Practice Management Article The Challenge of Providing Multigenerational Benefits in Veterinary Practices (cont.)
Also, having grown up in the unsteady economy of the 21st century, they have no qualms about juggling multiple jobs or being willing to change jobs frequently. Millennials tend to be wary of being trapped in routine jobs or in what they might view as eternal internships.
As a result, the keys to retaining Millennial employees often hinge on building relationships, asking them to perform multiple tasks and providing fast rewards.
When it comes to benefits for Millennial employees, “portable” is perhaps the most important term to remember. In addition, they tend to require forced savings programs, concierge services and financial education.
Voluntary benefits that appeal to Millennials include:
• Employee assistance programs • Employee purchase programs • Discount programs • Financial counseling • Flexible spending accounts • Identity theft protection • Tuition assistance • Wellness programs
For Millennials, financial counseling and tuition assistance tend to loom large, as the average member of this age demographic carries an average of $29,000 in student loan debt.
on prior usage, as well as the electronic availability of benefits documents.
Millennials, meanwhile, fully embrace all the available technology and feel exceptionally comfortable both shopping for and enrolling in benefits online. However, many on the younger end of this generation will remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. Those who will seek employer benefits will often gravitate toward plans with higher deductibles in an effort to keep more of what they earn.
Benefits for All
While preferences and needs regarding health insurance vary considerably across generations, identity theft protection and legal services are two benefits that cut across all of them. Few things are as disruptive for employees as legal difficulties, and as the problem grows, having one’s identity stolen. Both can result in lost time at work and employees who are distracted while on the job, resulting in less attentive patient care, loss of productivity and a negative effect on a veterinary practice’s bottom line.
According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel database, identity theft complaints have grown from 86,250 in 2001 to more than 290,000 in 2013. And with 75 percent of identity theft victims between the ages of 20 and 59, the problem tends to strike people in their prime working years.
Offering an identity theft protection as part of your practice’s benefits package could make a significant difference in how deeply a practice’s employees are affected by this growing problem, as the time needed to address the problem increases exponentially the longer the issue goes undetected.
Generational Attitudes on Benefits
Between the advent of World War II and 2015, health benefits for working adults have changed considerably. As a result, the requirements and expectations of the broad spectrum of individuals you might employ are vastly different.
As previously noted, members of the Traditional generation have perhaps seen the most change in their employer-provided benefits. Long gone are the days of paternalistic corporations that, upon hire, vowed to take care of employees until they died. As a result, these employees will find it most difficult to adapt to new healthcare and retirement plans. However, with an employee’s willingness to offer education and motivation on medical care responsibility and retirement, it can be done.
Because they are still active workers but are more likely to report (and have to pay for) health problems related to their age, it’s important to offer employees from the Baby Boom generation an expanded menu of options that will allow them to deal effectively with their particular needs.
For instance, employers can help by providing education on selecting appropriate medical plans, taking advantage of voluntary benefits, and maximizing the potential of health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. These last two are particularly important because they allow employees to better plan for medical expenses while also realizing tax benefits.
The benefits needs of employees from the Generation X demographic clearly reflect the job instability and family support challenges many have seen their parents experience, along with a growing awareness of the health challenges that will emerge as they age. As a result, they seek a simplified, flexible health benefits platform that includes child care, elder care and wellness programs to help them maintain their physical and mental health. In addition, they seek more support in their healthcare benefits selection based
14 Insight
Meanwhile, common legal issues such as divorce and bankruptcy can add a huge financial and psychological burden to employees’ lives. Nearly 1 million people filed for bankruptcy between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that between 800,000 and 900,000 couples divorce each year.
Because most of your employees would find it financially impossible to pay for hourly legal fees, 55 percent of employers with voluntary benefits now make legal services an option for employees.
Those services can include:
• Writing a will or living will • Establishing a trust • Resolving traffic violations
• Creating a healthcare power of attorney • Reviewing contracts and documents • Family issues, such as adoption or divorce • Resolving identity theft legalities
Among large employers, 25 percent offer identity theft protection through their benefits plans, and some go as far as to subsidize the protection plans. When left to employees to pay, a plan that offers both legal services and identity theft protection can run anywhere from $12 to $15 a month per employee.
In conclusion, a veterinary practice with an interest in providing exceptional patient care and customer service would be well advised to assess the benefits it offers. But understanding what voluntary benefits have to offer and recognizing their value, practice owners and managers can build worker retention, loyalty and motivation by better providing for the needs of employees across the demographic spectrum.
For More Information •
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/articles/pages/ voluntary-benefits-generational.aspx
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http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/pages/ legal-services.aspx
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http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/articles/pages/ generational-attitudes-health-benefits.aspx
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