Introducing the new TALENT RETENTION Employee Benefits: Your Newest Retention Tool

BY NATALIE ROONEY

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that a record-breaking 47.8 million people quit their jobs in 2021, up 33% from 2020. With job openings hovering around 10.3 million, employers are seeking the right employee benefits to attract, engage, and retain top talent — all while trying to stay within their budgets.

Creative New Options

Retaining your employees goes way beyond salaries. Stephanie Mease, director of sales for Intrepid Benefits in Denver, says that while medical, dental, and vision benefits are still the foundation of a benefits package, employers are getting more creative. “They’re adding unique offerings or enhancing what they’re already doing,” she says. “We’re seeing things like long-term disability become one of the most important pieces.”

Mental wellness is also at the top of the list for expanded benefits, and employers are choosing plans that offer unlimited mental health visits. “They want to make sure their people have access to care when it’s needed,” Mease says. “Mental health benefits were rarely talked about before the pandemic. Now it’s at the forefront. We’re dedicating more space in our benefits guides and time in enrollment meetings to talking very specifically about mental health.”

Telehealth insurance is growing as well. Most insurance carriers cover telehealth at 100%, or for a low copay, to connect employees with assistance in non-emergency situations. Also coming to market are virtual primary care doctors. Need an X-ray? No problem, someone will come to your house. “It’s fantastic,” Mease says. “It helps manage employees’ care when they don’t have to take half a day off work to go into an office for routine checkups or lab work.”

Believe it or not, pet insurance is one of the newer and most popular offerings. “A lot of people adopted animals during the pandemic, and now they want to ensure that those animals are covered,” she says. Employers are also partnering with third parties to offer discount marketplaces: websites that employees visit for discounts on entertainment, travel, clothing, sports equipment, home furnishings, and kitchen equipment – you name it. “Employees can use it if they want to access great discounts, and employers don’t have to manage it with any sort of payroll deduction,” Mease says.

Over the past two years, there has also been an increase in employers offering legal and ID shield protection. Mease says nearly every employer group she works with is currently offering those services and some are even paying for a portion.

Lifestyle Spending Accounts

Newer to the benefits world are lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs), which are designed to encourage physical, financial, and emotional wellness and are popular with employees because of the flexibility that they provide.