Providing health insurance is a great benefit your organization offers employees, but it is not the only benefit employees are looking for when contemplating different employment options. There are other insurance benefits such as dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability insurance, and long-term disability insurance. There are also 401(k) and other retirement plans that benefit employees. And, vacation time is a great benefit to employees, too.
Fortunately, most employees are not expecting your organization to foot the bill for all of the benefits. They do expect your organization to provide the option for buying benefits, which would be at a lower cost to them than it would be if they were to purchase these benefits on their own and it would save them time in researching and signing up for insurance plans on their own. Some insurance and retirement plans also allow employees to save on taxes, if the insurance premiums or retirement contributions are tax free.
Providing some employer-paid benefits will make your organization even more attractive to highly qualified candidates and will help to retain employees as well. Employer-paid benefits could be in the form of vacation time, part or all of the insurance premiums, or an employer-matched 401(k) plan. For example, a company could match up to 5% of the amount an employee contributed to their 401(k).
The eligibility date for the benefits could be anything your organization wants to establish, such as immediately, the first day following one month of employment, or after a year of employment. Just keep in mind to make the eligibility date for enrollment and participation realistic for your type of organization.
Providing a variety of employee benefit options is a step toward being one of the more highly desirable employers in your industry.
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