Keeping tabs on competitors and industry trends is a key strategy for business success. Applying this principle to benefits offerings – both company-paid and voluntary – provides a calculated way to attract talent, increase employee loyalty, and, ultimately, provide value to employees.

Collecting data on competitors’ offerings provides helpful insight for evaluating your benefits package, known as benchmarking.

Acrisure Agency Partners offer benchmarking services which help you:

· Match or even set industry standards.
· Evaluate your return on investment.
· Promote findings and generate public recognition.
· Lower overall costs by balancing premium coverage ratios, pay scales, and more.
· Discover sources of competition you may not have been aware of.

How Important is Benchmarking in the Evaluation of your Benefits Package?

Benchmark data can provide valuable insight for evaluating your benefit package and helping you conform to or even set industry standards. Analyzing how other companies are structuring their plans and the strategies they use to cut costs may make your benefit plan decisions easier.

Employers are responsible for implementing new rules and absorbing the costs, which will likely mean cutting or shifting costs elsewhere. By benchmarking data, you have the resources to anticipate the shifting benefits landscape and evolve before your competition has a chance to respond, helping you with recruiting and retention of quality employees.

With low unemployment numbers, businesses must compete to obtain and retain talent like never before and job seekers and employees know it. Offering a comprehensive package may attract new hires or keep employees from looking for work elsewhere.

According to a 2017 Aflac Workforces Report:

· 58 percent of employees are at least somewhat likely to take a job with lower pay, but with better benefits.
· 68 percent of employees say improving their benefits package would make them happier employees.
· 90 percent of employees at least somewhat consider voluntary insurance benefits to be part of a comprehensive benefits package.

Effectively communicating benefits information to employees is a key part of the benefits’ attractiveness and success. Your approach to promoting available benefits will tremendously impact how well the program is understood, utilized, and perceived by employees.

Making the availability of benefits well known to current and prospective employees will help create a culture of appreciation and value.

What if your Benefits Package is not Competitive?

The common theme with all employers and their leaders is always the same. You want to offer your employees the best benefits package possible at the most affordable price. That’s not easy to do.

It comes down to your commitment to keep your package competitive and make employees aware of your offerings. When promoting benefits, present your offerings in a professional manner and with a strong foundational knowledge of your employees and their needs. Be sure to provide support after changes are implemented as well.

Acrisure’s Partners are here to Help

With so many “tipping point” decisions facing you and your organization, it is imperative that you not only have access to key data but, more importantly, that you have advisory support. Acrisure’s Agency Partners are uniquely qualified to translate data sources into meaningful applications. Contact us to discuss your specific voluntary benefit needs and how we can use benchmarking to achieve your goals.