 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chamber Corner for June 6th  |
| |
PEOPLE, NOT COMPANIES, BUY BENEFITS
Written by Todd Tranum, President/CEO Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier
When was the last time you heard of an employer buying homeowner’s insurance for employees, or sweating over each employee’s annual car insurance renewal, or picking up the tab for their personal liability insurance. The idea is ludicrous. And yet, each year nearly every employer in this country goes through the annual ritual of picking health coverage, maybe dental insurance, a life insurance policy, disability and so on for all their employees. And most years, this is a terribly frustrating activity, because the system as it stands is broken in nearly every respect.
The options are just not all that good. Trying to find a single plan that covers the diverse needs of disparate employees is an exercise in futility. Shooting for the middle and finding exactly the right balance simply means that half of your employees are under-insured and half are over-insured. How can that be considered a successful business decision? And everyone who has to make it knows that this result of hours and days of investigation is inherently wrong.
Plus, you have to pay more and more each year for the privilege of putting yourself through this exercise in futility. Call it rate increase, the annual “trend”, premium inflation, whatever the “term,” paying more money for benefits has become the name of the game. Some unfortunate employers are facing increases of 70% or more.
This situation raises two very important points:
1. Most people in business today did not set out to become benefits experts. You see yourself as an entrepreneur, owner, manager, the “finance guy/woman”. And even those who are pursuing an HR career didn’t set out to deal with the pain of employee benefits. You want to deal with more strategic issues like staffing and compensation.
2. The vast majority of employers have given up on finding a solution to this problem. They are no longer confronting it and trying to solve it, but instead are looking for a “work-around”. They may shift costs to employees, cut back on benefits altogether, even lay people off to reduce expenses, but these tactics only address the pain, but not the underlying problem, and in most cases they create more pain.
But there is a real solution to this situation . . . defined contribution. Imagine, you can set a long-term benefits budget and determine what you’re going to spend on benefits – an amount that your business can afford. You treat benefits the same way you handle every other business expense. And then, you allocate a certain amount for each employee to spend on their benefits. It really has nothing to do with benefits anymore, it’s a compensation decision. You’ve defined what you’re going to contribute for benefits each year and gotten yourself out of the spiraling cost increases. As with any budget item, you can build in a reasonable inflation rate of your choosing, perhaps 5 percent a year.
But what about your employees? How are they going to use the allocation you’ve given them to buy the insurance they actually need? The answer is simple, you give them access to a marketplace of benefits – a Benefits Exchange – where they have a range of options for different insurance products and they can buy the benefits that are right for them. This is more than the healthcare insurance exchange that is part of the new reforms, because it deals with far more than just medical insurance. There might be 8 medical plans on the Exchange, or 18, or 28. And then there are also all the other benefits an employee might actually want – dental, vision, life, disability, long-term care, accident, critical illness and so on. Each employee decides what he or she needs. They insure themselves, just as they insure their car and house.
This defined contribution approach to benefits is a real solution, not a work-around. It doesn’t just change the way you pay, it relieves your frustration. And it makes your employees happier. Survey after survey shows that when they are empowered in this way and can buy the benefits they actually need, employees are more aware of and satisfied with their benefits and happier in their jobs.
And speaking of reform, many of the experts have suggested the new law will encourage a defined contribution approach to benefits that separates financing from plan design and administration. Benefits become more logically a compensation decision, and employees, not companies, buy benefits.
The defined contribution strategies and the Benefits Exchange described here are available to you today in the Bright Choices® program from the Chamber. Call the Chamber of Commerce today at 716-484-1101 or 716-366-6200.
ONLINE MARKETING SEMINAR – JUNE 11th
This is an opportunity to learn how to maximize online marketing. The seminar will focus on social network, search engines and maximizing analytics to better market your business. The Event will be held at J.C.C. North County Training Center in Dunkirk. The program begins at 8am. The cost is $5. To register, visit chautauquachamber.org or call 716-484-1101 or 716-366-6200. This event is sponsored by Advertising Advantage, BWB/Vineyard Group, Star Media Group, The OBSERVER and The Post-Journal
GREAT OUTDOORS NETWORKING EVENT – JUNE 17th
At this Experience Chautauqua - Great Outdoors Networking event, over $1,000 worth of exciting prizes will be given away to those attending. In addition, there will be an opportunity to tour boats provided by the Chautauqua Marina. The Event will be held at The Watermark Restaurant in Mayville. The event begins at 5:00 p.m. The cost is $8 for pre-registered and $10 for walk-ins. To register, visit chautauquachamber.org or call 716-484-1101 or 716-366-6200. This event is sponsored by Advertising Advantage, Anderson Cleaners, Cummins Inc., Community Bank, HSBC, Media One (WJTN/SE93/WKSN/WHUG/WQFX), Star Media Group, The OBSERVER, The Post Journal and Univera Healthcare.
COUNTY EXECUTIVE BREAKFAST – JUNE 23rd
The Annual County Executive Breakfast will begin at 8:00 a.m. The event will be held at The Williams Center Horizon Room at SUNY Fredonia. Cost to attend is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members. This event is sponsored by Cummins Inc., WCA Hospital, DFT/Netsync, Emeritus at Lakewood, Serta Mattress, Chautauqua Institution, Key Bank, Nestle Purina, J.C.C., Lake Erie Regional Health System, Compeer, NRG Dunkirk Power, Dunkirk Metal Products/Alternative Fuel Boilers, Phillips Lytle, WJTN/WWSE/WKSN/WHUG/WQFX, Star Media Group, UBS Financial Services, the Post Journal, the OBSERVER and Advertising Advantage. For more information, please visit chautauquachamber.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|