CPF executive Lawrence Leisure has a new blog post up on his website: "How Competitive are your Health Benefits?"

1. H O W C O M P E T I T I V E A R E Y O U R
H E A L T H B E N E F I T S ?
Lawrence Leisure
www.lawrenceleisure.com

2. With the rise of big tech and an ever-
slimming talent pool, employers are
scrambling to attract and retain talent.
Current trends in the job market are
definitively against them; schools are
barely able to churn out enough graduates
to suit demand for leading software,
computer, or robotics engineers to suit
industry demand

3. Today, much of the conversation surrounding
recruiting and employee retention revolves around
the subject of worker experience and what can
improve it, particularly work life balance. This shift
might seem odd, even laughable, to those who
worked in HR twenty or thirty years ago, when
compensation was the main dish while health or life
benefits served as the cherry on top.

4. The logic is simple. If a company can build a
support system and environment that
provides its base with services that tangibly
improve employees’ lives in and outside the
office, those workers will need to think long
and hard before they sacrifice those benefits
and move to another employer. T

5. When it comes to career planning, Millennials
stand as ideologically far away from Baby Boomers
as they possibly can. Younger workers tend to
cycle through jobs quickly; according to one recent
Gallup poll, 21% of surveyed Millennials have
shuffled jobs in the past year — which, for
comparison, is more than three times the
percentage of non-Millennials who report doing
the same.

6. While specific offerings will vary on the capabilities of a
given business, benefits that bolster day-to-day
convenience will likely appeal to younger workers. Pet
friendly perks constitute a particularly strong draw for
younger workers; by partnering with pet insurance
carriers like Nationwide and TruPanion, employees have
the chance to save up to 90% on unexpected veterinary
bills. For a younger employee who lives in a “pet family”
(i.e., someone who might not have children yet but does
worry for the health of a dog or cat) an employer-
subsidized pet insurance program could stand as an
attractive and useful perk.

7. Many women in Generation X, however, do have families and
demanding lives outside of their careers. They might not need
pet insurance or ask for day-to-day conveniences, but they
deeply value thoughtful work-from-home policies and leave
options that allow them more time and flexibility to care for
their families. IBM, for example, has a phenomenal recruitment
and outreach program for women who left the workforce for a
year or two to care for their children and only need a little
guidance to polish their skills enough to meet current needs.

8. Alternatively, those who don’t have families
already might look for benefits that empower
them to have children later in life. According to a
2015 report from the Reproductive Medicine
Associates of New Jersey, a full 48% of women
delay starting families to focus on their careers.
This pause comes at a cost: the chances of
conceiving drop to just 20% every month even
fertile women over the age of thirty. Together,
these statistics imply that many women in the
workplace struggle with infertility: a condition
that can cause significant psychological stress
and negatively impact their working
performance.

9. Businesses can simultaneously help resolve this
stress and gain a competitive edge by making
fertility a part of their benefits package. By
partnering with a company like Progyny — an
organization that offers a host of reproductive
counseling services — employers can position
infertility care as a draw for potential workers.

10. Companies need to start thinking of their
employees as humans with niche needs, rather
than as generalized assets. Those in business
today face a mounting hiring crisis: the talent
pool is growing ever-more shallow, and
employees today are not interested in a
compensation-total model. Companies who take
the time to delve into the needs of their
employee base and determine which benefits
will make them feel valued and cared for will
have a better shot at obtaining and retaining
staff long-term.

11. The driving idea behind sophisticated benefits design is
surprisingly simple:
Develop a clear picture of employees’ unique concerns and
create a plan to resolve them. If employers can accomplish
that, they won’t have to battle their competitors for
talented employees — the workers will come to them.

12. T H A N K Y O U !
W W W . L A W R E N C E L E I S U R E . C O M