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Top 3 Hiring Trends for 2020

Top 3 Hiring Trends for 2020

by | Dec 18, 2019 | Blog

Top 3 hiring trends for 2020. How employers are planning to expand recruitment efforts to attract and retain the right talent in a tight labor market.

Employers are ready to pay up to combat the skills shortage in the new year. 

More than 80 percent of employers are ready to offer higher salaries for sought-after candidates and give pay raises to ensure their current staff is happy, according to the third-annual hiring trends report by Hays, a global recruitment firm. 

“It’s encouraging to see such employer confidence and motivation in the face of market uncertainty but they should consider that money on its own may not be the long-term solution to skill deficits and employee dissatisfaction,” said David Brown, CEO, Hays US. 

Top 3 Hiring Trends for 2020

Hays drew from a national survey of more than 3,500 employers and employees across the U.S. for their latest report. Their findings identified three major hiring trends for 2020:

1. More Flexibility

Nearly 35 percent of employers offer no flexible work options, but that percentage is likely to drop in the next year. More than 50 percent of employers are working on adding the ability to work remotely. Almost 40 percent are investing in flexible work hours. 

Hays notes that unlimited vacation time and free childcare are also growing in popularity, but are implemented on more of a case-by-case basis.

2. Career Development

Over 20 percent of employees are considering leaving their current role because of limited opportunities for career growth. 

“It’s an incredibly competitive job market and employers have to focus on bigger picture aspects of work if they want to achieve their business goals,” added Brown. “People expect to do more than punch a clock. They’re looking for meaning, a vibrant culture and to be united with their colleagues under a shared purpose. Employers who understand this fact will be better-suited in the 2020 fight for talent while nurturing their current team.” 

3. Health and Wellness Focus

Close to 60 percent of workers say they have no health and wellness activities through work. Providing healthy snacks and space where employees can rest and reset on their breaks is investing in the health and wellbeing of employees. 

Employers can also remind employees when it’s time to get flu shots, when open enrollment starts, and have someone available to review healthcare benefits and out-of-pocket costs to help them better understand changes each year. 

If you’re not convinced that sending a reminder can make a difference, read about how a reminder the IRS sent out to those who paid a fine for failing to have health insurance may have saved 700 lives. 

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Health and Wellness Benefits Insights for 2020

Health and Wellness Benefits Insights for 2020

by | Dec 11, 2019 | Blog

Health and wellness benefits insights for 2020. Where employee benefits are missing the mark and how employers can reduce work-related stress.

Aetna’s Business of Health 2020 report looks at some of the greatest challenges employers face maintaining a healthy workforce and improving business performance. 

Their first key finding is that health and wellness benefits are missing the mark. 

Seventy percent of employers believe they provide good health and wellness benefits, but less than 25 percent of their workers agree. 

Health and Wellness Benefits Disconnect

A part of the health and wellness benefits disconnect between employers and employees could be explained by uncertainty. Nearly 40 percent of employers are unsure about what employees want from their benefits package and over 40 percent are concerned about the cost implications of employee health and wellness. 

Communicating directly with employees to find out what health and wellness benefits they need most can help employers and employees get on the same page about benefits goals. This could be achieved through company-wide surveys, focus groups or direct benefits conversations with workers. Setting a firm budget for health and wellness benefits can ease employer concerns about program costs. 

Health and Wellness Benefits Insights for 2020

Employee stress is a huge threat to the well-being of employees, so much so that employers agree it’s the most challenging occupational health issue facing corporations worldwide, second only to viral illnesses like the flu. 

Nearly 50 percent of the global workforce feels stressed because of work and 80 percent of employees rated their company’s support for stress as adequate or poor. Of the almost 60 percent of employees who don’t get enough sleep, close to 35 percent blame job stress for keeping them up at night.

Reducing Work-Related Employee Stress

Only 25 percent of the HR Directors that Aetna interviewed believed that they offer good support for those who are stressed at work.

What can employers do to reduce work-related employee stress? Encouraging the use of sick days and having flexible working hours could help. More than 70 percent of employers don’t think employees take enough sick days. Less than 15 percent of HR Directors believe that flexible working policies have a positive impact on employee retention, but flexible working hours are the most popular workforce policies requested by employees. 

Employers have another opportunity to reduce work-related employee stress by supporting mental health in the workplace. More than 80 percent of employees are concerned that a mental health issue could one day affect their ability to work. Over 40 percent of employers say their company offers good support for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, but only 25 percent of workers agree. 

Mental health is becoming an important factor for recruitment as well. Nearly 70 percent of employees said they wouldn’t join a business that did not have a clear policy on supporting those with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. 

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Recruiting Trends 2020: Top 5 Features for Financial Wellness Programs

Recruiting Trends 2020: Top 5 Features for Financial Wellness Programs

by | Dec 4, 2019 | Blog

Recruiting trends 2020: Top five features for financial wellness programs. Employees want features that are engaging and easy to use to help reduce financial stress.

Employers know that financial wellness benefits are a must, especially with the latest data from Financial Health Network indicating less than 30 percent of Americans consider themselves financially healthy.

But what makes financial wellness programs successful? 

Recruiting Trends 2020: Top 5 Features for Financial Wellness Programs

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If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.

Employee Experience 2020: 4 Key Aspects for High-Performance

Employee Experience 2020: 4 Key Aspects for High-Performance

by | Nov 20, 2019 | Blog

Employee experience 2020: 4 key aspects for high-performance. Research by Willis Tower Watson shows a strong employee experience can boost the bottom line.

A great employee experience makes a big difference.

Businesses focused on a strong employee experience consistently outperform their peers by a margin of two to four percentage points across key business metrics, according to research by Willis Tower Watson. Conversely, companies delivering less effective employee experiences regularly underperformed their peers by up to 10 percentage points. 

“Our breakthrough research shows that companies with a strong overall employee experience outperform their sector peers on top-line growth, profitability growth and returns on assets and equity, not only in the short term, but over the long term too,” said Stephen Young, Global Practice Leader, Willis Tower Watson Employee Insights.

In their research, Willis Tower Watson tapped into all aspects of employee experience, from local conditions such as training opportunities, immediate supervision and teamwork, to aspects of organizational functioning, such as senior leadership effectiveness, customer focus and company competitiveness. They found four key aspects of the employee experience that were unique in the high-performance group. 

Employee Experience 2020: 4 Key Aspects for High-Performance

The four key aspects for strong employee experience that emerged from Willis Tower Watson’s research include:

  • Feeling inspired by the company’s mission and purpose
  • Being able to achieve one’s potential and career aspirations
  • Having a deep sense of trust in senior leadership
  • Having a sense of drive through strong customer focus and innovation and agility in meeting marketplace demands.

“The most significant change comes through a transformation of leadership mindset — inspiring your organisation around your purpose, driving agility and innovation to be ahead of the market, helping your people achieve their potential and building a culture of leadership trust,” said Young “The fact that so few organisations do this well suggests it is hard. But it is the ultimate magic key to unlocking high performance.”

Transforming the Employee Experience in 2020

Each of the four aspects Willis Tower Watson identified has something to do with communications and strengthening the relationships between employers, employees and the company itself.

Here are our four suggestions for transforming the employee experience with improved communications:

  • Remind employees about the company’s mission and purpose. If it’s only briefly mentioned in an employee handbook they likely skimmed, they could probably use a more-enthused refresher. 
  • Connect with employees through one-on-one conversations. Learn about their career aspirations and then discuss how their current position and potential advancements could help them get there. 
  • Open up communications with senior leadership. If it only happens one-way when senior leadership implements huge company changes, it could be time to reconsider communication strategies. Including employees in discussions about company changes before they’re finalized can increase their job satisfaction and loyalty to the company.
  • Keep employees in the loop. Give them progress updates on where the company is in terms of reaching quarterly and annual goals. Let them know how the company is innovating processes to maintain strong customer focus and meet marketplace demands. 

Streamlining communications goes hand in hand with cultivating a stronger employee experience and those employers who are up to the task stand to benefit from a better bottom line.

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How to Improve All 5 Areas of Employee Wellness in 2020

How to Improve All 5 Areas of Employee Wellness in 2020

by | Nov 13, 2019 | Blog

How to improve all 5 areas of employee wellness in 2020. Improved employee wellness helps employees perform better and saves money in healthcare costs and turnover.

Improving employee wellness can pay off in a big way. 

Employees who thrive in all five areas of wellness perform better, miss less days, adapt to change with less resistance and have lower healthcare costs and turnover, according to research by Gallup. 

How to Improve All 5 Areas of Employee Wellness in 2020

These are the five elements of employee wellbeing and suggestions for how employers can support each of them:

Employee Wellness Area #1: Career Wellness

Employees want to gain personal satisfaction and enrichment from their work. They also want their work to be consistent with their values, goals and lifestyles. 

How Can Employers Improve Career Wellness? 

  • Set individual goals and have regular performance reviews where employees can see their growth.
  • Create paths for advancement so employees can see a future for themselves within the company.
  • Make it clear how each employee’s work contributes to the overall company mission. This can be especially helpful for employees in monotonous jobs who might not see how their work fits into the bigger picture.

Employee Wellness Area #2: Social Wellness

Employees want to feel a sense of belonging and social inclusion at work. They want to feel supported by their colleagues and employers. Another report by Gallup observed that close work friendships boosted employee satisfaction by 50 percent.

How Can Employers Improve Social Wellness at Work?

  • Hold staff lunches. 
  • Host friendly competitions, like NFL Fantasy Leagues and March Madness pools.
  • Throw an annual company party or coordinate a company outing where different departments can get the chance to mingle.

Employee Wellness Area #3: Physical Wellness

Employees want physical wellbeing, the balance of physical activity, nutrition and mental well-being. They want to live long, healthy lives and avoid preventable diseases and conditions.

How Can Employers Improve Physical Wellness?

  • Provide healthy snacks.
  • Reimburse gym memberships.
  • Expand healthcare benefits.

Employee Wellness Area #4: Community Wellness

Employees want to engage with the communities they live in. They want to address social, economic, environmental, cultural and political conditions and help the community flourish.

How Can Employers Improve Community Wellness?

  • Schedule volunteer days where employees get paid to help at a local nonprofit.
  • Reduce your company’s environmental impact and get employees involved.
  • Hold a drive to donate canned food or gently used coats to a local organization that supports people experiencing extreme poverty or homelessness.

Employee Wellness Area #5: Financial Wellness

Employees want to effectively manage their finances. They want to pay off debts, manage their monthly expenses and save for retirement. 

How Can Employers Improve Financial Wellness?

  • Give employees access to a financial wellness program that’s personalized and easy to use, like Best Money Moves.
  • Enroll employees in a 401(k) or a comparable retirement savings program.
  • Offer a student loan repayment benefit.

The battle for talent in a labor market with the lowest unemployment rate (3.5 percent) in 50 years will be won with employee wellness benefits that retain current workers and attract new hires.

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