Retention is the name of the game

Job seekers have never had such power regarding what they desire from employers. Global employment company Monster has recently published its inaugural Work Watch report, showing that more than half of workers believe their well-being is more important than a salary increase. However, the same workers disagree with the employer’s opinion that employees have unrealistic salary expectations. What is classified as a realistic salary increase can be controversial, but can we all agree on the value-added benefits? Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi spoke with Employer Benefits News about the importance of keeping workers engaged and happy and offering benefits. Salemi told Employer Benefits News, “Employee salary expectations may be higher than what the market will bear right now, so consider well-being in terms of mental health benefits offerings and more flexibility. That can help create the whole picture for the right job fit.” 

While we can’t necessarily provide you with a way to allow your employees to work flexible hours, we can offer a different kind of flexibility through benefits. When you use HealthEE by HBG to offer your employees benefits, you are essentially giving them the tool kit they need to finish the job in the best way for them as an individual. Having a one-stop shop for benefits allows for maximum flexibility, from choosing the type of coverage your employees desire to when they want to register HealthEE by HBG gives employees all the power.  

 

 From an employer’s perspective, this power can be freely shared with no cost to the employer and no administrative headaches. If employees have questions, they can direct them to our HealthEE support team, and after purchasing Rightway, the dedicated health guides can also offer support. 

So you want to add gig workers to your book of business?

Now that you know you can add gig workers, freelancers, and part-time workers to your book of business, you have to get out there and find them! The great thing about this segment of the employment market is unrepresented workers are all around us, including already on your book of business. 

Your book of business is filled with part-time workers, contract workers, and team members who aren’t eligible for the benefits that your clients are offering their full-time employees. Company leadership can offer these benefits at no cost, making the pitch is easy because we provide the tools and support you need to bring a HealthEE by HBG store to your existing business. Employees can simply select their benefits, add to cart, and pay with their debit or credit card. The leadership teams can forget about doing a second open enrollment and more payroll deductions with HealthEE by HBG – making this an easy to implement solution at any time throughout the year. 

Now if you want to go beyond your current book of business, you have to remember that these workers are all around us, like I said before. They deliver our packages, your uber driver, and the barista who remembers your regular early morning order. For those you see daily, word of mouth is the oldest communication practice in the book. So if you want to leave a business card in the tip jar or on the seat, we have those tools available for you..

You can receive cards and other promotional materials by emailing marketing@hbgnow.com.

Employee retention tips and tricks for employers

With the rise of quiet quitting and the great resignation, there has been no better time to communicate the exchange of value between you and your employees. The value you feel in the work they produce and the value you offer them in exchange as a boss. So read on for tips and tricks to encourage your most valued talent to stay put.

  • Create Growth paths: Create an environment where you continuously discuss professional goals and pathways for your employees to make them feel as though they are progressing more regularly than the traditional annual performance review. 
  • Respect work-life balance: In the age of technology, this can be harder than it seems. It is all too easy to reach anyone at any time of day or night. As easy as it may be to email someone while they are away, over the weekend, or at night consider setting a reminder for yourself instead to speak with them about it first thing during working hours. 
  • Build good teams: A team environment creates the opportunity for employees’ ideas to be heard and to hear differing views of others. Creating a space where employees feel their opinions are respected boosts engagement and foster employee bonding. 
  • Offer worthwhile incentives: By offering your employees benefits such as medical coverage, vision, dental as well as wellness offerings, you are communicating to your employees that you care about their well-being and their ability to protect themselves and their families. 

Let us help you knock #4 out of the park by contacting us at info@hbgnow.com to offer your employees an online benefits store at no cost! Using HealthEE by HBG as a benefit offering for your employees is free, fast, and frictionless for you as the employer.

The Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation was a rumbling that began amid the pandemic and has grown exponentially. With millions of people resigning from their jobs and opting into the gig economy, where they can work from home, have more say over their worth, and be in control of their work-life balance. I sat with our co-founder Christian Stearns to discuss this phenomenon and what it means for business owners and employers.

Christian explained that he considers the great resignation a misnomer and that he feels this phenomenon should be called the Great Realignment, as it’s more than people just leaving their jobs. Its employees realizing and acting upon what they need to have a high quality of life. Amidst the pandemic, we as a society discovered we can measurably work from home, and in eliminating the time of a commute and the physical distance between the office and your family, it’s not surprising many do not want to go back to the old way of business, in the office, 9-5. Thus employees left in search of employers willing to provide them with the lifestyles they became accustomed to during the pandemic. 

Many of you experienced this first hand, so I asked Christian how we could take this sour realignment and make sweet lemonade. His response was for business owners and employers to take a step back, recognize the need to give to get, the need for flexibility and that employment is not the one-way street it may have once been. More than flexibility, employers need to provide value to their employees. In this new wave with a booming gig economy where many work multiple part-time gigs or freelance for many companies providing access to benefits can be the differentiator. 

As much as the move to the gig economy has given employees a new kind of freedom, in many ways, it has also created a massive vulnerability as part-time, and contract workers seldom qualify for benefits and insurance coverage. Filling this gap and covering this vulnerability can make all the difference when retaining talent, whether in the form of contract workers or even your full-time staff. The workforce is full of under-benefitted, and downright un benefited workers. The truth is that health workers lead to a healthy business, and we help make employees HealthEE. 

Quiet Quitting and what it means for employers

First, employees left their jobs in droves, but the problems for employers didn’t stop there. In a more optimistic time when the American dream was still the dream and the future was bright, employees wanted to go the extra mile to move up the hierarchy for a better tomorrow. The thought process and your hard work will pay off, and you will be rewarded. However, as inflation increases and wages can’t keep up, many employees have stopped drinking the kool-aid and either want to be compensated for the extra labor or won’t do it. Thus the term quiet quitting, in which you do what’s in your job description, nothing more, no staying late or working outside your predetermined hours or taking on extra work for the good of the company. Quiet quitting isn’t necessarily a new practice. Many compare the concept to coasting. However, I think an important distinction here is that quiet quitting isn’t personal to the company but is rooted in the need for work-life balance or extra in exchange for extra. Work-life balance is more of a private matter; balance means something different depending on the industry and person. 

However, if you’re seeking an extra to exchange for effort, consider offering more incentives to employees. I’m not talking about pizza parties or casual Fridays- nobody sees those as incentives. Instead, employees want incentives to make their lives less stressful to take weights off their shoulders. One significant weight is sure to be the expense of insurance and benefits. With HealthEE by HBG, you can offer your employees more options at more possible rates at no cost to the employer. More than just the affordability aspect, HealthEE by HBG provides a sense of control and choice to employees, something they won’t find elsewhere. It’s not a stretch to consider a piece of the quiet quitting appeal: the sense of control it offers employees. Give your employees the power of choice and the possibility of affordability with the HealthEE by HBG benefit stores.