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The
Need for Benefits: Keep your employees working for You.
Today's employment market is in the favor of the employee.
Prospective applicants are comparing the compensation and benefits
packages that you offer them with those of other prospective employers.
Also in most cases, employee loyalty is a thing of the past, and
employees will "jump ship" without looking back if you
don't offer them a competitive package.
Further,
depending on the size of your company, you may have to meet certain
minimum requirements for offering benefits, and the package that
someone might sell you might not be in the best interests of you
or your employees.
The best way to develop your overall benefits package into a cost-effective
plan with a balance of advantages to employer and employee, is to
look at what you have in place right now.
Overall, the key factor to consider, especially in the arena of
highly trained, skilled or licensed employees, is this; If they
stop working for you, it usually means they are going to work for
or become one of your competitors.
The Categories of Benefits to Consider
Compensation Plan
To put it simply, your compensation plan is the mixture of different
wage and salary rates you pay different types of employees.
To this, you must add the cost of payroll taxes, workers compensation
insurance, health and other insurance benefits, retirement plan
contributions, and other costs of having employees. The key
in reviewing (or establishing) your compensation plan is to review
the costs of paying employees against the value they provide to
your bottom line.
Vacation,
Sick & Personal Time
Providing your employees with these benefits has become a standard
in the modern business world. Companies that don't offer paid
Vacation leave are almost unheard of, and Sick time runs a close
second. Personal time, or pre-scheduled holidays, can be another
advantage to an employee working for your company. These plans
are usually easily administered via the payroll function, but like
all other compensation and benefits plans, their costs should be
considered against their benefit to the company.
Health Insurance (including Dental and Vision coverage)
Just about every employer out there is offering some type of health
insurance to its employees. This is also a benefit to the
company because it can help keep your employees healthy and able
to work. There are a lot of companies out there offering a
lot of different types of plans, so choosing a plan should not be
taken lightly.
Disability Insurance
If an employee becomes sick or injured and not due to a work-related
cause, they will not receive workers compensation benefits.
Providing employees with short-term and long-term disability coverage
can help to ensure that employees can rest up, make as speedy a
recovery as possible, and return to work for you while feeling as
little financial burden as possible.
Retirement
Benefits
The Federal Government has decided that they want as few people
as possible to rely on Social Security in their respective Golden
(Retirement) Years. Because of this, there are many programs
available to allow people to plan for their own retirement.
Many tax advantages exist to help yourself and your employees save
for retirement while at the same time experience significant tax
savings. Not taking advantage of these opportunities could
be a disservice to yourself, your company and your employees.
Employee Vehicles, Housing, Use of Company Facilities, Discounts,
and Gifts
If you provide vehicles for your employees or housing, allow them
to use company facilities or obtain company products or services
for free or a significant discount, or provide various gifts to
employees throughout the year, there are special rules that need
to be considered. Some of these items may actually be considered
income to the employee and, if not reported as such through what's
known as an "accountable plan," may not be deductible
on the company's taxes. A review of these items would ensure
that they would stand up to an IRS audit. |
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