Better benefits can help keep employees satisfied

Beth Ipock, PHR, is communications chair for Springfield Area Human Resources Association, an affiliate chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.

There are several strategies that can help a small business survive and even thrive and grow in uncertain economic times. Taking care of employees is one of the best ways to ensure success for any size business.

While a business owner may feel that offering employee benefits is a cost he or she cannot afford, the fact is that in order to retain the best people, the business needs to offer competitive benefits. There is no question that medical insurance is the most expensive benefit to offer.

However, your best candidate for a position or your best employee may not have to think long when offered a similar position that provides medical insurance for the employee and dependents. A good insurance agent will be able to help owners or managers find a good benefit for a competitive price.

There are other benefits that are less costly to the employer. These include:

offering dry cleaning pick-up and delivery;

offering a retirement plan such as a 401(k). These take some time, thought and initial cost to get set up, but are fairly simple to administer;

personal development opportunities; and

discounted tickets to movies, amusements and other attractions.

Another suggestion for the small business hovering at or above 50 employees is to consider investing in a human resources professional staff member.

At 20 employees, federal law requires that a business with group health insurance to comply with COBRA. This is the law that requires a business to offer continuing group health coverage to an employee or dependent that is losing his/her benefits. At 50 employees, an employer is a covered employer under the Family Medical Leave Act. Both of these laws require extensive administration.

In addition to helping meet the legal requirements that face an employer, a human resources professional can help a business upgrade in several areas. These areas often go wanting when there is not a human resources professional to implement and administer them. Among them:

employee orientation;

regular performance appraisals and performance management;

employee professional and personal development;

recruiting to get the best candidates;

recognition and reward programs;

leadership training for supervisors and managers; and

consistently applied policies and procedures that comply with federal and state laws and regulations.

Many companies have started small, grown fast and found that without someone attending to the details, their greatest asset employees had little loyalty when a better offer came along.

Surviving and thriving is the name of the game. A focus on your employees can be fairly simple to accomplish and can help the organization meet its goals and objectives.