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What makes people accept one job offer over another? What makes them decide to stay with a current employer, rather than moving on?

Consistently, the answer to these questions is the same: competitive salary and great benefits.

A 2019 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the majority of employers are increasing the number of benefits offered across all categories. Less than 3 percent of organizations surveyed said they have decreased benefits in any category since 2018.

These were among the specific perks that SHRM found are on the rise:

• Standing desks
• On-site lactation rooms
• Telecommuting and work-from-home options

Unique benefits like this may be popular – but are they critical for recruitment and retention? Apparently not, as nearly 40 percent of surveyed employees said healthcare was the top benefit they considered when deciding whether to switch jobs.

When it comes right down to it, the heart of a good benefit package is health insurance. And there’s a good reason for this.

Employees are more aware than ever of the need for a safety net. Today, a serious injury or catastrophic illness can easily bankrupt a family that brings in a six-figure income and has money in the bank. Unpaid medical bills are consistently the leading cause of U.S. bankruptcies.

One survey even found that many people are more afraid of sky-high medical bills than they are of actual illness.

Comprehensive health benefits bring employees peace of mind that a cancer diagnosis won’t leave them homeless. But it’s more than that. A large body of research shows that employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty increase with better benefits. A great benefits package tells employees that a company actually cares about and values them.

Is your current health benefit plan a driving force in creating an engaged and productive workforce? If you can’t say that it is, why not talk to the EBMS account team today for recommendations and ideas. We are experts at using data to bring savings to your plan so that you can increase your benefits to employees.