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Employee Benefits

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

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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

How to Simplify Communicating New Hire Rates to Employees

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Communicating new hire rates to employees has grown increasingly complex in recent years. Back in the day, it was simple and straightforward: rates were the same for either single employees, an employee plus a spouse, or an employee with a family. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

Since the inception of the ACA in 2010, California employers with 100 or less employees have a rate based on each employee’s actual date of birth and their home zip code. On top of that, each eligible dependent has a rate based on their birth date. When you combine that with most companies having somewhere between six to eight plan choices, the layers of complexity really start adding up.

How can you simplify this?

Between differing rates, benefits plans, multiple products, regional variances, state requirements, and demographics, you need to find a sustainable way to communicate these specifics in a clear and easy to understand way to your employees. To us, this really starts and ends with automating the process. If you’re not embracing technology for this, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Automating this process means employers can deliver all of their rates, plan options, benefit summaries, and even the SBCs to remain compliant in a seamless, paperless experience.

If your Employee Benefit enrollment experience is clunky or is still paper based, let’s talk. We can help you save time, save money, and increase efficiency and compliance. We’d love to help make your organization look great to your team and your potential new recruits.

6 Tips to Successfully Attract and Retain Employees in 2022

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new employee enters a brightly lit office holding a box of belongings

The workplace has been transformed by the pandemic, now employees have higher expectations for compensation, benefits, and workplace flexibility. Due to this, employers of all sizes are facing attraction and retention challenges like never before. Compared to 2021, organizations are experiencing a 3x increase in difficulties attracting employees and a 4x increase in difficulties retaining employees.

Successful efforts to win over new employees can require investments of time and costs that are higher than ever. Most businesses don’t have a lot of resources to invest in attracting and competing with large, well-capitalized organizations so it’s time to think outside of the box. We encourage you to get creative. Don’t be afraid to risk being unique and different in order to attract the talent you need to achieve your goals.

We’ve put together our top tips to help you successfully attract and retain employees in 2022:

1. Review your Benefits

Health insurance has to be a vital part of your compensation package but don’t stop there. Build out a well-rounded benefit offering that will wow your prospective employees. Include vision, dental, life, disability, 401K plans, and more. After you put together this plan, make sure you have ways to communicate them clearly to your prospects.

2. Review Your Recruiting and Hiring Process

Make sure your recurinting and onboarding process is welcoming and engaging from beginning to end. New employees will notice the difference and it will help set the tone for their time at the company.

3. Offer Bonuses for Employee Referrals

Expand your recruiting to include your employee base. Offer employees a cash bonus for referrals that are hired to the team. If your employees love where they work, they’ll be motivated to refer their friends.

4. Focus on Developing Your Employees

Include educational reimbursements, extracurricular learning, and skill advancement opportunities in the areas of their interest.

5. Establish a Hybrid Work Environment

There’s no escaping it, flexible work environments are the new normal. Create a clear hybrid work policy that allows for flexibility between in-office and remote work when an employees’ positions allow for it.

6. Focus on Enriching Workplace Culture

Continue to work on your workplace culture for employees who come to the office. Help your team foster community by encouraging friendship. This can include free lunches, team happy hours, or company-wide social events that help to bond your staff together and build camaraderie.

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Need help with improving your company culture? Contact us at marketing@corpstrat.com

This Company Is Changing the Employee Benefits Game

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Are you an employer looking for a new and innovative health insurance plan to offer your employees? Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a new company in the market that actually did something different from all the traditional insurance carriers? Well, we think there is.

There’s a new kid on the block with a really different approach to Employee Benefits. It’s a publicly traded company built by some of the brightest minds in America: venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. They’ve already partnered with one of the biggest health insurance companies in America to leverage an A+ rating. Also, they provide access to a network of doctors one million strong. With these forces combined, they’re able to offer a completely new approach to healthcare that both empowers employees and makes health insurance better.

This may sound too good to be true. So how do they do it? They use technology and mobile apps to create telemedicine that actually works.

Through the app, you’re able to

  • Talk to a doctor anytime for zero copay
  • Refill prescriptions with the push of a button
  • Gain access to a network as big as the blues
  • Specialist referrals are not needed

By partnering with one of the biggest insurers in the nation, they’ve created great leverage on healthcare providers to push the negotiated rates down. There are also a host of tools baked into the app, designed to incentivize employees to be healthier. Think things like walking rewards, amazon gifts cards for buying healthy groceries, discounted gym memberships, and access to a huge behavioral health network.

What are you waiting for? Give your current and prospective employees a benefits package to brag about. We can help you get set up today!

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We think the future of Employee Benefits is here. If you want to hear more about how this could benefit your business, please reach out to us at marketing@corpstrat.com

Open Enrollment is Over…Now What?

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2022 has presented employers with a unique set of challenges. With healthcare costs rising due to inflation, employees opting for unconventional careers post-COVID, and the Great Resignation hanging over their heads, employers need to work harder than ever to attract, retain, and reward their team. Most employers can’t afford to lose anybody. In order to keep their teams intact they need to actively seek out how to make their benefits package more enticing for current and prospective employees.

Here’s a quick hit of the things employers should be doing right now to ensure they’re delivering the best benefits without going over on cost.

1. Are your employee benefits offerings delivered online?

If they’re not, you’re way behind the times. This is an easy way to bring your benefits, delivery, and communication into the 21st century. (Curious how you can get your benefits up to speed, learn more about your Employee Benefits Audit.)

2. Have you done a great job of packaging your offerings to attract employees?

Can you show a new prospective employee what your offerings are, easily and digitally? Beyond medical insurance, employees should be able to easily access the status of and information about their PTO hours, 401K, and remote work options. This is all part of the package employees will look at and consider during the hiring process and the easier it is to understand, the more likely they might be to sign on.

3. Is your HRIS up to speed?

Since the start of the pandemic, the majority of employees are opting for full-time or hybrid remote work. This means your HRIS System needs to be able to manage remote workers effectively and accurately.

Ask yourself:

  • Do my employees currently have an easy way to clock-in, clock out, sign documents, and request PTO from home?
  • Can they view their hours worked or PTO availability?
  • Are all the rules being followed on meal breaks? Would I know if they weren’t?

If the answer to any of these was “I’m not sure”, let’s talk.

4. Have you looked at low cost ways to expand your benefits?

Healthcare costs are rising and this can be a headache for employers. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, take a look at voluntary plans that you can add to your benefits package. Benefits like dental, vision, life, disability insurance, and AFLAC are all great benefits that employees they can’t get on their own.

5. Take time mid-year to review the market and assess how you can improve your offerings.

Contrary to popular belief, renewal is not the best time to reassess what your benefits package looks like. Your broker should actively be helping you find ways to improve your offerings throughout the year. Get strategic with your broker. Now is the time for them to shine.

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If your broker is not a valuable part of your business planning team, give us a call at 818-377-7260 or email us at marketing@corpstrat.com

5 Hidden Attributes in Health Insurance Plans

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Many people don’t even think about their health insurance plan until they get sick. The fact is, it also means many people aren’t getting the most out of their plans because they don’t know how to unlock hidden benefits. We firmly believe that a good health insurance plan can do something powerful for everybody. Even if you’re not sick or injured, a good plan can put you on a path to optimal health with the right type of support along the way.

Today we’re sharing some of the most popular hidden attributes in health insurance plans.

1. Alternative Medicine

That lingering back pain might be a thing of the past. Most insurance plans provide some benefits that cover chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture treatment as a means of alleviating pain or assisting with an injury or illness.

2. Weight Loss & Smoking Cessation

Many insurance companies have moved the needle on preventative care and are incentivizing people to lose weight and get healthy. They have outreach programs that support those struggling to quit smoking and lose weight. Some even subsidize health club memberships.

3. Mental Health

As part of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2010 in the ACA, all insurance companies are required to provide equal benefits for mental health. Let’s face it, in these crazy and uncertain times, we can all use a little mental therapy. If you look closely, there are benefits available to you designed to help you cope and deal with life’s challenges. These benefits include access to psychologists, psychiatrists, and both in and out patient care.

4. Telemedicine

Stay healthy and alleviate concerns, all from the comfort of you own home. The pandemic accelerated virtual healthcare visits and most insurance companies have moved towards allowing people to have consultations and doctor’s visits virtually. Many people have this benefit without realizing it, be sure to login to your benefits platform to take advantage of not needing to go to the doctor’s office.

5. Disease Management

People that are diabetic and asthmatic can benefit from full-fledged programs that include blood sugar monitoring and consultations. These diseases may require round the clock support so having resources to aid in disease management is key.  Don’t be afraid to ask your plan if they sponsor blood sugar management tools.

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Insurance companies are adapting to become much more consumer-centric. Reach out and find out what’s available. You’ll be surprised how many opportunities there are.

If you have any question, reach out to us at marketing@corpstrat.com or 818.377.7260