The New Rise in Benefit Popularity: Employers Hold on to More Workers with Better Benefits by Janie Diaz

<strong>The</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Rise</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Benefit</strong> <strong>Popularity</strong>: <strong>Employers</strong> <strong>Hold</strong> on to More Workers with Better <strong>Benefit</strong>s
By Janie Diaz
Of course, workers gravitate more toward higher pay<strong>in</strong>g jobs,
especially when they are still under 24 and more likely to be
covered by mom and dad’s health <strong>in</strong>surance. But benefits are
under the microscope, and employers are k<strong>in</strong>d of startled by
how much Millennials are <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> benefits like paid
leave, maternity leave, 401(k)s, IRAs, mutual fund options,
and shares of the companies they work for.
<strong>The</strong> effects of this on small bus<strong>in</strong>esses can be profound, as
many of them offer very limited W2 positions, and have a
much greater workforce built of 1099 contractors to whom
they offer no <strong>in</strong>surance, benefits, or other perks <strong>in</strong> almost
every case. While it isn't entirely <strong>in</strong>conceivable that a small
bus<strong>in</strong>ess contract worker has the chance to work hard, prove
him or herself and be asked to come on <strong>in</strong> a full- or part-time
capacity, this doesn’t equate to benefits. While it’s certa<strong>in</strong>ly
true that new and prospective employees are wowed more
<strong>in</strong>itially with higher hourly rates and salaries, if they’ve been
offered more than one job, they may very likely take the one
that pays slightly less but offers better benefits (or benefits at
all.)
Even though Millennials do care more about benefits than
other generations when they were the same age, the fact still
stands: more experienced, older workers won't just be hop<strong>in</strong>g
for more benefits, they'll be demand<strong>in</strong>g them unless they’ve
been out of work for so long that they’re <strong>in</strong> a position where
they have to take any offer that comes along. <strong>The</strong> workers
that fall <strong>in</strong>to older demographics are <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> different
benefits than their younger counterparts. For example,
employees over 45 will be <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> hear<strong>in</strong>g about
whether a company offers term life <strong>in</strong>surance as part of a
benefits package, or dependent-care assistance options, and
<strong>in</strong> a new but grow<strong>in</strong>g sector, benefits that help employees
and their families with the adoption process. A new wave of
benefit types is com<strong>in</strong>g to the fore, and these will likely be
worth a little bit of a tradeoff <strong>in</strong> terms of salary or hourly pay.
As more and more small bus<strong>in</strong>esses cont<strong>in</strong>ue to grow—
especially <strong>in</strong> IT and big data sectors and the ecommerce retail
<strong>in</strong>dustry—figur<strong>in</strong>g out what to pay employees and how to
deliver benefits to them can be a challenge, but it’s one that
must be faced. Employees may <strong>in</strong>itially be seduced with a
higher wage, but small bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners stand a higher
chance of los<strong>in</strong>g them later down the l<strong>in</strong>e when they
<strong>in</strong>terview with a competitor that is will<strong>in</strong>g to offer a similar or
slightly lower wage with a host of benefits. In this respect,
small- to medium-sized bus<strong>in</strong>esses that don’t offer benefits
may very likely experience a higher turnover rate, which <strong>in</strong>
the end could cost a lot more than offer<strong>in</strong>g benefits <strong>in</strong> the
first place.
So how can bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners who aren’t able to offer benefits
get people to come work for them? <strong>The</strong> best way is to let
those be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terviewed know right off the bat that the
company is do<strong>in</strong>g all it can to create benefits, and let
prospective employees know that until that happens,
transparency will be key <strong>in</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g a constructive
relationship, <strong>in</strong> which workers will be <strong>in</strong>formed of any new
potential benefits as soon as they become available.