Wisconsin Employee Benefits Administration Service

1. Identify Your Employee Benefit Objectives & Budget

The first step in building the ideal employee benefit plan is to identify your specific objectives in providing these benefits. As an initial step, this process does not often result in a specific list of offered benefits but instead provides an overview of your objectives in offering benefits to support both you and your employees' needs - much like a mission statement. Some organizations have highly detailed benefit objectives, while others are generalized. Whatever the case, your objectives should support your overall strategic goals.

It is equally important to determine the budget available to spend on benefits. The cost of benefits will ultimately determine what benefits you’re able to offer. If you have an existing benefits plan, an analysis of current and projected future benefit costs should be done. If there is no existing benefits program, you may need to get quotes for benefits you’re considering.

2. Needs Assessment

Conduct a needs assessment to determine the best selection of benefits based on the wants and needs of your employees, your legal obligations, and the company’s overall strategy.

• Your own perception of employee benefits needs
• Your competitors’ benefits practices
• Tax laws and regulations
• Your employees’ perception of needed and/or desired benefits

If an existing benefit plan exists, consider reviewing the utilization of each benefit being provided. The frequency of which employees use a benefit is a great indicator of employee reliance on the benefit and may help you determine a way to reduce the cost of providing it. For insurance plans, the carrier will often provide this information to the registered employer.

You will also need to consider the legal obligations for offering benefits on both a federal and state level. For example:

• At a federal level, the Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50+ employees to provide affordable health insurance or pay a penalty.
• Every year, more states pass laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.

Your dedicated team of benefit pros will help ensure your employee benefits plan is in compliance with all state and federal requirements.

3. Formulate a Benefits Plan

Using the information and parameters established in Step 2, you can begin to formulate a benefits plan to support your objective(s) established in Step 1.

This step is often the most complex, as there are many factors to consider when determining which benefits to include, and which to cut. Here are a few great items to consider:

• Can changes be made to the benefits plan? Is it flexible?
• Administrative costs for each benefit?
• Will employees need to contribute? If so, how much?
• Are you able to implement benefits internally? Or will a third-party broker be needed?

As always, your dedicated team of HCM and HR professionals at The Benefit Companies will be there to help you answer these questions.

4. Communicate the Benefits Plan to Employees

Once the benefits package is established, you will need to communicate it to your employees. Employers are legally obligated to communicate details of provided benefits plans. However, how you do this is more important than many employers may think.

Your employees’ understanding of the new benefits is critical to securing their approval. If your employees do not approve, your efforts may lead to more problems than before - even if you’ve formulated a perfect benefits plan. Failing to implement an effective communication plan may have negative effects on recruiting, employee retention, and overall workforce morale.

A great benefits communication plan should target these objectives:

• Create awareness and appreciation of the new benefits plan, and how it improves employee benefits security.
• Demonstrate a high-level understanding of the benefits offered, and develop similar levels of understanding for your employees.

5. Develop a Plan for Periodic Evaluation of Benefits

As said in the beginning, the best employee benefits plans are flexible enough to meet the ever-changing needs of your business and employees. Having a plan in place to evaluate the effectiveness of your benefits plan is necessary to optimize it. Annually, every 6 months and quarterly are all great points to reevaluate your benefits plan and identify any necessary changes.