Eldon Broady

Important Things You Need to Know About Employee Benefits

Retaining employees is one of the best things a company can do to ensure its own longevity. There are plenty of ways to keep good employees happy and attract great talent, but employee benefits are certainly at the top of that list. Here are some important things you should know about benefits packages.

Benefits You Must Offer

First off, keep in mind that an alluring employee benefits package is something that most businesses should strive for, but not every type of benefit has to be offered. That being said there are a few that you are definitely required to offer. Those include:

• Complying with worker's comp
• Paying FICA taxes
• Pay unemployment taxes to cover unemployed workers
• Giving employees time off for voting, jury duty, and military service
• Comply with Federal Family and Medical Leave
• Contribute to disability programs if your state requires it

These are the bare minimum, but just offering these is unlikely to attract top talent.

Employee Benefits to Consider Offering

If you want to attract and retain top talent, you should consider offering some of the following benefits:

• Retirement Plans - Employees like to see that employers care about them long term. Offering 401k matching or even company stock is especially attractive to employees and will encourage them to choose your company over companies that don't offer this.
• Health Plans - A good health plan is attractive to potential employees. Some companies even cover the premium.
• Dental and Vision Plans - While some companies offer good health insurance, not all offer vision and dental. Offering this in addition to health insurance can definitely encourage potential hires.
• Paid Vacations - Companies should offer their employees at least a week of paid vacation, preferably two. Some companies offer even more or even unlimited vacation days.
• Paid Holidays - Make sure you give employees the holidays off to be with their family.
• Sick Leave - Make sure your employees aren't afraid to ask off work if they're sick. Sick leave lets them take the day off without having to dip into vacation time.

Putting Together an Employee Benefits Package

When creating an employee benefits package, make sure you consider what level of talent you want to attract and retain. The better your employee benefits are, the more likely it is that they'll want to work with you and stay with the company long term.

Author Resource:-

Eldon Broady writes about employee management, benefits and payroll service. You can find his thoughts at employee management blog. Find an employee benefits broker visiting this website.