Benefits
There’s more to employee compensation than wages. Even if benefits — such as taking staff to a ball game or paying for workers’ vehicle use — are intangible (i.e., employees can’t spend them), they can raise employee morale, improve accountability, and aid in retention. And it’s a good idea to make your overall compensation package known to employees. “Show employees how much investment the company is making in them. The package is often more than they’ve anticipated and they may be astounded,” says remodeling consultant Victoria Downing.
But delivering benefits grows more costly each year, and unfortunately, they may be the first thing cut during lean times. In fact, according to REMODELING’s Wage & Benefit Survey, 75% of respondents said that insurance rate increases/decreases had the most impact on the type and amount of benefits a company offers.
What types of benefits are remodeling companies offering? Everything from health, vision, and dental care, to financial, holiday, vacation, and other leave benefits, as well as vehicle, cell phone, and uniform use and allowances.
Although, historically, union shops tend to offer better benefits, 97% of REMODELING’s survey respondents said they do not necessarily use union labor. Most, however, do offer benefits packages, and 66% of respondents said that if none of their competitors offered any benefits, they would maintain their current level of benefits.
Of the factors below, which three have the most impact on the type and amount of benefits your company offers?
If none of your competitors offered any benefits, which benefits would you offer to your employees anyway? (Select all that apply.)
Health Insurance
Cost is one of the major hurdles to providing health insurance. Findings in a summer 2006 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust show that employer-sponsored health insurance premiums increased by an average of 7.7% in 2006 — twice the rate of employee wage increases, 3.8%, and overall inflation, 3.5%. The numbers in REMODELING’s survey back up cost claims, with higher premiums paid by employers in 2006 than in 2005. REMODELING’s survey also shows a near even split between those companies that provide health insurance (51%) and those that don’t (49%). (These figures don’t meet the national average. A March 2006 national compensation survey by the U.S. Department of Labor found that 62% of private establishments offered health insurance to their workers.) And 44% of REMODELING’s respondents offer family coverage: Of those companies, 69% have always paid for family coverage. The most popular time to begin health insurance coverage, say 47% of respondents, is 90 days.
Of those companies that provide health insurance, 45% take on 100% of the cost. Bill Koehler, office manager of the five-person Lamb’s Construction outside Syracuse, N.Y., says the company sees benefits as a way to set itself apart from other construction and remodeling companies in the area. “It helps us retain good help,” he says. Because the company is small, Koehler says, Lamb’s Construction is able to pay 100% of the health insurance costs for the three employees that take advantage of the health care option. “We changed to a higher deductible plan because the cost of insurance went up,” Koehler says, “but we still have good coverage.” Lamb’s Construction is one of a small number of companies that offer dental insurance (22%) and vision insurance (13%) to their employees.
Larger companies can offer more health insurance choices, but although more consumers often mean lower costs, there is a point of diminishing returns. Many companies cover less of the health insurance bill but cover more individuals. HartmanBaldwin, in Claremont, Calif., pays 50% of the health care costs for its 50 employees. The company, working through a health care broker, offers HSA (Health Savings Account) as well as PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) options. “We’re doing what we can to keep up with health care; it’s a company value,” says principal Devon Hartman, “but [the United States] is really in a health care crisis, and it’s not getting better.”