Employee Benefits Trends for 2020
Most employers are in the middle of their re-enrollment period right now, one of the busiest times of the year for HR departments. It is important to understand what other companies are offering in the competition for talent in order to help you recruit and retain the best. In this article, you’ll find the most important employee benefits trends and a few extra tips.
Offering great benefits is not about offering the best of everything, it’s about offering a few key benefits for the employees you want to attract. That means that employers need to get creative with the perks offered.
Rising Insurance Costs
The cost of health insurance is rising, but the pace of the increase is moderate for 2020. On average, employers will see an increase of approximately 6%. However, employers that look towards adopting cost management initiatives will see a smaller increase.
The Society of Human Resource Management expects these companies will see their health care costs rise by about 5%. Small and medium-sized companies can help manage costs by working with an insurance agency that can help them find the best rates for a health plan, for both employer and employee.
Healthcare Benefits Trends and Health Plans in 2020
In the past, companies have turned towards high deductible plans as a way to control their health insurance costs. However, part of the trade-off with these plans is that it moves those healthcare costs to employees to pay out of their own pocket.
In 2020, companies have somewhat moved away from these plans in order to offer employees more choices for health insurance.
Healthcare benefits remains a competitive offering that candidates consider when they are considering a new job. It is important to balance costs (for both the company and the individual) along with the benefits they can expect to use.
Mental Health and Emotional Benefits
One aspect of health insurance that is often overlooked is mental health benefits. Since 2008, mental health benefits are required to be comparable to the physical health insurance coverage in your health plan. This includes mental health benefits, behavioral health benefits, and substance addiction.
By identifying work-related mental health stressors in the workplace and providing access to adequate care, companies can increase their productivity and employee satisfaction.
In 2019, The World Health Organization has taken measures to support people with mental disorders in the workplace.
At a global policy level, WHO’s Global Plan of Action on Worker’s Health (2008-2017) and Mental Health Action Plan (2013-2030) outline relevant principles, objectives, and implementation strategies to promote good mental health in the workplace.
Flexible Work Benefits
Paid time off (PTO) is a common benefit that is offered to employees, regardless of employer size. In order to add flexibility to help employees balance their home life and their work life, companies are turning towards flexible work arrangements.
Flexibility depends on the work that an employee performs – a receptionist that greets clients coming into the office needs to be there, but back-office employees don’t always need to work from the office.
Companies are increasingly allowing employees to work from home a day or two each week or working alternative schedules that work with their home schedule through core hours (for example, requiring that employees work from 10 AM – 2 PM, but giving flexibility around those times).
Best Wellness Employee Benefits
Many companies believe they are providing wellness benefits to employees, but they are failing to make a connection with employees who report low levels of access to this type of benefit. This is also complicated by the fact that “wellness” means different things to different people.
The good news is that wellness benefits often overlap with other benefits. For example, offering programs that help reduce worker stress, such as financial wellness programs and flexible work arrangements.
Finding ways to reduce employee stress may be one of the best ways you can support wellness in the workplace.
Employee Benefits Trends: Technology Benefits
One benefit that is often overlooked by companies is the technology they give their employees. While some companies have strict IT policies, others allow their employees to use the company-provided computer and cell phone freely for their own use.
Other organizations provide a stipend for employees to use their own equipment (computer, phone, tablet) instead of providing them with company-owned equipment. Of course, you will want to check with your IT department about any confidentiality and security concerns!
Another unique benefit to consider is employee discounts. If you can negotiate discounts with some of your suppliers for necessities like cell phone plans or software, you can encourage your employees to use these benefits without additional cost to the company. It’s a win-win for employees and managers.
Family Benefits and Voluntary Benefits in 2020
Family benefits are another employee benefits trend that is growing in popularity. Benefits that cover fertility, pregnancy, and parental leave are growing in importance among employees. Paid leave is also growing in importance to many employees.
Family-friendly benefits are not only attractive to younger employees who may be starting families. They are also attractive to an older workforce that may be caring for aging parents, so consider how a program may appeal to different employee populations.
Benefit Trends for Millennials, Baby-boomers and Gen Z
A trend that is starting to gain traction for millennial benefits is loan repayment plans, where companies help employees repay their student loans. Overall, the percentage of companies offering this benefit is small but growing.
One way employers help offset the cost of this benefit is to allow employees to transfer some of their vacation days to pay for their student loans. Employers continue to offer tuition assistance for employee development.
For baby boomers, support, as they transition to retirement, is a great benefit to offer. This may include help with planning retirement from a financial perspective or allowing baby boomers to gradually exit the workplace through part-time work.
At the end of the day, why do all of these benefits matter? In the competition for talent, you want to recruit and retain the talent that meets your company’s goals and vision. That’s why having knowledge of the best employee benefits trends helps your HR department to better plan and strategize the best benefits packages for your employees.
Technology is making it easier for companies to understand how employees are using their benefits so you can refine your offerings to be even more meaningful to employees. Vantage Point can help you manage your company benefits in order to maximize your employee offerings. Let’s talk!
Call us. We are here to help.
Monday – Friday: 8:30 am – 5:30 pm (516) 599-2120 or Info@VantagePointBenefit.com
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