Category Archives: Employee Benefits

Round out your Benefits by bringing in HR & Payroll. Here’s why.

Open Enrollment is just around the corner and it seems like every company is trying to get their hands in your pocket. Whether it’s Payroll companies, software companies, retirement companies, plan vendors, or companies like ADP and Paychex, everyone has a “better solution” that they want to sell you. Upon closer examination, these “better solutions” all lack a piece that is generally critical to your business.

What if there was one place where you could manage it all: your “people” business processes, Employee Benefits, and Human Resources?

That’s where CorpStrat comes in. We can help you streamline your Employee Benefits, Human Resources, and Payroll to one location to make your life easier. Streamlining is an extremely effective tool that we believe will help simplify your life.

Here are some benefits of bringing your HR and Payroll into your Employee Benefits:

1. Personalized support.

No more wasting an entire day calling multiple companies and STILL not getting the answer you need. By streamlining your HR and Payroll into your Benefits, you call one number and reach someone who knows and cares about your business. Also we have a variety of experts on our team, from insurance to Human Resources, to Employee Benefits.

2. A comprehensive approach to your Benefits.

No more expensive piecemeal solutions that all don’t do what you actually need. We’ll help manage all the complexity and ensure compliance so you don’t have to stress.

3. Benchmarking gives you complete confidence.

Your CorpStrat advisor is working with hundreds of other employers so they know exactly what’s happening in the marketplace. You get real-time benchmarking, not last years’ assessment, so you know you’re being presented with the best options.

4. Cutting edge products.

We are in the trenches with carriers and underwriters daily. This means we’re constantly gaining insights into the best ways to use and design plans, which helps us deliver the best, custom plan for you and your team.

5. Coordinated approach to growing your business.

At CorpStrat, we’re not just passive participants. We strive to be a part of your advisory team and seek to collaborate with your professional advisory team, especially when there are tax or legal aspects to address.

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If you don’t currently work with us on Benefits or Payroll and you are still dangerously using Google to find HR answers, reach out to us. What we are offering could potentially help save you money, time, and make your business more effective. We take pride in being hands-on, non-call-center partners that are committed to helping employers manage their most important assets: their people.

Email us at marketing@corpstrat.com today.

Employees now rank healthcare as more important than salary.

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Employees are now ranking healthcare as more important than salary increases. With healthcare insurance premiums rising again this fall, employers are faced with a unique challenge: revisiting the balance between salary increases, compensation, and benefits. Remember, this is all happening in a competitive market in which employees are no longer as connected to the companies they work for.

With a volatile economy and employees adhering to a remote-first work attitude, a recent survey showed that 70% of employees rank healthcare coverage as the most important benefit when considering a job change. They may not know the intricate mechanics of health plans, but they want the assurance of being taken care of, both physically and mentally. They’re also keenly aware of the amount that’s coming out of their paychecks through co-pays and monthly fees.

For employers, this focus on Benefits over salary can present a huge opportunity. If you listen to what your employees actually want, you can present them a Benefits package that’s creative and fresh. This can help you increase retention without breaking the bank.

Here are a few things that employers can do to keep their offerings fresh:

1. Revisit your benefits package.

Employees like choices! Make sure there is a full array of products including things like financial planning, legal, and Voluntary Benefits. Include perks that can increase morale like flexible work hours, fitness discounts, or career development opportunities. Don’t underestimate how little things can make a big difference in building good will with your employees.

2. Communicate the value of your benefits.

Spend time and resources in communicating the value of your benefits. Most employees won’t dig deep into benefit brochures on their own so be sure to highlight your offerings. Be transparent about why you’ve painstakingly chosen the plans they’re being offered.

Make this process fun! Create easy to understand graphics so all the information is digestible. If you’re in office, invite your employees to participate in an information session with a catered lunch or snacks. If you’re a primarily remote team, hold an informational Zoom session and send everyone who joins a free gift card for coffee to encourage them to attend. Do what you can to help your employees understand how much value they can gain from their Benefits package.

3. Go Digital

Make sure your benefit enrollment and communication has gone digital. The days of paper communication are long over! Employees want easy mobile access for every step of their Benefit enrollment and management. The less pain points there are in the enrollment and management of their Benefits, the more autonomy and agency they feel they have. Having a robust mobile application also builds confidence in employees that 1.) their data is secure and 2.) their company is using technology that’s with the times.

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At CorpStrat we pride ourselves in helping employers do all of the above. If you know of an employer who could benefit from our service and guidance, please recommend us. It’s that time of year when everyone deals with this issue and we are MONEY when it comes to these issues.

If you need help making sure your benefits packages are the best they can be, give us a call.

What’s the hottest, zero cost benefit in Employee Benefit planning today?

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two coworkers meet to discuss voluntary benefits

The answer may surprise you. Hint: AFLAC

58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck after the inflation spike. This means that most of your employees are relying heavily on their paycheck to keep them from becoming financially vulnerable. If an employee falls ill or gets hurt, they’ll likely have little to no income coming in. On top of that, state Disability is so restrictive and can involve such an arduous process that your employees simply can’t count on it.

Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary Benefits, commonly referred to as AFLAC, can help employees maintain their income by paying cash benefits directly to them. Employees can use these cash benefits to help cover rent, groceries, and other daily living expenses while they’re out of work.

It’s true, major medical policies can be adequate for addressing most of your employees’ direct medical expenses. However, out-of-pocket medical expenses like deductibles, co-insurance, office visits, etc. aren’t covered by a primary healthcare plan and can still present a problem. These expenses add up quickly and can become an insurmountable financial burden for employees.

Voluntary Plans can help cover some of the large financial burdens employees face. Did we mention there’s no cost to you as the employer? Consider offering these plans to your employees on a voluntary basis:

Accident
Short Term Disability
Life, Dental
Vision
Cancer Expense & Critical Illness

Don’t forget, you can offer these programs on a pre-tax basis. This can help lower your FICA and FUTA contributions, making these plans even more affordable to your team.

We think Voluntary Benefits are a win-win for you and your employees and should be a part of any comprehensive Benefits Package. If you have any questions regarding how to get this set up, please contact us at marketing@corpstrat.com

The CorpStrat Experience: What to Expect When Working With Us

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People often ask us, “What make CorpStrat different?”

At the heart of it, we work hard and we care about our clients. In today’s fast moving world, people have little time to waste. They need fast reliable answers to their questions and need a team of advisors to make sure that their business is protected.

When you work with us, you’re working with dedicated and experienced people, not bots or call centers. We’re a team of real folks who value teamwork, put our clients’ interests first, are passionate learners and dedicated to client service.

When people do business with us, here’s a quick overview of what they can expect from the experience.

1. The CorpStrat Conversation™

When we begin working together, we’ll start with what we call The CorpStrat Conversation™. This is a unique, forward thinking conversation that will help us uncover what is and what isn’t working in your business. We zero in on what needs to be changed in order for you to best meet your goals. So many times these conversations are about so much more than Employee Benefits or Human Capital Management, it’s our opportunity to set the foundation for a true partnership and advisory relationship.

2. The CorpStrat Intake™

During The CorpStrat Intake™, our veteran advisors work directly with your team to audit, review, and gather data. We go to great lengths to ensure that this process is as painless as possible.

3. The CorpStrat Analysis™

After getting the lay of the land, we draw from our experience and wisdom combined with our marketplace savvy to evaluate opportunities that benefit you.

4. The CorpStrat Consult™

Once we have a plan in place, we’ll schedule The CorpStrat Consult™. During this, we’ll discuss, review, and propose the best plan we have in mind for you that will put you on the best path for future success.

5. The CorpStrat Deploy™

Throughout this entire process, you’re never alone. Even during the CorpStrat Deploy™, our team helps implement, execute and communicate strategic planning so you’re never left in the lurch.

6. The CorpStrat Review™

The final step is The CorpStrat Review™. Even after we implement the strategy, we continue to actively stay involved to support and assure that your company’s objectives are achieved.

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Need help with Employee Benefits, Insurance, Payroll or Human Capital Management? We’d love to work with you. Let’s talk.

What Can You Do about Rising Healthcare Costs?

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Healthcare costs are rising. Experts are predicting a 5-7% increase by the end of 2022.

Over the last couple of years during the pandemic, most people deferred health care services. Elective treatments like knee surgeries or hip replacements were either postponed by their doctor or hospital or were cancelled by the employee. Combined with the early part of the pandemic when the federal government was paying for all COVID related claims, taking employees off the liability of the insurance company, you now start to see why we’re seeing a humongous increase in consumption of healthcare across the country. Government’s no longer paying for COVID and people are beginning to access care they’d previously put off.

This increase in health insurance premiums is happening at exactly the wrong time, as employers are trying to attract and retain talent in one of the tightest labor markets ever. So, what can you do as an employer who’s looking to balance the rising costs of healthcare with wanting to provide rich benefit programs to attract and retain your staff?

Here are four strategies we think should be considered:

1. Partial Self Funding

Take a fresh look at partial self funding. This is a newer approach in California and they’ve traditionally been limited to larger employers, but they’re now being offered to companies with as low as 25 employees. In these programs, employers and the insurance company agree to share in the basic cost of care and administration, with the opportunity to reduce claims and save money. These are a great option for employers who are interested in being proactive in helping their employees be healthy, stay healthy, and manage their health.

2. Newer Companies in the Marketplace

A new insurance company has come into the marketplace and has really a different approach to offering healthcare; we think it’s what the future of healthcare looks like in this country. It may not be for everybody but for the right employer, this could be a great fit. Learn more about it here.

3. High Deductible Health Plans

HSAs and high deductible health plans, as they are referred to, are currently being used by almost 50% of employees across the nation. On the surface, these plans might seem unattractive in a tight labor market because they come with $4-5K deductibles. But there are a lot of different strategies out there an employer can put in place that can soften those deductibles. They can also put in other benefits to make up the difference, contact us to learn how.

4. Wellness Programs

No matter what industry you’re in, what size your company is, or what demographic you employ, integrating wellness programs is going to impact your population both culturally and physically. In the long run, this is going to provide more opportunities for your company to potentially leverage wellness as a cost savings tool as health plans evolve. Currently, insurance companies are talking about changing health plans to include lower rates if companies include a wellness program. It hasn’t been implemented yet but it’s on the horizon.

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Early indications are that we could see increases of up to 20% in both the employer and individual market in the coming year. That’s a huge cost. So, don’t have this conversation at renewal when you’re staring at a 20% rate increase, trying to figure out what to do. Have the conversation now so you’re working with someone you can trust who knows the market well and has a solid strategy going into the renewal.

If you’re interested in some new ideas in healthcare, consult with us today to learn more about how we can make these plans work for you and your budget. Email us at marketing@corpstrat.com or give us a call at (818) 377-7260 today.