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Giving Your Employees What They Want
by James Raue (Write for us!)
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A business must attract and retain the best and the brightest employees to
succeed in today’s market. Here’s another idea to help you move ahead of the pack
Winning over employees, keeping morale high, and building company loyalty are as important to your business’s success as a healthy balance sheet. Sure, you’ve hired good people, but how do you keep them happy and productive? A competitive salary is a good place to start, but that’s just one element in an attractive package.
Recent studies show that a key concern of employees is finding the right balance between their life at the workplace and their life at home. In addition, employees are looking toward their employers for help in managing their basic needs, such as adequate health care coverage, life insurance, and putting something aside for the future.
Management must respond to workers’ needs while carefully containing the cost of funding these programs. In recent years, many cutting-edge companies have experimented with creative new personnel ideas. A wide range of programs, from "telecommuting" to "voluntary payroll deduction," have been designed to enhance employee quality of life while boosting company productivity
Innovative attendance
For some businesses, the 9 to 5 grind is a thing of the past. Depending on the nature of the business, it may not be necessary for every employee to work strictly a 9 to 5 schedule. "Flextime" allows an employee to select their own starting time (within a range of hours, say, 7AM - 9AM), and then leave work eight hours after their starting time. With two working parents as a norm, "telecommuting," has become a way for companies to keep valuable employees who otherwise may leave their job. This work-at-home arrangement uses the technology of laptops, fax machines, and e-mail to make working outside the office easier than ever.
Supplement benefits, not costs
In the past decade, "Voluntary Payroll Deduction "(VPD) programs have emerged as a convenient way of enhancing the range of benefits provided to employees. It’s rapidly become one of the most popular ways to buy life insurance, and it’s at home in businesses as diverse as Wall Street law firms and Main Street small businesses. A VPD program can be easily set up using your existing procedures for payroll deduction. A life insurance agent would then meet individually with each employee to explain the benefits of life insurance and the ease with which it can be purchased. All products purchased through VPD are employee-owned and paid for, with no direct out-of-pocket cost to you except the cost of administration. The VPD offerings can be a smart way to enhance your overall benefits package, without draining your budget.
Why employees like VPD
Most people agree that adequate life insurance coverage is a necessity; however, many employees rely heavily on their group plan, and don’t purchase it on their own. A VPD program affords employees the opportunity to get the coverage they need in a relatively painless fashion. Because the policy is being offered to many employees, premium rates are generally quite competitive. Since employees own their policy, it’s portable - they can take it with them if they leave the company. If they choose permanent life insurance, along with vital insurance protection, the policy accumulates guaranteed cash values.
Attracting the best and the brightest
As the pool of qualified employees shrinks, employers must go "beyond the nine dots" to attract and retain talented people. Companies perceived as employers of choice are successful largely due to the superiority of their personnel policies and benefits package. To remain competitive, your company may need to re-evaluate existing policy. If a VPD program sounds right for your employees and your firm, you’ll want to choose a top-notch company to serve as the provider. Feel free to contact Jim in his office for more information regarding VPD or other valuable employee programs.
Winning over employees, keeping morale high, and building company loyalty are as important to your business’s success as a healthy balance sheet. Sure, you’ve hired good people, but how do you keep them happy and productive? A competitive salary is a good place to start, but that’s just one element in an attractive package.
Recent studies show that a key concern of employees is finding the right balance between their life at the workplace and their life at home. In addition, employees are looking toward their employers for help in managing their basic needs, such as adequate health care coverage, life insurance, and putting something aside for the future.
Management must respond to workers’ needs while carefully containing the cost of funding these programs. In recent years, many cutting-edge companies have experimented with creative new personnel ideas. A wide range of programs, from "telecommuting" to "voluntary payroll deduction," have been designed to enhance employee quality of life while boosting company productivity
Innovative attendance
For some businesses, the 9 to 5 grind is a thing of the past. Depending on the nature of the business, it may not be necessary for every employee to work strictly a 9 to 5 schedule. "Flextime" allows an employee to select their own starting time (within a range of hours, say, 7AM - 9AM), and then leave work eight hours after their starting time. With two working parents as a norm, "telecommuting," has become a way for companies to keep valuable employees who otherwise may leave their job. This work-at-home arrangement uses the technology of laptops, fax machines, and e-mail to make working outside the office easier than ever.
Supplement benefits, not costs
In the past decade, "Voluntary Payroll Deduction "(VPD) programs have emerged as a convenient way of enhancing the range of benefits provided to employees. It’s rapidly become one of the most popular ways to buy life insurance, and it’s at home in businesses as diverse as Wall Street law firms and Main Street small businesses. A VPD program can be easily set up using your existing procedures for payroll deduction. A life insurance agent would then meet individually with each employee to explain the benefits of life insurance and the ease with which it can be purchased. All products purchased through VPD are employee-owned and paid for, with no direct out-of-pocket cost to you except the cost of administration. The VPD offerings can be a smart way to enhance your overall benefits package, without draining your budget.
Why employees like VPD
Most people agree that adequate life insurance coverage is a necessity; however, many employees rely heavily on their group plan, and don’t purchase it on their own. A VPD program affords employees the opportunity to get the coverage they need in a relatively painless fashion. Because the policy is being offered to many employees, premium rates are generally quite competitive. Since employees own their policy, it’s portable - they can take it with them if they leave the company. If they choose permanent life insurance, along with vital insurance protection, the policy accumulates guaranteed cash values.
Attracting the best and the brightest
As the pool of qualified employees shrinks, employers must go "beyond the nine dots" to attract and retain talented people. Companies perceived as employers of choice are successful largely due to the superiority of their personnel policies and benefits package. To remain competitive, your company may need to re-evaluate existing policy. If a VPD program sounds right for your employees and your firm, you’ll want to choose a top-notch company to serve as the provider. Feel free to contact Jim in his office for more information regarding VPD or other valuable employee programs.
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