Small business tips: Planning for 2023 benefits and beyond

By Victoria Glickman Hodgkins, CEO of PeopleKeep

Even though benefits open enrollment is coming to a close, optimizing your benefits offerings for employees is never finished. You’ll need to implement your 2023 benefit programs, ensure existing and new employees understand and sign up for their benefits, and plan for changes to your organization, all of which will go a long way in making sure you maximize your benefits programs and stay competitive in this tough labor market. Here are some ideas for planning in 2023 and beyond.

For your company to succeed, employees must be the top priority. Alicia Kling, director of HR and compliance at California contractor XeroSolar, shared with PeopleKeep why employees should come first. “If you develop your employees, they’ll build your customers. And if customers are happy, they’ll tell others about your services, which is the best advertising of all.”

Founded in 2010, XeroSolar specializes in solar and energy storage for residential and commercial properties in southern California. As a small business of 55 employees, Kling has broad HR responsibilities and manages a tight budget for employee benefits.

Find out what employees want

One way to develop employees and make them happy is through strong benefits programs. Good benefits provide the fuel to propel your company forward in recruiting and retention. Benefits are more than what you offer for medical or dental insurance. In fact, providing a single group health insurance plan plus potentially a dental or vision plan is becoming less viable. Workforces are more diverse, and the age gaps in your company may be broad. Employees over 60 years of age have different priorities than a single person who is 23 and still on their parent’s health insurance.

So, survey employees and find out what they want. Surveying can help discover unknown or unexpected needs. There are many tools available, such as Survey Monkey, that you can use to solicit anonymous input, or you can host a company forum in which employees provide their input. Regularly ask your employees (at least once a year) to learn how their needs change over time.

Get cornerstone benefits in place

Once you know what employees want, start from a small and solid foundation of benefits. Most HR experts agree it’s much harder to remove a benefit than to start small and build up.

Traditionally, employers start with health benefits. Changes in healthcare law and regulation have given companies and their employees more options for receiving health insurance and other benefits. Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) have emerged as good options for companies, especially small to midsize companies, in the last few years. An HRA is a formal health benefit that allows organizations to reimburse their workers, tax-free, for their medical expenses.

While relatively new, an HRA can provide great insurance benefits while allowing flexibility in coverage. Because group health is the much better-known benefit type, it can take time to convince employers that an HRA is a good option. XeroSolar uses an HRA because it’s affordable for the company and its employees, along with allowing maximum flexibility by letting employees pick the health plan and type of coverage that they want. “Employees have this idea that if they don’t get a group plan, they won’t be able to afford it. I help them see that they can get a great plan, and the company’s allowance can cover most of the cost,” Kling said.

Other benefits to consider as cornerstone benefits include dental, vision, PTO, flexible time schedules, and a 401(k) or Simple IRA.

Help employees understand and take advantage of their benefits

Most HR professionals say it’s hard work to get employees to take advantage of their benefits. “I find it rewarding to help people learn what they’re eligible for,” Kling said, noting that many of her fellow employees have nicknamed her “Mama Bear” because she’ll keep reminding them about their benefits until they’ve signed up.

Most companies start educating their employees through email and then follow up with phone calls and texts. You can also present information at all-hands gatherings and offer one-on-one meetings to discuss options. Local insurance brokers can be a great resource to help employees with insurance questions. Solution providers like PeopleKeep can also present benefits options to employees and help them understand the pros and cons of one benefit or another. The key is being persistent about options, understanding how employees want to learn about their benefits, and giving employees plenty of time to determine what they want to do. Kling says she uses different forms of communication to reach everyone — a mix of email, text, and phone. “Each individual is unique, and so I think about each employee and what’s the best way to communicate with that person,” she said.

Enhance your programs

Once you have cornerstone benefits, focus on building and expanding them. Again, employee input will help drive your decisions. Here are some options to consider:

Increase 401(k) or Simple IRA match
Change enrollment timelines and vesting schedules
Offer short-term and/or long-term disability insurance
Give life insurance options
Cover mental health care
Offer wellness perks like gym memberships, wearables, apps, etc.
Establish remote work or flexible shift options
Adding more PTO, such as birthday or anniversary PTO options

All your benefits don’t have to be company subsidized. Many HR professionals say employees appreciate being offered different options, such as life insurance or disability insurance, even if the employees pay for it themselves.

In summary, find out what employees want, build cornerstone offerings and give employees plenty of time to decide, using a mix of internal and external resources. From that foundation, work with employees and management to improve your benefits and offer high-quality, personalized benefits regardless of your organization’s size. Happy New Year, and good luck making your solar company a great workplace.

Victoria Glickman Hodgkins is the CEO at PeopleKeep, a provider of award-winning health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) and wellness stipend administration software for small to medium organizations.