Employee Benefits: Attracting & Retaining Highly-Skilled Employees - Essay Sample

Introduction

Employee benefits widely imply any compensation workers receive from their employer over and above their regular remunerations (Merhar, 2018). The benefits come in various forms and are a critical portion of a reward package offered to workers. Effective compensation programs arguably give companies a competitive edge by boosting their chances of attracting and retaining highly-skilled employees. According to Sinclair, Leo, and Wright (2005), employee benefit programs continue to be expansive in scope and administrative complexity. Traditionally, many employers emphasized much on health benefits as an incentive to lure and attract high-skill employees in the market. With time, however, a growing number of organizations diversified their benefit programs to capture physical, mental, economic, and social incentives for their employees to retain a competitive advantage. As reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, 2001, in the United States, for instance, benefits grew from 3% to an average 27% of payroll in 1929, with some employers committing 40% or more of their payroll to employee benefits programs (Sinclair, Leo &Wright (2005). A broader focus on employee benefits, particularly healthcare-benefit programs, as DeGroot and Kiker (2003) argue is necessary for organizations to achieve the desired-behavioral outcome and improved productivity. For instance, employees who are dependent on drugs and alcohol, and those with emotional and physical problems often have performance difficulties or compromise an effective performance by their colleagues. Initiating benefit programs to address such issues could have a huge payoff for the organization in terms of productivity.

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Employee-healthcare benefit programs and other programs; however, in most cases are subjects of cost-benefit analysis for many employers. Generally, employers are increasing their interests in employee healthcare benefits-cost management. Often, employee healthcare-benefit costs are influenced by several social factors like rising healthcare expenses, a growing number of dual-earner and one-parent families, and the surging demand for family-oriented benefits (Sinclair, Leo &Wright (2005). Besides this, contrary to fixed costs like equipment and property that can be subject to depreciation, healthcare-benefit costs commonly are positively correlated with inflation, rising at an equal or a higher rate with the latter. Despite all the cost-related challenges of employee health benefits, however, several studies on this subject have found out that effective employee benefits program is beneficial to organizations overall.

Conventionally and in most instances, employee healthcare-benefit programs have been perceived simply as a nice extra to attract the desired workforce, rather than a strategic imperative (Berry, Mirabito &Baun, 2010). However, pieces of evidence reveal that the return on investment (ROI) from a comprehensive, effective healthcare-benefit program can be very high. With the latest federal healthcare policies availing tax incentives and grants, U.S. organizations can exploit employee healthcare programs to mitigate their huge healthcare expenses that continue to grow with an aging workforce. Government incentives or not, unhealthy employees increase organizational costs. According to Berry, Mirabito, and Baun (2010), doctors, Richard Milani and Carl gave a demonstration of this claim through a study of randomly sampled 185 workers and their partners for an employer. The participants received cardiac rehabilitation and workout programs from an expert team, albeit they were not heart-problem patients. At the end of the exercise, the employer realized a decline in medical claims of 1421 dollars per participant in contrast with the previous year, yet a control group did not show these improvements. In another instance, J&J leadership estimated that worker's benefits programs cumulatively saved the organization $ 250 million on healthcare expenses over the decade between 2002 and 2008, in effect realizing a return of $ 2.71 on every dollar spent.

Employers, therefore, should view constructing an effective employee healthcare-benefit program as a financial strategy and reconstruct their perspective on this subject. According to Berry, Mirabito, and Baun (2010), however, most successful of these programs usually have six crucial pillars; a leadership that is engaged at multi-levels, strategic harmonization with the organization's culture and vision, a broader model that is highly relevant and quality, full accessibility, effective communication, and internal and external partnerships.

Below is a sample benefits program for Hospitalist Group with 30 full-time physicians, four mid-level practitioners, and four administrative staff. The benefits program encompasses employee healthcare benefits and other incentives that will influence employee behavior.

Medical Coverage

In partnership with AXY insurance firm Hospitalist Group will provide employee health cover policies that will primarily cover each employee at an agreed premium, which will be financed at 80% by the employer and 20% by the employees recoverable from the payroll. As an eligible employee, one will enroll for Health Savings Account Program (HSA) that will provide the following benefits.

AXY Health Savings Account (HSA) Plan

Annual Deductible Individual/ Family - $2,000 single/ $5,250 family

Professional Services

Office Visits- $0 (after deductible)

Specialty Visits- $0 (after deductible)

Preventive Care- $0 (after deductible)

Hospital Services

Inpatient Hospitalization- $350 daily after deductible

Outpatient Surgery- $250 daily per procedure (after deductible

Diagnostic X-Ray & Lab

Advanced Imaging- $40 (after deductible)

All other X-Ray and Laboratory Procedures- 0 (after deductible)

Urgent/Emergency Care

Visits- $0 (after deductible

Urgent Care- $ 90 (after deductible

Ambulance- $ 90 (after deductible)

Emergency Room (Waived in the event of Admission) - $ 95 (after deductible)

The Health Savings Account (HSA) model gives one much control over the savings and management of healthcare expenses. Some of its advantages are; contributions through payroll towards HAS are tax-exempt, contributions made from after-tax dollars are tax-deductible, the contributions earn tax-free interests, and that you own your HSA, in the essence that you carry it with you when you shift employers or health plans.

Other policies on personal health coverage will include dental and vision coverage subject to terms set out by our professional partners in these particular fields. Besides this, the Hospitalist Group provides all its active employees with an employer-financed basic life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefit. The essence of this benefit is that it offers valuable income continuity in the event that a worker suffers a severe accident or passes on.

Retirement Plan

We care about our employee welfare, more so after they come out of employment. At Hospitalist Groups, it is our pride to see our retired employees sustain themselves financially and age gracefully at the back of employment. Planning your retirement offers the best path to attaining your financial goals. By beginning your savings towards retirement early, you better your chances of growing your investments over time. Our 401 (k) retirement savings plan is structured with a tax-favorable plan to help you achieve this with ease. Contributions made towards retirement's savings are deductible from the employee's salary before income taxes. In effect, it lowers the taxable income, and the consequence is you pay less in current tax, while at the same time, your retirement savings grow without subjection to current taxes. This is because the savings are tax-exempt and are deferred for taxation until withdrawals are made.

Employee Assistance Program

Hospitalist Group also has a partnership with ABX Job Life Matters and AXY professional therapists for the employee assistance program. Through this program, we support workers and their families, with support services mainly evolving around several day to day life issues people encounter. The program avails to our workers and their family services like round the clock telephone consultancy from professional psychotherapists and counselors, modern-day website access to more than 4,000 resourceful articles on subjects like healthy living and exercising routines. Besides this, we provide accessible avenues to access legal and financial advice from qualified practitioners.

Employee Discount Program

Hospitalist Groups care about our employees' financial and social welfare; that is why we offer HOSPITALIST PERKS. Through this program, Hospitalist Group provides all their employees and close family, that is spouses and children a valuable service that allows them to extend their purchasing power. The program enables an employee or a close family member to receive discounts on entertainment, recreational parks, home services, and memberships within our district. This, however, is subject to a limited amount and is a privilege available only to employees who have stayed with our organization for more than three years.

Employee Training and Development Program

Hospitalists Group is centrally concerned with quality in its service provision. In line with our Human Resource policies and the company strategy, we aim to grow the skills and proficiency of our workforce that is why in collaboration with LXP Consultancy, we have established a training program for our employee that is aimed at sharpening their skills and advancing their knowledge in their areas of expertise.

References

Berry, L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. (2010). What's the hard return on employee wellness programs?. Harvard business review, December, 2012-68. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2064874

Merhar, C. (2018) Examples of Common Small Business Employee Benefits https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/examples-of-common-small-business-employee-benefits

DeGroot, T., & Kiker, D. S. (2003). A metaanalysis of the nonmonetary effects of employee health management programs. Human Resource Management: Published in Cooperation with the School of Business Administration, The University of Michigan and in alliance with the Society of Human Resources Management, 42(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.10064

Sinclair, R. R., Leo, M. C., & Wright, C. (2005). Benefit system effects on employees' benefit knowledge, use, and organizational commitment. Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(1), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-005-6981-1