4 Reasons to Offer Voluntary Benefits
Want to give your employees another good reason to be loyal to your company? Many business owners do—and that’s why nine in 10 employers now consider voluntary benefits a key part of their employee retention strategy. (1)
Voluntary benefits (sometimes known as supplemental benefits) are offered in addition to medical benefits. They can be either 100 percent employee-funded, or funded in part by the employer. Because the employer can offer a group plan, employees can often get less expensive coverage than they’d be able to purchase individually.
Among the most common voluntary benefits offerings are dental, vision, disability and accident insurance, but voluntary benefits can also go well beyond health-care-related programs. Here are some reasons to consider offering them.
1. Voluntary benefits can help your business compete for workers. They allow a small business to offer a wider, more competitive range of benefits than it could otherwise afford to. Three in four employees say that the overall benefits package an employer offers is extremely or very important in their decision on whether to accept a job. (2)
2. Employees value them. Six in 10 employees say there’s a growing need for voluntary benefits, driven by rising health-care costs. Employees who are offered voluntary benefits are more likely to be satisfied in their jobs than those who aren’t (78 percent vs. 57 percent). (3)
3. They can make your life and your employees’ lives simpler. Well-run voluntary benefits programs don’t require time-intensive administration. Your provider can supply clear communications via multiple channels (e-mail, texts, print), a streamlined enrollment process, and online calculators and support. Employees can pay for their policies through convenient, automatic payroll deductions.
4. You can customize your offering based on your employees’ needs. Rather than providing a one-size-fits-all insurance package, you can offer a range of benefits to suit employees’ ages and life stages. Voluntary benefits can include wellness programs, online education, financial and legal counseling, pet and automobile insurance, and more.
1.) Willis Towers Watson 2016 VBS Survey
2.) 2015 Health and Voluntary Benefits Workplace Survey, Employee Benefit Research Institute
3.) 2016 Aflac WorkForces Report
