The great resignation has created a more competitive recruiting market. There are more job openings available across the workforce than ever before, and yet, many businesses still struggle to fill them. This isn’t a losing game, however. According to a McKinsey survey, 76% of respondents who quit their job during the great resignation returned to a traditional workplace due to factors such as workplace flexibility, reasonable performance expectations, and most importantly, adequate pay and healthcare benefits.
Now prospective employees know their value and can get in touch with businesses from around the world, they can find an employer that can meet their healthcare and personal needs.
As a business leader, you can better meet employee healthcare needs by going beyond your legal obligations and providing benefits that support your people. This can draw better talent to your business and improve productivity amongst existing employees.
Operational Changes
Your employees spend most of their week at your place of work. This means that you need to create an environment that supports their health and actively fosters better well-being. To achieve this goal, you may need to make some significant operational changes to the way you do business.
Start by collecting data. Survey your employees, and find out what stands in the way of their overall healthcare needs. You may discover issues that you never thought to consider.
For example, if you work in a male-dominated industry like banking, your business probably doesn’t have a policy in place to support employees who are experiencing extreme PMS symptoms but are afraid to reach out due to period shaming. Instead of ignoring the issue, you can start to make operational changes like offering flexible work and supporting healthy lifestyle changes in your workplace.
When collecting data, you may notice that many employees would benefit from working from home. Allowing employees to work from home can help them take care of their healthcare needs, as they’ll be able to attend more fitness classes or doctor appointments and should be able to make healthier dietary decisions as they’ll have more free time.
Remote Healthcare
If you’ve moved to a fully-remote workplace, you may begin to notice that employee motivation and overall well-being start to dip. This is entirely normal, as employees need recognition and strong social bonds to be happy at work.
As an employer, try to intentionally recognize your remote employee’s achievements and spend the money you save on a brick-and-mortar location on employee wellbeing initiatives. This may be as simple as buying ergonomic chairs for all your employees, or you may give employees extra benefits like gym memberships and access to a licensed therapist.
In addition, you should make sure your employees know the cybersecurity precautions they should take when considering remote healthcare options. For example, you should educate them about common cybersecurity scams that are associated with telehealthcare like phishing scams and account takeovers.
Above and Beyond Benefits
As an employer, you probably have a hefty benefits package that is designed to draw talented employees to your business and keep them. However, your benefits package may need a post-pandemic overhaul to prioritize healthcare and go above and beyond the “norm” for healthcare benefits.
Identify the health risk factors that employees may encounter when working for you. For example, if you work in a city with high air pollution like Manila or Olongapo, your employee’s vision may start to suffer. You can do your part to counteract this by offering access to optometrists and ensuring that your office space is pollutant free.
Giving employees need-based benefits is a great way to show that you hear them and care about their overall health and well-being. Need-based benefits can also save you money in the long run, as your employees will need less time off work to deal with health-related issues.
Conclusion
If you’re struggling with employee retention, you shouldn’t place the blame on employees. It’s time to look at your business from the perspective of an employee — they need to see that you care.
Your business can better meet healthcare needs by surveying current employees and discovering gaps in your current healthcare policies. This may require you to make operational changes to support folks who need extra time to visit doctors or attend fitness classes.
You should also review your healthcare policy, and identify a few need-based benefits that will support the health and well-being of your entire company.
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