Are you an HR director, company executive, or senior manager looking to make smarter employee benefits decisions that give your business a competitive edge? Aligning employee benefits with your company’s strategic goals is a worthwhile pursuit, as it can help you attract and retain the best talent in your field while promoting a company culture that supports your long-term goals and secures your business’s longevity.
Employee benefits benchmark efforts can go a long way toward helping companies achieve this alignment, providing insight into how your offerings compare to those of your direct competitors and the industry. Suppose you aren’t sure whether your benefits are competitive and in line with the expectations of today’s workforce.
In that case, employee benefits benchmarking can provide the answers you seek.
Comprehending Employee Benefits Benchmarks
Employee benefits benchmarks are metrics that can give a company a comparative analysis of its benefits against those offered by similar organizations. This highlights what your competitors are offering and provides unparalleled insight into what employees value most.
Comprehending benchmarks enables a company to customize its benefits in a way that helps it stand out in the job market, attract top talent, and keep productive employees engaged and committed.
Some of the more traditional important metrics to consider in employee benefits benchmarking are health insurance coverage, paid time off, and retirement plans. However, the benefits environment is changing, and modern businesses should also consider metrics such as professional development opportunities and flexible working conditions.
Identifying Strategic Goals
Before embarking on employee benefits benchmarking, a business must identify its strategic goals. These might include increasing market share and operational efficiency or boosting innovation and customer satisfaction.
Your human resources team plays an important role here, ensuring your workforce’s culture and abilities align with the strategic goals you identify. These strategies should support the company’s overarching business objectives. Setting up clear communication channels and measurable targets can help support this alignment.
Assessing Current Employee Benefits
The next step is to thoroughly evaluate your current benefits package to understand your offerings better and how well employees use them. Find out their perceived value by your workforce and the utilization rates.
Then, identify gaps in coverage, components of the package that aren’t faring well against competitors, and areas where employees’ needs are not being met. Benchmarking your current benefits against industry standards lets you see which strengths you can leverage and any weaknesses that need to be corrected.
Aligning Benefits With Business Objectives
It is no secret that your benefits have an outsized impact on employee satisfaction and retention, and aligning them with what your workforce values most can go a long way toward reducing your turnover rates and increasing loyalty.
Additionally, adjusting your benefits package to suit various needs can help your company attract a more assorted workforce and guarantee all employees feel supported. Benefits that address well-being can also lead to improved productivity by reducing absenteeism and raising engagement.
Developing a Strategic Benefits Plan
Now, it is time for your business to move on to designing the benefits package. Your company’s leadership, employees, and human resources department should all participate in the planning process. Setting measurable objectives and fundamental performance indicators can help you track your progress and refine your strategy once it is enacted.
Communicating Changes to Employees
Effective communication is the secret to successfully implementing your new benefits, so be sure your communications are clear and free of HR buzzwords. Convey your message across multiple channels, such as in-person meetings and emails, to make sure everyone can access the necessary information.
Be transparent, and explain how these changes better align with your company’s goals. Experts recommend explaining what is behind the changes, such as financial concerns, regulatory issues, or a desire to be more competitive.
You should also set up feedback mechanisms, such as surveys and suggestion boxes, to determine how your employees feel about the changes and how well they are adjusting.
Monitoring and Adjusting Benefits Plans
Keep in mind that once a new benefits package has been implemented, the process is not complete yet. Instead, it should be considered an ongoing effort that involves regular reviews and adjustments to establish it remains competitive and relevant.
Use analytics and employee feedback to drive these adjustments. A good benefits plan will be adaptable so your company can quickly respond to new challenges in the future.
Partner With Business Benefits Group (BBG)
The benefits consultants at Business Benefits Group can help you align your benefits with your strategic goals and get the most out of employee benefits benchmark efforts. To learn more about how we can help you with strategic benefits planning, reach out today to schedule a consultation.