3 ways to offer competitive benefits with (almost) zero costs

The Great Resignation may be slowing down, but we’re still in a tight labor market. Top talent remains in high demand, and many employers have beefed up their benefits programs in hopes of wooing potential hires and retaining the workers they have.

The problem? With a recession looming, employers are likely wary of further increasing their remote work allowance or health insurance contribution. Instead, they’re looking for ways to offer competitive benefits without additional costs.

It takes a creative approach, but employers can do just that. Here, I’ll offer three low-cost tips to get started.

1. Add voluntary benefits

Working Americans are under a lot of financial stress right now. Fifty-eight percent are living paycheck to paycheck, and over half don’t have any emergency savings. In the event of an unexpected life event (say, an emergency root canal or sports injury), employees may not have the cash on hand to cover their expenses.

Voluntary employee benefits can help. But many employers only offer a handful, if they offer any at all. By adding voluntary benefits for your company, you can offer employees attractive group rates at no cost to your company. This way, you can help them insure against unexpected events and increase the stickiness of your benefits program.

Which voluntary benefits should you offer? Consider adding…

• Vision
• Dental
• Life
• Disability
• Supplemental health (which includes accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity).

When exploring benefits partners, I suggest looking for one that sells multiple lines. Employees can access a single portal with all of their benefits information – a huge convenience in an emergency scenario.

2. Shift contribution levels

Employer-funded benefits are a competitive hiring and employee retention tool. A philanthropic employee may appreciate a 100% match for charitable donations, even if the total match is capped at a specific dollar amount. And a chronically ill employee will breathe a sigh of relief at a no-cost health care plan.

If your company offers benefits like these, they don’t have to disappear in a down economy. With a few tweaks to your contributions, you can continue offering attractive benefits and save money.

These changes will look different for every company. But I suggest benchmarking each adjustment against the average percent contribution for every benefit. For instance, if you currently offer a 4-6% 401(k) match, a reduction would boost savings – and still keep you above the national average.

3. Encourage benefits engagement

Benefits participation is a key indicator of your program’s value to employees. If most of your team isn’t opted in, there’s a good chance people don’t understand how your program can support their experience. Or worse, they might not be aware of it or view it as helpful at all. The impact: a program that’s only competitive at face value.

With the right strategy, though, you can encourage employees to take advantage of your benefits program. Three tips to start:

1. Find a tech-forward benefits partner. If employees can’t easily navigate their benefits portal or centrally access policy information, they probably won’t take the time to enroll. A tech-first benefits partner should offer a highly usable platform to create a frictionless employee experience.
2. Invest in company-wide education. Work with your benefits partner to hold quarterly or annual program overview sessions. This can demystify complex benefits and highlight ones people might have forgotten about.
3. Root every conversation in real-world needs. In the abstract, people know that insurance can offset the cost of unexpected events. But concrete scenarios can help folks visualize how it can impact their daily life. For instance, a story about a “long COVID” patient successfully filing a critical illness claim might inspire high-risk employees to purchase a plan.

Alongside these efforts, make sure to regularly survey employees about their benefits experience, and work with your benefits partner to act on each insight.

Related: 5 ways to increase employee understanding and adoption of benefits

Evolve your program to meet employees’ changing needs

With these low-cost benefits adjustments, companies can keep their program competitive without impacting their bottom line. But don’t stop there. Consider adding non-monetary employee perks, like additional remote days or flexible work schedules. In the long term, you’ll position your company to easily attract and retain employees, no matter the state of the labor market.

Alex Frommeyer is the co-founder and CEO of Beam Benefits, a digitally-native employee benefits company that offers dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health coverage for employers of all sizes.