ensure compliance with the new ruling.

MEBO offers employee benefit plans, custom-tailored to the needs of organizations today. We strive to provide employers with the tools and information needed to excel in today’s competitive and ever-changing markets. Please contact us for information about our services.

 

 

 

 

Rewarding Employees – What Works and What Doesn’t

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Most employers understand the benefit of rewarding employees. A well-planned, strategic employee reward system increases productivity, encourages teams to work harder, and may help employers attract and retain top talent. Unfortunately, 82% of employed Americans don’t feel that their supervisors provide adequate recognition for their efforts. This is bad news for employers, as employees that feel unappreciated are more likely to leave their current job.

Developing an Effective Employee Reward System

It’s not that hard to provide employees with proper recognition. However, employers need to take some time to learn what their staff actually wants. It’s also important to determine how, when, and what employees will receive. The right employee rewards system should compensate employees for both performance and behavior.

While it’s easy to recognize and address employee performance, deciding which behaviors to reward is a little more challenging. Employers should focus on rewarding behaviors or activities that benefit the company or its employees.

Although giving out generic rewards to every employee may seem like an easy-to-manage solution, this won’t motivate all employees. Each employee is unique. Employers that offer personalized rewards tend to see better results.

Types of Employee Rewards

When considering employee rewards, most employers think of financial compensation. Although it’s true that most employees appreciate this type of reward, it’s important to develop a reward system that addresses short-term as well as long-term company goals.

Providing regular feedback, even negative and neutral feedback helps employees better understand how they’re doing and where they need to improve. Feedback helps keep employees engaged and teams motivated. A simple acknowledgement or recognition of a job well done could go a long way towards improving employee satisfaction and retention.

Benefits are an important part of any strategic reward system. Many employers require employees to work a specific length of time and/or put in a certain amount of effort before they can access certain benefits. While this can have a positive impact on employee retention and performance, employers should take care when choosing the employee benefits they offer. Employers that do not offer comparable benefits to their competitors will probably find it difficult to attract good employees.

Experienced Employee Benefit Specialists

MEBO offers employee benefits packages, custom-tailored to the unique needs of organizations today. Our benefits specialists have years of experience working with employers from a wide range of industries. Our approach ensures employees receive the benefits they want, with the price and transparency employers need. Please contact us to schedule a consultation.

 

 

 

Is Offering Voluntary Benefits More Important Than Ever Before?

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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.

 

The CDC Just Relaxed Mask Mandates – Here’s What it Means for Employers

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Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in most settings. While this announcement represents an important step towards pre-pandemic life for vaccinated Americans, employers should take care before relaxing their existing health and safety protocols.

Updated Mask Requirements in California

Businesses must comply with state and local guidelines, which might conflict with current CDC advice. In California, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (Cal/OSHA) board voted last month to end face mask requirements for vaccinated employees in the workplace. While masks are not required for fully-vaccinated employees, employers must verify and document employee vaccination status.

Employees are considered fully-vaccinated two-weeks or more after receiving their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or one dose of a single dose series. It isn’t clear whether the CDC will require booster doses to maintain vaccination status in the future.

The recent CDC guidance does not impact current EEOC guidance, which allows employers to ask employees about their vaccination status. However, employers need to take care when requesting this information. While asking about vaccination status isn’t necessarily a medical inquiry, asking in a way that solicits medical information could violate ADA regulations. This includes asking an employee why they haven’t received the vaccine yet.

Can Employers Lift Mask Mandates?

Employers can safely lift workplace mask mandates as long as they comply with all applicable state and local requirements. These requirements can vary from one area to the next, and businesses with multiple locations may find that different rules apply to each facility. It’s extremely important to keep in mind that CDC guidance does not supersede state and local workplace regulations.

Although state and local departments of health and OSHA consider CDC advice when developing their own guidelines and regulations, the recent CDC announcement was nothing more than a recommendation.

The decision to lift mask mandates in the workplace relies heavily on state and local regulations as well as the type of risk employees face at work. For example, employers may choose to require face coverings in situations where employees may have exposure to individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. This is often the case when employees work in public settings or multiple venues. The CDC’s Considerations for Returning to Work outline the specific requirements.

Keeping Track of Vaccinated Employees

If state and local laws allow employers to inquire about vaccination status, employers should not keep a copy of their employees’ vaccination cards. Doing so could violate ADA privacy laws. Instead, employers should keep a log of employees that are eligible to work on-site with others and in certain situations. Employers also need to establish clear policies and enforcement guidelines to ensure only eligible employees come to work without a face covering.

MEBO offers employee benefit plans, custom-tailored to the needs and requirements of every company we work with. Please contact us for information about our services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase Employee Satisfaction with These Affordable Benefits

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Employees today care more about benefits than ever before. A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 92% of employees believe that benefits are important to overall job satisfaction. Companies that offer benefits like health insurance and retirement accounts are more likely to attract and retain employees. In fact, according to a recent study by Jobvite, a leading recruiting software provider, more than half of recruiters list medical and dental coverage and a 401K plan as the most effective benefits for attracting employees.

While most companies already understand the top benefits of offering health insurance, offering additional benefits could help employers maintain a competitive edge. These additional perks cost employers very little, but provide significant benefits to employee satisfaction.

Wellness Programs

Perhaps one of the most popular and affordable modern benefits, wellness activities and programs improve productivity, reduce the number of sick days, and help employees develop healthy habits that last a lifetime. Adding wellness activities doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. Many companies encourage group walks at lunchtime or offer yoga classes in the morning. Even companies that have not returned to the office can promote wellness activities. Groups can meet and track their progress through apps or social media. Some companies even organize fitness challenges, where employees compete against each other for a prize.

Snacks

Many companies now offer employees free meals or snacks throughout the day. This small investment could have a major impact on the way employees view their work and engage with others. Offering free snacks to employees increases job satisfaction and may make employees more productive.

Casual Dress Code

An increasing number of companies are letting go of their professional dress code in favor of more casual styles. This employee perk costs employers nothing. Casual work attire can put employees at ease which can make them more relaxed, creative, and productive. According to a recent study, more than one-third of job seekers expect employers to allow a casual dress code.

Signing Bonus

Although a signing bonus isn’t necessary, recruiters agree it’s an effective benefit. Offering a signing bonus may make it easier for candidates to accept a job offer.

Employee Benefit Specialists

MEBO offers employee benefit packages, custom tailored to the needs of each organization we work with. Our team of benefits specialists works directly with employers to analyze their needs and develop a comprehensive solution. Please contact us to schedule a consultation.

 

 

Is Your Organization Prepared for Generation Z?

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Generation Z, also known as Gen Z or Zoomers, have started joining the workforce. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z do not remember a world without the internet. This generation has grown up with information at their fingertips, and many bring this expectation with them to the workplace.

The oldest Gen Z’ers turn 23 this year. Many have finished college, and are looking to start their career.

Technology-Centric Workers

As mentioned above, Gen Z grew up in the age of the internet. This generation has high expectations when it comes to technology.

According to a report by Forrester, Gen Z want choice when it comes to tech selection. The report found five factors that could help companies improve technical experience for this young workforce:

  • Hardware – 1/3 of Gen Z workers would prefer a two-in-one laptop
  • Software – Younger workers use core productivity tools less than older generations
  • Security – 46% of Gen Z workers would like to choose their own security software
  • Privacy – 23% of Gen Z workers state concern about their company accessing their personal information
  • Mobility – Gen Z workers are less likely to work at home but more likely to work in co-working spaces or in multiple locations throughout the office

Diversity & Inclusion

Gen Z workers want to work for a company that is open-minded and accepting. This generation places high value on diversity and inclusion when it comes to race, gender, identity, and orientation. According to Deloitte, Gen Z also values salary less than previous generations. These young workers are more likely to choose an interesting job over one with a higher salary.

Health Benefits

In 2018, The American Psychological Association (APA) found that national issues such as sexual harassment, immigration, and gun violence are significant stressors for Gen Z. A whopping 27% of Gen Z report fair or poor mental health. Fortunately, this generation is also more likely to seek treatment or therapy.

Although Gen Z workers tend to be high achievers, they have high expectations when it comes to what they want from their employer. Employers looking to attract and retain young employees may want to evaluate their benefits plan to ensure it meets the needs of these workers. Employers should consider adding mental health, vision, dental, maternity, and well-being benefits to their plan.

Employee Benefits Specialist

MEBO offers employee benefit plans custom tailored to the needs of each organization. We work directly with employers to determine the best fit for their goals and budget. Please contact us to schedule a consultation.

Should Employers Offer Benefits to Gig Workers?

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COVID-19 has changed the way many of us live and work. Throughout the past year, unemployment rates have skyrocketed. Caused by forced closures and stay-at-home-orders, several businesses around the U.S. have had to reduce staff or permanently close their doors. According to the Department of Labor, over 48 million Americans applied for Unemployment Insurance within the past year. Many unemployed workers turn to gig jobs to make ends meet.

What Are Gig Workers?

Gig workers include independent contractors, freelancers, contract firm workers, temporary workers, and online platform workers. These workers may enter into contracts with companies to provide services on an as-needed basis. It’s estimated that as many as ten percent or more U.S. workers take advantage of some form of alternative work.

Health Benefits Provide Peace of Mind and Financial Protection

As an increasing number of U.S. businesses turn to independent contractors to assist with projects on a temporary basis, many have considered the possibility of offering these workers benefits. For gig workers that perform potentially life-threatening tasks during the pandemic like ride-sharing and other jobs that put them in direct contact with strangers, health benefits can provide peace of mind and may increase worker interest in these types of jobs.

Employers that utilize independent contractors on a regular basis might want to consider offering some form of benefits. Although it’s important to note that employers don’t have to offer the same types of benefits that they offer their full-time employees. For example, many employers do not allow gig workers to participate in a 401K plan, but will provide them access to healthcare coverage. These employers allow gig workers to pay monthly premiums to participate in the company’s group health plan. These types of plans generally cost significantly less than individual health plans.

Employers that decide to offer benefits to gig workers should ensure their workers aren’t receiving benefits from a temp agency or other party. It’s also important that employers avoid working with temp agencies that pass the cost of benefits to the employer. If the temp agency offers benefits, it is their responsibility to pay for these benefits for their workers.

Other Benefits

Although health insurance tops the list of preferred benefits, many companies choose to reward gig workers with bonuses. Offering bonuses for working during difficult hours or putting in extra effort shows workers they’re appreciated. It can also make them more willing to continue working for the company.

While offering benefits to gig workers can provide significant benefits, it’s important that employers weigh the risk as well. Providing gig workers with the same benefits as regular employees may make it difficult for organizations to attract workers to permanent roles within the company.

Employers have many factors to consider when selecting benefits for their workers. MEBO works directly with employers to evaluate their needs and develop a comprehensive solution, tailored to the organization’s budget and objectives.

Please contact us to schedule a consultation.

What Are the Most Important Benefits to Employees?

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The right benefits package can help employers attract more candidates. Companies that offer benefits experience lower employee turnover, have healthier and happier employees, and get to take advantage of tax credits and deductions. While large organizations can offer comprehensive benefits packages, smaller companies and start-ups have to be more selective. When choosing which benefits to offer, these companies could benefit from learning which are most important to employees.

2020’s Most Sought-After Employee Benefits

2020 was a strange year. As we get further into 2021, it doesn’t seem that much has changed as far as what employees want. The following were the most sought-after employee benefits in 2020:

Remote Work

Stay at home orders forced many employees to make the switch to working from home. Although this seemed like a novelty at first, employers and employees have discovered this option provides significant benefits. Remote work reduces operational costs. Another benefit, remote work completely eliminates barriers caused by physical location. Remote work allows employers to expand their talent pool to any location in the world. For employees, remote work improves work-life balance, health, and eliminates the stress associated with commuting to work.

Although it’s not clear whether remote work will become permanent for most companies, it’s definitely become more common, and not just during the pandemic. 69% of companies surveyed by Miro have at least one team member working remotely. Of these remote employees, 70% have been working remotely for over three years.

Health Insurance Benefits

Although employees have always rated health insurance benefits highly, they’ve never been quite as important as during the pandemic. Many people worry about affording healthcare for themselves or their loved ones. Offering health insurance benefits reduces employee stress and improves employee satisfaction.

According to a study by Employee Benefit Research Institute, around 7.7 million workers lost jobs with employer-sponsored health insurance last year. These employees are currently looking for work. Employers wishing to attract and retain top talent need to offer a good benefits package.

Paid Time Off

Everyone needs a break from work sometimes. Even remote workers agree that paid time off is important. By offering employees paid time off, employers show they care about their employee’s well-being and the future of their business.

Employee Benefit Specialists

At MEBO, we understand that many California small businesses worry about the costs associated with employee benefits. We work with our clients to evaluate their needs and develop a benefits package that fits their budget and provides the greatest benefits to both their team and their business. Please contact us to schedule a consultation.