As things begin to shift to a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy, many businesses are facing an unexpected struggle – getting people back to work. As businesses rush to get back to business as usual, those forced into unemployment due to the pandemic have hesitations about returning.
From an ongoing concern about contracting COVID-19 to considerations of early retirement to a lack of affordable childcare, the list of reluctances to return to work goes on. And with good reason. A temporary $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit on top of regular state jobless aid has offered many unemployed Americans the luxury of time to consider their options.
And they’re certainly considering them. Per a recent in a recent AP News article, one man who lost his $16-an-hour job at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Agency in November 2019, said, “I’m going to continue to look for suitable work. I know it’s going to come eventually. What I cannot do is settle for an unsuitable job that pays low wages.”
Despite offering pay increases to attract applicants, many companies are still struggling to hire. The mismatch between employers and jobseekers has also put pressure on business’ current staffs as they’re forced to work longer hours. So, in addition to facing a hiring struggle, businesses fear losing the help they currently have as well.
“People have options,” Becky Gronkiewicz, president of the temporary staffing firm Manpower Group’s North American division, said. “Companies have to offer speed in cash, speed to hire and a lot of flexibility in how they work.”
So, how can you position your business to be the better offer? Better health benefits.
Consider what a $0 deductible health plan would mean for employees who make $40k a year (60% of today’s workforce). That could equate to a 15-18% raise compared to a health plan with a $5k deductible, not to mention the emotional and financial relief that comes with being able to afford healthcare.
We’ve worked with multiple companies to make healthcare affordable for both their employees and their business through the power of self-insurance.
For Shine Solar, we were able to show them that there are alternatives to the high price, high profit plans brokers offer. Now, their employees have a $0 deductible and their premiums have been sliced in half.
With Schaefer Autobody we transitioned them to a self-funded health plan that produced more than $200,000 in savings for them in the first year alone.
In a time when a lot may feel out of your control, we can help give some of it back by helping you take control of your healthcare costs. Plus, the ability to offer better benefits to prospective employees may be the difference between ‘now hiring’ and ‘you’re hired’.
If you think better benefits may be the answer to your business’s struggle to fill open positions or would like to learn more about how we’ve helped companies like Shine Solar and Schaefer Autobody, we’d love to get in touch.
Sure, people may have options, but let’s make your business’s employment opportunities too good to pass up.
