Top Employee Benefits Employees Want in 2024

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS word on the yellow paper with office tools on the white background

In 2024, employees desire benefits that have a positive influence on their lives, such as wellness, dependent care, and premium healthcare. In today’s job market, benefits are just as essential for potential workers as salaries because work increasingly reflects individual identities. Employees yearn for work-life equivalence and will search for careers supporting their way of life for useful purposes. This write-up takes us through some of the preferred benefits sought after by employees from their employers in 2024.

Health Care Coverage

Nowadays, employers provide more optional health benefits, such as mental health coverage, contraception, vision, and laser eye surgery than ever before. Employees need to be insured now not only when they retire. They require comprehensive health plans that support them at present and into future times. By offering strong medical, dental, and optical packages companies can recruit top candidates with ease.

Wellness and Preventive Care

To reduce healthcare costs, many companies now offer wellness and preventive care benefits. This includes incentives for healthy behaviors like exercising, losing weight, or quitting smoking. Some companies bring in fitness trainers and host workplace wellness seminars. Others offer employee assistance programs with counseling services. Preventive care like annual check-ups and cancer screenings are fully covered. These benefits keep employees healthy and productive.

Retirement Savings Plans

Employees of all ages want strong retirement plans today. Depending on the structure, employees can make pre-tax deductions from their paychecks into 401K or 403B plans. With people living longer, retirement savings is a big priority. Employers that provide generous matching contributions attract ambitious employees who want to maximize retirement funds.

Paid Time Off

While employers want more productivity, employees highly value paid time off. Most want a minimum of 2 weeks vacation plus sick days and holidays. Parental leave policies are also important for retaining talent. Workers want time to recharge, handle personal needs, and spend time with family. Flexible paid leave policies lead to happier, loyal employees.

Flexible Scheduling

The 9-to-5 office job is fading as employees seek more flexible schedules. Options like telecommuting, compressed workweeks, job sharing, and flex hours allow employees to better manage work and personal responsibilities. Parents value flexibility to attend school events and care for kids. Flexibility also helps employees avoid long commutes during rush hour.

Professional Development

While fewer companies today offer paid training and education, it’s still desired by many employees. Tuition reimbursement, skills training, and leadership programs show that an employer is invested in an employee’s career growth. Employees want opportunities to gain new skills to advance their careers.

Relocation Assistance

Relocation packages are less common but still sought after, since moving is expensive. Employers may offer a lump sum payment or reimburse actual moving costs. Some also provide temporary housing. Relocation assistance makes it easier for employees to accept out-of-state assignments or transfers.

Performance Bonuses

While wages are lower, bonuses help attract and retain top performers. Signing bonuses for sought-after candidates and year-end bonuses for current employees give workers additional incentives and validation. Even small bonuses show employees their efforts are valued.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, in 2024, it is seen that even up to now employees still want traditional benefits like health insurance and retirement plans. However, they also expect creative perks that support work-life balance, wellness, and professional growth. Benefits packages are tailored by smart employers to invest in their employees therefore taking care of their lifestyle needs. Hiring and retaining skilled talent hinges on competitive, thoughtful benefits.


The Most Important Benefits to Employees in 2024 and Beyond

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The Most Important Benefits to Employees in 2024 and Beyond

Benefits matter a ton to workers now, even more than before. In 2024 and going forward, people want stuff from their job that makes their life better – like being healthy, caring for dependents, and having top-notch healthcare.

Recently, what companies give in benefits has become just as big a deal as pay for folks starting new gigs. Job hunters want balance between the job and personal time, looking for various perks.

Below’s a list of the most popular benefits people want from jobs today in 2024.

#1 Health Insurance Benefits

Now more than ever, companies give optional stuff like mental health coverage, birth control, vision and fixing your eyesight. Workers want benefits that help them out now, not just when they retire.

#2 Wellness and Prevention Benefits

Today’s companies are spending less on health insurance by giving perks focused on wellness and prevention.

#3 401K, 403B’s, Stock Purchase Plans

Folks of all ages today look for employers with solid retirement plans. Depending on the company setup, the pre-tax money people can take from each check changes. Employees have particular goals on retirement savings.

#4 Benefits for Time Away

Even though people want time away benefits, companies are cutting back paid personal time. Companies want more work and less off time, while employees want the opposite in 2024.

#5 Flexible Scheduling

In 2024, employees are asking for more flexible schedules. For decades, workers let employers control their time and demand a lot. Now people don’t want employers running their daily lives like in the past. Balance is everything today.

#6 Career Training and School

While fewer companies pay for career growth, employees still want it from employers in 2024.

#7 Company Travel Benefits

With online meetings from tech companies, work trips are less common. But companies that require travel should cover stuff like hotels, flights, and transportation.

#8 Moving Reimbursement

Employers pay less for moving costs in 2024. Workers still want this because no one wants to pay to move for a new job or transfer.

#9 Bonus Pay

While wages are lower today, bonuses like year-end and signing bonuses help companies get and keep top talent in 2024.

#10 Employee Perks

Companies offer fewer perks than before. But people still want stuff like daycare, dry cleaning, and company sports teams.

Wrap-Up

To get and keep the best employees, companies need to know which benefits matter most now. It’s interesting to see how job perks change in coming years.


The Ultimate High Demand Employee Benefits List for 2022

Kevin Kenealy employee benefits Comments Off on The Ultimate High Demand Employee Benefits List for 2022

Benefits are becoming more important to employees today than in the past. Employees in 2022 more than ever want benefits that positively affect their life including wellness, dependent care and top-level health care.

In recent years work benefits have become just as important as compensation to people working on a new career. Job seekers are wanting daily life balanced with work life with respect to a variety of benefits. Feature below is a list of most sought-after benefits by employees in today’s 2022 workplace.

Flexible Work Schedules

In 2022 employees are seeking increased flexible work schedules. In the past for decades employees allowed employers to oversee their time and demand a lot. Today’s employees are demanding that employers not be the overpowering influence on day to day like the past decades were for workers. Today balance is everything to employees.

Health Care Coverage Benefits

Companies now more than ever are providing optional benefits like mental health coverage, contraception, vision, and laser vision surgery. Employees are seeking benefit coverage that impact their lives now not benefits when supplied when they retire.

Preventive Health and Wellness Benefits

Today’s corporations and companies are reducing employer paid health care costs by providing benefits focusing on wellness and prevention.

401K, 403B’s, Stock Purchase Plans

Today’s employees in all age brackets are seeking employers offering strong retirement plans. Depending on how a corporation is structured impacts the level of pre-tax savings employees can deduct from each paycheck. Employees are goal driven when to retirement savings.

Benefits When Taking Time Off

Despite that fact that employees are looking for employers offering time-off benefits, employers are reducing paid personal time. Employers want more work and less time off and employees are seeking the opposite in 2022.

Career Training and Education

Despite that fact fewer companies offering paid career development, it is still a benefit many employees want in 2022 from their employers.

Company Travel Benefits

With the advent of online meetings provided by many technology companies, company travel for work is happening less and less. However, companies that do require travel are expected to cover expenses incurred by employees such as lodging, airfare and transportation.

Relocation Reimbursement or Payment

Employers are paying less and less when it comes to relocation costs in 2022. This benefit is still sought after by employees because no one wants to pay for a move or the cost of transportation to a new location due to a job transfer or new job.

Pay or Additional Salary Bonuses

Employers are offering lower wages today, but is a fact bonuses, such as end of year bonuses and signing bonuses, for top-notch employment prospects are still a great tool for keeping and hiring great employees in 2022.

Employee Perk Benefits

Employers are now providing less perks than in years past, it is a fact. But employees still desire these perks such as daycare, dry cleaning and company paid sports teams.

Employers seeking top employees and retention of current employee need to be aware of what benefits are super important and which ones can be dropped. It is intriguing to see what employee benefits will be in the years and decades to come after the craziness of the pandemic going back to when it started in March of 2020.


Employee Benefits and Strategy Developments to Look Out for and Adopt to Win In 2022 And Beyond

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Employee Benefits and Strategy Developments to Look Out for and Adopt to Win In 2022 And Beyond

The new year is a time when we all start strategizing for success and reflecting on last year’s accomplishments. This also means trying to anticipate what will matter in 2022.

This will most likely mean planning ahead by looking at current trends, predicting which technologies or tactics might become major players in the year ahead, and an understanding about what employees may want in their benefit packages.

We’ve broken down some key trends and predictions so you can prepare accordingly:

Embracing Digital Transformation

Surprisingly, 63% of employers are still using non-integrated multiple HR tech systems.

HR systems have evolved from simply managing enrolments to a truly simplified and automated benefits shopping experience with integrated decision support and personalization. With Ben’s new software, employees can easily find the information they need in one place – saving time that would otherwise be spent scrolling through different screens or looking for specific data.

More and more organizations will be modernizing their benefits technology this year to ensure it has the best features and integrations, with not only HCM or payroll platforms but also carriers. Around 50% of companies plan on spending more money on HR tech by 2022 due to the challenges they face today. A modernized ben admin solution isn’t just “a nice-to have”, but rather an essential need instead!

HR professionals need new, modernized tools that will fully support their tasks. These benefits-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions offer an all-inclusive employee experience with real time integrations into company systems. Add in APIs for data access on the fly, thereby cutting down significantly on paperwork while still providing seamless coverage from one device or platform.

The future of benefits is now in a world where employees and employers can more easily connect with each other than ever before. The modernization efforts will not only affect those at the reins, but also technology providers who want to stay competitive by providing their own unique services or integrations through APIs (application programming interfaces). This process takes time – it might be worth looking into if your current provider isn’t working on this by 2022 when they could potentially get left behind!

The Big Data Trend Is Not Only Here; It’s Here to Stay

The future of data visualization is here! With so much information at our fingertips, it can be overwhelming to know what metrics are important and how they relate to the business. We predict that this ongoing trend will lead us towards new tools for visualizing employee or benefit related Big Data in 2022, bringing more ease when making decisions based off these findings.

HR leaders recognize there’s value with all types of info available, but reporting takes time. Between organizing then analyzing – which leads them into deciding upon an action – oftentimes without enough knowledge about specific details.

The use of data visualization tools is a great way to automate the process and present information in digestible form. Outside of reporting, big data has also driven many AI/ML innovations that can reduce costs for decision support as well as other inefficient practices within organizations.

What Effect Has the Great Resignation Had On HR?

HR teams are taking on an even greater load of work as they attempt to retain talent in the face of continuing mass resignations. HR teams are struggling to keep up with the recent wave of resignations.

In October 2021, there were 5.9 million total separations -including quits, layoffs and discharges. Coupled with this, they are spread even more thinly with having to handle an influx of new hires and administration work.

The Great Resignation continues its devastating effect on all aspects of the workforce, especially HR. To relieve the extra burden that HR staff must work with, many companies are turning to outsourcing for help. With best-in-class benefits administration service providers running things smoothly and efficiently on behalf of your company, you can focus on more pressing matters such as strategy development or engagement initiatives. It becomes possible for these leaders in human resources management to put out increased fires rather then get bogged down day after day with tedious tasks.

Enter:  Generation Z

With the Great Resignation shaking up the U.S., there have been significant changes to employee populations. Millennials and GenZers are leaving at staggering rates with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021. As these newer generations join in on workforce duties, they too will need mentors who can guide them through their first few years.

We have been experiencing a shift in the workforce, with more and more companies recognizing that they need to offer benefits other than just pay.

Job seekers are realizing this too – as Generation Z will make up 27% of all employees by 2025 according to World Economic Forum data. With so many young people entering industries like retail or service-based jobs where wages might not be very high at first, ensuring your staff have worthwhile benefits makes good business sense.

Not surprisingly, 94% of large employers believe that voluntary benefits will be more important to their total rewards strategy going forward, because they create a sense security and help decrease burnout while increasing productivity. For those who don’t offer any type or amount on-hand, having strong carrier partnerships is key for providing a seamless experience across your entire workforce.

Combating The Rising Cost of Benefits

The cost of benefits is rising, and it’s a concern for many employers. Recent studies found that there had been a 4% rise in these costs in 2021, and similar rises were expected moving forward. It’s further noted that 60% of companies say they were experiencing major issues with increasing costs.

 What can companies do to ensure they are meeting their employee’s needs, while also managing the increased costs?

With the price of healthcare rising every year, it is no surprise that employers will be investing heavily in strategies and tools to help them reduce their costs in 2022. Key trends include consumerism, real-time dependent verification and tools that help employees enrol upfront in best-fit, low-cost plans. Costs can also be reduced with dependent verification audits as these prevent companies from cover those who do not qualify.  As AI/ML continues in it’s popularity rise, the tools to automate and simplify the process will also increase. In short, dependent verification tools save both time and money, but also minimize risk and improve compliance too.

Employees Want to Be Active Healthcare Consumers

As the workforce population continues to change, employees are becoming more involved in their healthcare decisions. Healthcare consumerism means that your staff will be able to make empowered choices for themselves if they understand what benefits exist and how best use them.

Moving forward, we expect this trend of increased employee engagement through benefits education and guidance on lifestyle changes to continue.

HR leaders are going to have find ways of getting creative with their benefit education efforts. They should choose a ben admin provider that offers robust customer experience call centers, because this could help them connect employees with the information, they need without burdening HR.  It would also give decision support in benefits shopping experiences through personal recommendations, without adding to the HR workload.

The Broker Rule Is Changing with The Industry

The evolving nature of the broker role is evident in that it now includes strategic services. Brokers will likely spend more time advising their clients, taking on a leadership position with employers who need help navigating changing regulations and an increasingly complex benefits landscape. According to recent research, “broker/benefits advisor provides valuable support and advice beyond simply presenting our benefit options,” so this trend should continue into 2022.


Why Employee Benefits Are Critical to the Success of Your Business

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Why Employee Benefits Are Critical to the Success of Your Business by The Payroll Company 505-944-0105

Have you ever questioned if the cost of employee benefits outweighs the additional administrative work? Here’s a suggestion: Learn about the value of employee perks and how providing them may help your company.

What is the significance of employee benefits?

Employee benefits: how crucial are they? Instead of a pay raise, 79 percent of employees would choose new or extra perks. While good pay is vital, so are decent benefits. Employees aren’t the only ones who want benefits. They can help you grow your company. Benefits can boost employee retention, attention and productivity, attendance, and recruitment.

Increased loyalty from employees

When you provide benefits to your employees, they are more likely to remain loyal to your company. According to one survey, having a benefits package is highly significant to an employee’s commitment to their firm.

Employees desire the freedom to customize their benefits to fit their needs. According to a survey, 72 percent of employees believe that having the opportunity to tailor benefits makes them more loyal. Offering a limited set of benefits prevents employees from selecting what is best for them. Employees who are more loyal are more likely to stay with your company. Employee retention can be aided by establishing or expanding a benefits program. 36% of employees believe that one thing their employers can do to keep them in their positions is to improve their benefits package.

Focus and productivity will improve

A lack of benefits can harm employees’ ability to focus and be productive at work. How? For starters, employees may be concerned about issues in their personal lives, such as childcare, illness, and finances. Employees who are worried about these issues are not focused on their work.

Data support this. According to a report, 23% of employees are less productive at work due to money concerns. According to the same survey, 58 percent of employees had lost sleep over daycare concerns. Employees who are sleepy or stressed are unable to concentrate at work.

You can provide stress-relieving benefits to your staff. Employees can be more present at work when they can take care of matters outside of work. Benefits impact employees’ capacity to focus at work, according to 51% of those polled. A further 51% agreed that benefits have an impact on their productivity at work.

Attendance will increase

When your employees have benefits, they are more likely to show up for work. On the other hand, finances, family commitments, and health difficulties are three of the most common reasons for workplace absenteeism.

Your employees may need to perform financial errands. Employees will have fewer financial errands to run if benefits are provided. According to a survey, 43% of employees feel that benefits impact their frequency of work absences due to errands.

74% of employees have missed out on work opportunities because of family obligations. Flexible work arrangements, for example, can reduce the amount of time people lose from work due to family obligations.

When employees have health benefits, they are less likely to miss work due to illness. In addition, employees who are happy with their benefits are less likely to avoid going to the doctor or postpone medical procedures. Again, this is because they know their medical needs will be covered.

Healthier employees

Employees with benefits may have fewer health-related issues that could lead to them missing work. Benefits can help an employee’s mental and physical well-being, which reduces absenteeism. When employees are at work, they have more opportunities to develop skills and make connections. Staff who make connections at work are more likely to stay with the company.

Employee morale will improve

Employees who belong to a benefits plan feel financially secure, and they know their medical needs will be taken care of in case an emergency occurs. An employee is less likely to miss work when their financial or health conditions are covered through this type of package. They do not have to worry about fixing a problem because they can take care of it at work.

Recruiting improvements

You boost your ability to attract prospects and hire new staff by providing benefits.

You may believe that a hefty salary is what draws staff. However, perks are just as vital as pay. According to a survey, 55% of employees are somewhat willing to take a job with a slightly lower income if it comes with better benefits. Employees are also more likely to accept a job offer if it includes health and wellness benefits, as well as flextime.

What are the most important benefits to employees?

You can provide a variety of benefits to your employees. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by your options. Start with the most common employee benefits. The following common benefits are viewed as highly significant by employees:

Health insurance

40% of employees view health insurance as the most critical advantage to join a company. Health problems can accumulate quickly, and they can cause an employee to miss work. When you offer healthcare benefits, you prevent your staff from being absent due to illness or injury.

Family leave

33% of surveyed employees believed that family leave was the most crucial reason to join a company. When employees have family leave, they are better equipped to handle their responsibilities at home. This could mean that they call in less often than if they did not have this benefit.

Paid time off

32% of employees value paid time off the most as it allows them to take time off when needed. Paid time off is good for staff morale, and it can prevent an employee from feeling burned out.

Retirement plans

30% of employees view retirement plans as the most important reason to join a company. Employees are afraid that they may not be able to retire comfortably. Retirement plans put their minds at ease, leading to their loyalty and increased productivity on the job.

Isn’t it true that benefits are costly?

Employee benefits may appear unaffordable to you as a small business owner. Begin by providing low-cost employee perks. Some advantages, including flextime and casual dress, are even offered for free.

Employees are also willing to pay extra to have the perks they desire. Employees are willing to pay extra for perks if they suit their needs, according to 52% of employees. Furthermore, if granted the option, 77 percent of employees are somewhat inclined to obtain voluntary insurance. Your employees may be willing to pay for all or part of the perk if you set it up.

You must subtract wages if your employees are required to contribute wages to a benefit. However, you can use online payroll software to assist you in deducting money from each employee’s paycheck.

Final thoughts about the importance of employee benefits

Employee benefits have become a necessity for businesses. Group health insurance is now required in most states, and other employee perks are also standard in the market. These perks are important to employees, so you must provide them for your business’s success.

The increase in attendance, employee morale, employee recruitment, and employee retention are just a few of the ways that employee benefits can increase your business’s profitability.


2021 Top HR Developments & Prognostications – Part Three

Kevin Kenealy employee benefits, employee wellness, gig economy, human resources Comments Off on 2021 Top HR Developments & Prognostications – Part Three ,
2021 Top HR Developments & Prognostications – Part Four - The-Payroll-Company-10433-Montgomery-Pkwy-NE-Suite-1-Albuquerque-NM-87111-505-944-0105-scaled-Mkt-07-1024x683

Technology is pervasive and embedded in the workplace today. However human resources department are not going anywhere. This component of the workplace is more important to the success of businesses than over. Companies use humans to run businesses, so unless a business has product or service that can be made on an automated basis or provided by a machine, Human Resources serves a critical function in today’s workplace. Human Resources enhances employee buy-in and maintains ongoing company business expansion.  

Featured here are the top Human Resources developments for 2021 to assist department heads and company managers get ready for the personnel-centric critical tasks in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and years. Similarly, businesses can employ these developments to make certain that their Human Resources ongoing tactics incorporate using the top HR Software to make the management of their company staff as efficient as possible.

It is hard for companies to manage employees well. Companies Human Resources departments seeking methods to help them be better at their roles choose web-based HR programs. These programs improve efficiency through automation of common HR jobs, such as benefits management and time-off tracking. Going this route improves HR departments time management profusely, which in turns allows them concentrate on critical goals including employee recruitment, training, retention, and job satisfaction.  

5. Staff Health is Job Number One

A big component of establishing and maintaining a connection to a company’s staff is its overall health. HR departments at most companies will emphasize promoting staff healthy on an ongoing basis in 2021 and beyond. Since the advent of modern technology staffs are under more pressure and that development has translated into companies focusing on providing job staff health programs. These health programs advocate staff wellness and assist them to stay in great health through participation connected to work health insurance reduced monthly premiums. Staffs and companies benefit because the program assist them in increased productivity and improved connectivity to the company and their job.

On top of promoting positive agendas that promote ongoing staff feelings of being well and healthy like paid or discounted local gym memberships, healthy diet programs, HR departments will also spend time on advocating mental wellbeing for their company’s staff.  

6. Contemporary Employee Benefits to Keep Staff Long Term

Recent historical trends show that more than 30 percent of companies provided better employee benefits over the prior calendar year. Businesses are increasing their pay and employee benefit programs to improve desirability to today’s contemporary staffs. In addition to recently add benefits, flex time and parental leave, several businesses are now providing employee benefits that cover several highly important personal life moments. Examples of those types of events are health and personal choice initiatives.  

HR department and staffing professionals may employ these contemporary employee benefits to keep staff long term. A complete benefits program may provide businesses the top advantages it requires to bring onboard the top employees their business requires in today’s competitive job market.

 Top Human Resources developments today show there is an ever-growing number of tasks that must be completed by companies HR department. A growth in multi-age work forces on the job at companies means HR departments must be equipped to develop methods to manage that picture well and keep each age bracket happy and motivated. HR departments must make the most of today’s high-tech tools which will help them create training systems that incorporate new knowledge and improved job skill sets of employees.


The Biggest Employment Issues for Employers During 2019 – Part Two

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Online Benefits Administration and payroll processing

Employers deal with lots of issues regarding taxes, employee benefits, payroll processing and human resources each year and 2019 is no different. Featured below is part two of a list of the biggest issue’s businesses must stay aware of this year. The biggest issues are as follows:

  1. Cyber Attacks Security and Privacy – Today there’s constant news of ransomware, cyber-attacks and real-world invasion of workplace computers. It is critical employers take these real-world risks seriously because they are happening and impacting companies and governments directly. Company’s must take action directly to stave off risk by doing the following things: never use Social Security numbers as employee id’s; use secure email when sending sensitive information of any type; employ direct methods of destroying sensitive information by using secure shredding services; and finally, when departing from a workplace workstation completely logout of all devices.
  2. W-4 Changes – Because of the tax reform law of 2017, many updates to Form W-4 have been mandated by the federal government. However, because the updates are complex, complying with the mandated updates is not required in 2019 so the W-4 is almost the same as the 2018 W-4.
  3. Healthcare Reform for States – Federal regulations and guidelines have been changed that will impact the markets for health insurance with respect to Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Short-term Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI), Association Health Plan (AHPs), which may end up impacting how employers provide health insurance.
  4. Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) IRS Mandated Enforcement – Large employers need to comply with Employer Shared Responsibility. When an employer receives a 226J letter, the onus is on them to respond to the letter an provide the requested information with respect to all company departments including benefits, human resources and payroll.
  5. Department of Labor Rule Making Effect – During the U.S. Department of Labor fall 2018 regulatory agenda it was communicated that the its Wage and Hour Department was going to issue several Notices of Proposed Rule Making regarding many regulations which would impact virtually all employers. The biggest change being made was to overtime regulations, but there were many other changes to regulation effecting the rate of pay. These changes would not go into effect most likely until March 2019.

The Final Word on Employer Legal Issue Awareness

Companies need to be sure they are in compliance with respect to all employer laws and regulation mandated by both State and Federal government entities. It is in a company’s best interest to be aware of the biggest issues of the day and make sure it is compliance with all rules and regulations.


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