It is no secret that small-business leaders around the country often play multiple roles at their organizations — from HR managers to budget analysts and operations supervisors — and there is nothing these business owners don’t do. While constantly juggling multiple roles, they can sometimes find themselves overwhelmed. Advisors have an opportunity to step in and be an additional resource to help small-business owners manage their administrative needs.
With so many partners, policy options, laws and regulations involved, the administrative task behind managing health benefits for employees is no easy feat. By providing time-saving solutions, advisors can enable small-business owners to relinquish certain responsibilities while they focus on other aspects of their business. These solutions could include:
Benefits administration tools: Choosing technology solutions that feature a range of benefits choices in one centralized system provides small-business decision makers with the resources they need to keep employees in the loop about benefits and other HR needs year-round. Look for options that are easy to navigate, offer customizable features and a variety of benefits functionality — from enrollment to communication and reporting. Introducing time-saving options can help advisors further prove their value as a trusted provider of benefits solutions to help meet clients’ ever-changing needs.
Benefits education: Advisors can offer a helping hand by providing small-business owners with benefits education materials that address employees’ frequently asked questions. The 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report showed that 67 percent of employees say reading about their benefits is complicated and stressful, so it’s vital that materials are easy to understand. To further reduce employees’ stress, and consequently, employers’ stress, advisors can make themselves available to meet with individual employees before open enrollment begins. Ongoing education efforts can ensure employees are using the right benefits at the right time to keep them happy, healthy and productive in their current position.
Voluntary insurance: Benefits are about helping protect the lifestyles employees love, no matter what unexpected events occur. Advisors can help small-business owners offer a robust benefits package with voluntary products such as disability, accident or hospital insurance. By doing so, employees are more empowered to customize their coverage to fit their individual lifestyles, creating more productive employees with little to no effect on the company’s bottom line.
Ultimately, advisors serve as valuable partners for small-business owners looking to maintain their competitive advantage and keep top talent, especially with potential millennial employees who are becoming the largest generation in today’s workforce. In fact, according to a recent survey, poor insurance offerings contribute to 35 percent of millennials having turned down a job offer at some point, compared to 27 percent of U.S. respondents overall where job refusals were either fully or partially due to dissatisfaction with insurance offerings. With their benefits experience and expertise, advisors can offer solutions to help relieve small-business owners of some of their benefits administration challenges. With this extra help, business owners are able to work smarter, not harder, and will have even more time to dedicate to making their business thrive.
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