Healthy Benefits Tied to Healthy Corporate Reputation

March 13, 2017

Efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare flopped in Congress. So now what?

Regardless of what happens next, the quality of your company’s health benefits package will no doubt have a distinct impact on your reputation.

That’s according to a survey from the Healthcare Trends Institute, which found – not surprisingly – that the majority of employers and HR executives look upon health benefits offerings as recruiting and retention tools.

Highlighting the issue (and the challenge of recruiting): The news that companies added the most workers in almost three years to U.S. payrolls in February.

Asked to rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how strongly they agree with the statement “the quality of a benefits package impacts the reputation of my company,” 67 percent of the survey respondents put the statement at 7 or higher. Nearly a quarter chose “strongly agree.”

None of this is expected to get any less important as employers continue to add jobs to the economy.

A survey by the National Small Business Association in January showed 43 percent of owners expected to hire in the next 12 months, up significantly from 33 percent during the summer. Other surveys have also shown big increases in owners planning to bring on more workers.

In other words, your benefits package, long important to recruiting efforts, will only become more critical.

In other study highlights, the institute found:

• More than half the companies reported offering high-deductible health plans in 2016, up from 39% the previous year and 28% in 2013.
• Employers show an increased interest in health savings, health reimbursement and flexible spending accounts, indicating that at least half of their employees are enrolled in such accounts.
• Companies remain committed to providing a standard suite of benefits; preferred provider plans were the most offered health coverage option at 70 percent.
• The average number of medical plans being offered remained at three or more in 2016.

On the question of how the quality of their benefits might influence their reputation, 84% of the employers agreed it was important.

“Today’s robust hiring market means companies are refocusing their efforts on creating attractive compensation packages, with a rising trend toward investing more in benefits,” the institute said in its report. “A complete benefits package will help demonstrate an organization’s commitment to the wellbeing of their employees and increase worker satisfaction and overall job satisfaction, which leads to a positive reputation in the business world.”

Human resources professionals know this all too well.

More than two-thirds of HR pros surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management said that health care – along with retirement savings and flexible working benefits – will increase in importance to recruit employees in the next three to five years.

Scott McGraw is Vice President of CCIG’s Employee Benefits division. He can be reached at 720-330-7924 or scottm@thinkccig.com.

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