How Benefits Coaching Impacts Employee Retention
If your workforce reduced by nearly a quarter overnight, could your organization survive?
On the bright side, average turnover rates among U.S. businesses are declining – 17.3% from 24.7% in 2022.1 Despite this good news, employee retention remains a top priority for organizations, causing employers to seek alternative ways to keep their workforce intact and engaged amid a competitive job market. While incentives like wage increases and comprehensive benefits may require more time and resources to resolve, a method known as benefits coaching can provide your organization relief as early as today.
What is Benefits Coaching?
As the name suggests, benefits coaching is the practice of providing your workforce with resources and guidance surrounding their benefit opportunities. This could be in the form of consistent communication and educational opportunities, as well as professional advice on best practices involving employee benefits.
Considering that 45% of employees admit to not comprehending their benefits package,2 these year-round opportunities are great for employers to bridge the gap between understanding and the unknown. This also allows you to strengthen your knowledge about the organization’s benefits structure.
Why is this necessary for improving employee retention? Never underestimate the power of information investments. When employees see you take continuous initiative about their wellbeing beyond open enrollment, they are more likely to remain invested in your organization – 76% more likely, to be exact.3
Benefits coaching can also help you improve your retention rates. Here’s how:
Customize Benefits Strategies
This method may call for some self-assessments. Start by asking yourself how well you know your benefits plan. Do you receive questions about specific policies from employees, or is it crickets until enrollment time comes calling? Assess what you know about and examine what you don’t – chances are, if you’re curious about the meaning behind a benefit, your employees may feel the same way. Try utilizing routine surveys as a means of gaining information that can help you tailor your program to the employees’ needs.
Through consistent education opportunities like Lunch-And-Learn benefits and ongoing online education, employees can understand what they’re being offered and make informed decisions about their health.
Invest in Your People
How do you feel when someone checks in on your wellbeing? Does it make you feel valued, like your general health matters to someone other than yourself? If so, then you may understand why some employers are focusing on investing in their employees’ wellbeing.
As we spend an estimated one-third of our life at work4, it’s only logical that employees may want a job that invests in their health benefits to the fullest. This means not only financially supporting their health but understanding what they need and why.
Engage Today for Tomorrow
Engagement is a two-way street, so take the initiative to reach out to your employees. A good place to start is by evaluating your enrollment strategy. This allows you to gauge your current engagement and adjust accordingly – whether that’s through increased benefits communication or setting short- and long-term organizational goals.
As a bonus, engaged educators tend to be more effective in their roles, leading to a potential increase in student performance.5 These are small steps that could lead to driving employee engagement in the modern workplace.
Reduce Turnover Costs
When turnover happens in your organization, you’re not just losing an employee – you’re losing experience. As undeniable as this vacancy can feel in the workplace, employers can also see it in their budgets. The cost of replacing a single employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s salary, meaning that losing an individual with an $80,000 salary can cost an organization as much as $160,000.6
Curbing these costs is crucial to the success of any organization. Thankfully, employers have a variety of options so they can see what works best for their workplace.
Remain Competitive
While economies and employment ebb and flow, one thing remains consistent over time: employers are always looking for effective ways to recruit top talent and retain their star employees. As an average 70% of employees say would increase their loyalty to an organization with tailored benefits, championing your competitive benefits package could be the key to your success.7
Behind every team there’s a coach, giving their players the tools they need to succeed while cheering the team on to victory. Organizations are no different, and that’s why coaching your employees about their benefits can foster growth in the workplace.
Stay ahead of the curve with our free engagement white paper!
This blog is up to date as of July 2024 and has not been updated for changes in the law, administration or current events.
