Updated March 2022
2 minute read
A competitive employee benefits package is essential for attracting and retaining quality employees, but continuing to offer the same plan year after year is tough with rising health care costs. Some school, city, and county employers may view cutting benefits a necessity, but that could have some serious long-term consequences. There’s a better answer. Implementing a strategic benefit plan can help you make small cost-saving changes over time, while still offering competitive benefits.
A strategic benefit plan is a road map for your organization that identifies where your benefit plans will be in 3-5 years. Your insurance consultant can help you build and implement a sustainable, strategic benefits plan specific to your culture and plan analytics. The plan will outline goals, strategies, and action plans in regards to your employee benefits program. Your consultant can strategically analyze ways to contain costs through a variety of plan improvements, which can be implemented steadily over time. Plans usually include an employee education initiative that can help reassure employees who are worried about their benefits.
Many schools, cities, and counties are used to making benefit decisions on an annual basis (due to annual budgets) instead of long-term. By looking into the distant future, a strategic benefit plan can help your organization with budget planning. It can also be incorporated into your overall strategic plan, bringing about larger conversations about HR and employee benefits to ensure that a competitive benefits package continues to be available.
Employees also prosper from strategic benefit planning. By finding ways to cut and contain costs for your organization, the employee will likely reap some of the savings as well. In addition, this type of plan will provide assurance for employees who are worried about their benefits (being cut or reduced at any time).
To find an employee benefits consultant who works with schools, cities, and counties, see our Consulting Team page.