Introducing Employee Benefits: Boosting Job Satisfaction, Productivity, and Legal Compliance in Group Practices

Ready to unlock the power of employee benefits? Join me, Jamie Magdic,  business coach and savvy owner, as we uncover the art of leveraging benefits to enhance job satisfaction, productivity and overall work culture, an essential toolkit for any group practice owner or aspirant. We'll decode the legal implications while aligning benefits with your company's ethos, mission, and vibe for a thriving work environment.

Peel back the layers of health insurance, professional development opportunities, budget constraints, and more. We dive headfirst into the heart of your team's needs and preferences, helping you sail smoothly through the challenges of cost sustainability, competitiveness, and legal compliance. Understanding the importance of regular surveys and assessments to tap into employee preferences, we equip you with strategies to stay atop in your practice. So, buckle up and gear up for an insightful journey into the world of employee benefits!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Okay, let's talk about introducing employee benefits. We're going to talk about the consideration, the types and the implementation of those benefits. If you are new here, welcome. My name is Jamie Magdick I use she, her pronouns. I am, of course, a business owner. I own a group practice of registered dietitians. We are based out of Colorado, but we see clients all over the world. We have 10 plus growing dietitians on the team and additionally, I'm also a business coach and I coach individuals who are group practice owners or pursuing group practice owners to excel, thrive and be happy and have joy in their practices.

Speaker 1: 0:41

Alrighty, let's get into today's topic employee benefits. Super exciting, If you are here, that means you are considering employee benefits, which means congratulations. That's awesome. First of all, awesome that you are looking at how can I bring more value and take care of my people. And also, you're here most likely considering it because you may have that ability, or be starting to have that ability, to provide the certain benefits that you may not have been able to do in the past. So let's talk about the value of employee benefits. There are tons, but let's let's talk a little bit about that to introduce it.

Speaker 1: 1:18

Employee benefits really play a crucial role in the modern workplace. It offers a multitude of advantages for both employees and for the organization, and recognizing the significance of introducing these benefits is the first step towards creating a thriving work environment and a thriving organization. So here we're going to dive into why employee benefits are indispensable and the value of employee benefits. Number number one employee benefits help with employee retention and attraction. Attracting top talent to those A players is a perpetual challenge, right? We know that it's a challenge for organizations to find those team members that we just, we just love so much and we really want to be attracting those top performers, those top talents that those top providers, right? So offering a comprehensive benefit package can set you apart from competitors and also act as a magnet for skilled professionals. Moreover, it serves as a powerful, powerful tool for retaining existing employees. Moreover, it serves as a powerful tool for retaining existing employees, reducing turnover rates and fostering a sense of loyalty.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Number two another benefit of benefits are enhanced job satisfaction. Employee benefits directly contribute to the well-being, of course, and job satisfaction, of course, of your team. Health insurance, work life balance, flexibility, training and supervision support initiative, initiatives that help improve mental health, reducing stress, increasing happiness among your team, absolutely are going to increase job satisfaction, and so benefits are key to providing that type of environment and that type of initiative. Number three boosted productivity. When employees are happy, they're feeling like the needs are met, they feel supported, they feel part of the team, they're gonna be more motivated and engaged at work, right Like we all are, Of course. We are more engaged when we feel like we are being taken care of as we deserve. So this sense of purpose, this job satisfaction, this camaraderie, this feeling of being well taken care of it's gonna translate into just I guess you can say productivity efficiency, just like doing a good job, showing up and taking good care of clients, showing up and taking good care of team members. So, however you wanna name boosted productivity, however, we can say just job performance as well, Because, of course, if someone's not taken care of their job, performance is gonna struggle again, as it should.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Next, benefit is mentioned a bit little already, but it's the competitive edge. In a competitive job market, organizations with attractive benefits have a distinct advantage. Candidates are more likely to accept job offers and stay with companies that offer a well-rounded benefit program, that invest in their employees in a multitude of ways and holistic health ways, including health coverage, retirement plans matches, financial stability, support as a person, professional development opportunities you will have a competitive edge, the better and more attractive your benefits packages. Next, legal compliance. This is a benefit. Compliance with labor laws and regulation is not an ethical obligation, but it's a legal requirement. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in costly lawsuits and penalties. Properly structured benefits programs ensure compliance with laws such as Employment, Retirement Income Security Act and the Affordable Care Act, and you absolutely want to be keeping up with that. So you want a legal team, you want an accountant who can help keep you up to date on the different legal compliances as things change. And again, it depends on your business. It depends on where you're located as well, but definitely a benefit of benefits is that if you're following them correctly, you are legally compliant.

Speaker 1: 5:44

So, wrapping up the benefits of benefits, I want to now move into considerations when thinking about introducing benefits. Now, this is a big deal. Again, congratulations. And additionally, you want to make sure you can support these benefits. Benefits are expensive, so most likely you are moving into a place with your practice where you have the ability. Maybe you have grown, your services are growing, your team is growing and you are able to offer these. So again, congratulations. Let's make sure you're considering this appropriately and you're setting yourself up for success and we are not getting ourselves into a place where we're not going to be able to afford benefits or be able to pay ourselves.

Speaker 1: 6:34

So, before diving into the implementation of employee benefits, it's very, very important to take a step back. Listen to a podcast like this, talk to your supervisor, look at your numbers, talk to your accountant and carefully consider various factors. Number one you want to consider organizational culture. How do the benefits align with your company's values and your company's missions? Do they reinforce the desired culture and employee experience? So consider what benefit you're thinking about, the need of that benefit and how it fits with your employees desires, your culture of your business, the vision and mission of your business. Number two you want to consider and I mentioned this a little in the last one, but employees needs and preferences. What benefits will resonate with your diverse workforce? Have you conducted surveys yet or assessments to gauge employee preferences? Right, so I'm going to bring you into an experience for me and my experience with introducing benefits.

Speaker 1: 7:44

The first benefit I believe, if I can remember correctly that I offered was health insurance. Now, that was the first on my radar, because it was the first on my team's radar which you know. They were in a place where they didn't want to get a, you know, find their own health insurance, which I completely understand, and at first that was absolutely not something we could afford. But as soon as I was able, that was the first one I wanted to introduce. And the reason I introduced that first is because it was most desirable for my team and it also aligned with my values. So as we introduced more benefits and as we're considering more benefits, I do conduct surveys and assessments and plan to continue to do so when I am considering what we're able to do, because everyone believes everyone feels differently Sometimes. For retirement, I've noticed for some reason just with with personally, it's not as big of a deal for some folks on my team as others and the I see that there are other preferences I might not have considered that they would be more interested in rather than retirement. So of course, you need to make a decision for your whole team and make an informed decision and educated decision. And so you want to speak and have conversations with your team, conduct surveys, gauge those employees preferences when it comes to what benefits to introduce and what the needs are of your team.

Speaker 1: 9:17

The third thing to consider is budget and cost sustainability. Know your numbers. What is your budget for offering benefits and can you sustain this? Can you sustain this if your numbers change? And how easy is it for your numbers to change? You want to be like over prepared because, trust me, things happen and then you're pulling from your reserves. So you want to make sure you have reserves number one and number two, that you're looking at your kind of risk management, risk assessment, figuring out what could go wrong. What would I do? How long can I sustain that? What will I need to do if this happens?

Speaker 1: 9:53

You want to really consider the sustainability, so not only your budget in the present moment for offering benefits, but what is the same sustainability of continuing to offer those benefits in the long term. You do not want to get ahead of yourself because you will sink Absolutely. And then another question you can ask is how will you balance the costs while also ensuring competitive benefits? So of course you want to be competitive, Of course you want to give all you can give to your very valued team, but you also need to consider the costs. You also need to consider security and safety if something happens. You also need to consider long term sustainability and when your business absolutely will go through ebbs and flows. You don't want to base these off of your highest point because most likely you will not stay there. So you really want to consider the ups and flows of that natural process and timeline in your business when you are introducing benefits. Alright, the next thing you want to consider is competitive advantage. How can offering benefits give you an edge in attracting and retaining top talent, which we chatted about? Are there unique benefits that can set your organization apart? So one thing that comes to mind when I think about this is this is a value of mine, but I also feel like it can be a competitive advantage.

Speaker 1: 11:22

I do not require certain hours of my employees. I do require a certain client load to be able to maintain benefits that they have and to reach those goals and reach our goals as an organization and take care of us and our sustainability. But one thing I really want everyone to have, and something that I think keeps us competitive and keeps and that's important to our team, is flexible work hours, being able to create their own schedule, because then this aligns with their life and work-life balance. They can act in accordance to values. Let's say they do not want to work past three because they want to pick up their kids from school and they want to be able to have dinner with family. Right, that's important. I wouldn't require my team to work evenings, and then I have team members who like to wake up slowly, enjoy their morning, take care of themselves first, do yoga, go to yoga classes and come in later, because that's a value to them and it helps with work-life balance, helps them to take care of themselves. And also some people like to take a big break in the middle of the day, again breaking up their work day, because that's what feels best to them physically and mentally. So I consider that a competitive advantage. I consider that that's, of course, a benefit.

Speaker 1: 12:43

So, when you are structuring your benefits and again, benefits include those things like flexibility, autonomy, growth, all of that, so they're not only financial benefits. So, anyways, you want to. That's something you consider Okay. So next thing you want to consider is legal and regulatory requirements. Now it's important to know what legal obligations and regulations apply to the specific benefits you're considering and also with, just in general, what obligations and regulations do you have in your state when it comes to employment? Have you consulted legal experts to ensure compliance? You really want to consider this and consult to provide solid foundation for designing a benefits program that's going to align with the organization's goal and meet the diverse needs of your employers or your employees. I'm sorry One example here for legal and regulatory requirements that to be mindful of.

Speaker 1: 13:46

So one of the most recent benefits that we were able to introduce was PTO, and after introduced it, I found out that it was required to offer sick time and so to add to those hours. Now why did I bring that up? I think the reason I brought that up is to say, let's say, you offered life insurance. Let's just say you offered life insurance or some kind of fund or for something specific, Like when someone's in need, you have like a funds that you give to. Now, if you implement that and then you find out that you're not compliant with offering sick time, but you don't have the means to offer sick time and this fund, it would have been very helpful to know this. So you didn't incorporate or introduce two benefits, cause you never wanna take a benefit away. So you just wanna be very informed when it comes to that All right, now that we spoke about the considerations when you're introducing benefits, let's go ahead and talk about the different types of employee benefits.

Speaker 1: 14:55

So employee benefits encompass a wide array of offerings that are gonna cater to different aspects of the employee's life, the employee's wellbeing. Some common types of employee benefits are going to include number one, health and wellness benefits. Number two, financial benefits. Number three, work-life balance benefits. Number four, professional development benefits. And number five, recognition and incentives. So lots of different benefits that you can introduce and, of course, you wanna consider them all carefully the ability, the alignment, financial sustainability, all of that.

Speaker 1: 15:31

So I'm gonna give you a few examples of all of these different categories in these different categories, so number one, health and wellness benefits that's gonna be your health insurance, your dental coverage, vision coverage, wellness programs, potentially therapy coverage, if you wanna provide that, Gym memberships. Number two, financial benefits that's gonna be retirement plans, retirement matches, which are 401K contributions, stock options, financial counseling. Number three, work-life balance benefits. So paid time off, vacation and sick days, flexible work arrangements, parental leave. Number four is professional development benefits, so that's gonna be training programs, educational reimbursements. Number five, recognition and incentives. So employee recognition programs, performance bonuses, shares, things like that. Now, remember that each of these benefit categories, they serve specific purposes contributing to the holistic wellbeing of employment and enhancing their overall job satisfaction.

Speaker 1: 16:37

So you want a little bit of all of these and as much as you can of all of these, of course, depending and you're not gonna introduce them all at once, of course, because that would be very tough. I started with more work-life balance benefits and then, when I was able, I introduced the most needed thing, which was a health and wellness benefit, and then I added on these financial benefits and I continue to assess how I can introduce more and more and I hope, as we grow stronger, that I can put in as many of these as possible. It's super exciting that you are here and you are thinking about this. This is amazing. I hope you successfully implement your first benefit. You start to consider your second. That is wonderful.

Speaker 1: 17:22

Make sure you're very careful looking at all of these things. You're looking at different perspectives. You're getting employee communication of their feelings and thoughts, Work with supervisors, work with your whole team, work with the coach. Take your time and you got this. You want to move slowly, move carefully, but absolutely move in this direction, and I am so excited for you. All right, and that about wraps it up. I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out at biz at jamierdcom, and if you're interested in learning more about implementing benefits and other aspects in your business when it comes to owning a business and growing a group practice also, you can message me and learn more about my coaching offerings. All right, until next time. Keep growing and don't forget to take care of yourself. I'll catch up with you later.