recruitment Archives

HR Trends 2021: Which Benefits Do Employees Value Most?

by LizStevens | Sep 1, 2020 | Blog

HR trends 2021: which benefits do employees value most? Employees want benefits that better support their health and wellness after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benefits priorities are shifting considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only 55 percent of employees believe their company is making the best decisions about their benefits, according to new research by The Hartford. Just 44 percent think their benefits package is above average compared to what other employers are offering.

“The pandemic has put pressure on the American workforce in ways few could have predicted and employees need support more than ever,” said Jonathan Bennett, head of Group Benefits at The Hartford. “Now is the perfect time for employers to address employees’ changing attitudes about benefits.”

HR Trends 2021: Which Benefits Do Employees Value Most?

These are the benefits and services that employers are adding to bring their benefits plans closer to their employees’ values:

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) (56 percent)
Paid Time Off (52 percent)
Wellness Benefits (51 percent)
Behavioral/Mental Health Services (51 percent)
Critical Illness Insurance (50 percent)
Hospital Indemnity Insurance (48 percent)
Paid Time Off for Volunteering (42 percent)
Student Loan Repayment Plans (38 percent)
Paid Sabbatical (38 percent)
Pet Insurance (29 Percent)

Many of the most highly sought after benefits are centered around employee health, including their physical, mental, financial health as well as the health of their loved ones and their communities. Health and wellness has been an HR trend for quite some time but the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the employee demand for these types of benefits is as strong as ever.

The Importance of Benefits Communication

More employers are recognizing how important communication is to the success of any benefits program. Up from 63 percent at the start of the pandemic, 69 percent of employers told The Hartford they’re mostly or fully responsible for making sure employees understand the benefits offered.

In other surveys, employees have admitted that they don’t understand all the benefits their organization offers or that the programs available don’t meet their needs or are too difficult to understand.

Employers can improve benefits communication in three steps:

Send shorter, bite-sized benefits communications over a longer period of time rather than the traditional method of dumping it in an employee handbook or an annual employee benefits email.
Test different methods of communication, like text messaging, phone calls and instant messenger in addition to emails or meetings.
Track participation, open and click rates to see which method is the best way to reach your employees.

It’s not enough to follow the latest HR trends and make changes accordingly, employers need to work with their employees to determine what benefits are most valuable to them, which programs fit their needs and how they can make it easier for them to access their benefits.

COVID-19 2020: Managing Employees During the Coronavirus Pandemic

by LizStevens | Apr 8, 2020 | Blog

COVID-19 2020: Managing employees during the Coronavirus pandemic. Dealing with employees who may be sick and making temporary policy modifications.

More than 70 percent of companies didn’t have a crisis management plan in place when the Coronavirus outbreak hit, according to a survey by Blank Rome. Even those who did anticipated natural disasters like floods and fires, but not a global pandemic like COVID-19.

Without an emergency response plan in place, how are employers dealing with things like emergency contact systems, data privacy, defining essential functions, managing employees who become ill and avoiding panicked reactions to negative news?

COVID-19 2020: Managing Employees During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Here are some of the temporary modifications employers told Blank Rome they’ve made in response to the Coronavirus pandemic:

We are following CDC guidelines; if an employee is sick we are sending them home.
We started specific weekly communications on March 3rd regarding precautionary personal and workplace hygiene, staying home or going home if ill, social distancing. We applied more specific polices on March 13th and formally implemented work from home as well as rotational work assignments.
We extended the absence period for returning to work from 3 to 5 days and on a case by case basis in some instances.
We have released anyone with symptoms and required doctors notes to return.
We’ve requested all employees to get tested and made arrangements for the testing to get done.
We are operating on the honor system for absences or modifications and accommodations during this time.
We are asking screening questions and are considering temperature checks.

Responding to Employee Testing Positive for COVID-19

Nearly 7 percent of the companies Blank Rome surveyed had an employee test positive for COVID-19 and in response to it:

23 percent of employers converted to remote work for all employees not required to be on-site.
17 percent continued operations with modifications.
3 percent closed the entire worksite where the employee who tested positive reported.

Managing Paid Time Off

Over 40 percent of employers have paid employees who show symptoms of COVID-19 but haven’t been diagnosed or allowed them to use paid time off. Nearly half of businesses that have had to temporarily shut down business operations are still paying workers and more than 20 percent are requiring use of paid time off.

Managing Employee Complaints

Less than 15 percent of employers have received COVID-19-related complaints from employees, but more than 90 percent have required responses that don’t fall within the traditional framework of complaints, including disability discrimination, retaliation and OSHA. Here are some of the COVID-19-related complaints employers have received:

Employees requesting shutdown.
Employees complaining about lack of sanitizer and masks.
Employees frustrated about working remotely.
Employees complaining the company failed to act quickly and put inexperienced people in charge of decision making.
Employees complaining that there isn’t a policy in place.
Employees upset about being required to come into work when they think they should be allowed to stay home during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Employees concerned about how matters will be handled.

How employers respond to the Coronavirus pandemic will have a significant impact on business for years to come. It’s crucial to empathize with employee concerns and communicate what the company is doing to protect both employees and business operations.

Helping Employees During Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic

by LizStevens | Mar 31, 2020 | Blog

Helping employees during Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. How you support workers during the outbreak could have a lasting impact on recruitment and retention efforts.

What will you say when asked how you helped employees during the COVID-19 outbreak?

We are in the midst of a crisis. The Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak is dramatically reshaping the working world. Healthcare workers, delivery drivers and grocery store shelf stockers are being overworked while waiters, bartenders, musicians and those in the hospitality industry are dealing with shutdowns, layoffs, and unemployment. All of them are looking to their employers for help to get through this uncertain time.

How employers respond to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant impact on recruiting and retention efforts for quite some time.

Helping Employees During Coronavirus/COVID-19 Outbreak

Employees at all levels are dealing with increased financial stress. Nearly 60 percent of Americans say the Coronavirus has had a negative impact on their finances, according to a survey by the National Financial Educators Council. Over 40 percent of them are more concerned about their personal finances than they are about contracting COVID-19.

There are a number of ways employers can support employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. These are a few areas some organizations are zeroing in on and others where the U.S. government is providing assistance:

Financial Wellness

Employees want to know how the Coronavirus is going to impact their retirement savings, their monthly budget, their credit card debt, their paycheck and they want to know what they should do about it. Best Money Moves, a mobile-first financial wellness platform, just added new resources to answer employees’ questions about how the Coronavirus will affect their finances and for a limited time, new clients can get Best Money Moves free for the first three months.
Paid Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) mandates certain employers provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave related to COVID-19. Employers who provide paid sick leave under the FFCRA will be eligible for two new refundable payroll tax credits that the IRS will “immediately and fully reimburse” according to the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) provides almost $350 billion in partially forgivable loans to small businesses and nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees impacted by COVID-19 to help cover payroll and temporary closings.
Unemployment Resources

Some employers, especially small businesses, will have to layoff and furlough employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Whenever possible, employers should provide severance pay, extend health benefits and give a tentative rehiring date if the business plans to remain open. Employers should also help employees navigate the unemployment process.
Mental Health

Mental health platforms that offer teletherapy have noticed a surge in usage during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. People are anxious, depressed, isolated and lonely as they socially distance themselves and stay home to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Providing resources for those who are struggling with their mental health during this crisis is important. Employers should evaluate their current mental health benefits and consider telehealth solutions.
Virtual Recruiting

Employers in essential services are struggling to fill open positions and comply with social distancing restrictions. CVS Health will fill 50,000 full-time and part-time positions through virtual job fairs, interviews and job tryouts. Walmart is shortening its hiring process to hire associates “in as little as 24 hours” to meet its goal of hiring 150,000 new workers by the end of May. Employers who were in the process of evaluating and interviewing top talent who still need to fill the position and have the budget to do so shouldn’t suspend the hiring process until the Coronavirus outbreak is behind us. Instead, those employers should look to virtual solutions like video conferencing for interviews.

This is a defining moment for business leaders around the world. Years from now potential hires will ask employers what they did to support employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. What will your organization have to say when that time comes?

Top 3 Hiring Trends for 2020

by LizStevens | 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.

More on Recruitment and Hiring Trends for 2020

Health and Wellness Benefits Insights for 2020

Top 10 Employee Benefits for 2020

5 Must-Have Benefits for Millennial Employees

Hiring Trends to Watch in 2020

4 Big Employee Benefit Trends for Family Planning

Employee Experience 2020: 4 Key Aspects for High-Performance

Recruiting Trends 2020: Top 5 Features for Financial Wellness Programs

Hiring Trends to Watch in 2020

by LizStevens | Jun 17, 2019 | Blog

Hiring Trends to Watch in 2020. Recruitment strategies to stay competitive throughout the hiring process as unemployment hovers at a nearly 50 year low.

Finding the right balance between traditional and digital channels will be the key to successful recruitment in 2020.

“As organizations continuously look for ways to attract the best talent, knowing which techniques work best can give hiring pros an extra edge,” said Kevin Lyons-Tarr, CEO, 4imprint. “That’s why we went right to the source, asking HR professionals what recruitment techniques, interview questions and employee recruitment giveaways are helping them appeal to prospective employees.”

Popular Hiring Trends That Work

Online job boards, like Indeed and CareerBuilder, are the most popular recruitment method used by HR professionals, according to research by 4imprint. Other popular online recruitment methods include recruiting platforms like LinkedIn and Recruiter and organic social media posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Employee referral programs are the most popular offline recruitment method for employers, and nearly 40 percent of HR professionals agreed that it was the most successful recruitment method. Job fairs, in-person networking events, recruiting agencies and print publications were other popular offline recruitment methods.

Hiring Trends: How Are Interviews Conducted?

Most organizations still conduct interviews one-on-one. Almost 80 percent conduct one-on-one interviews in person and more than 60 percent complete them over the phone. In-person group interviews are common practice for more than half of employers and only 20 percent conduct group interviews by phone. With remote work on the rise, phone and video interviews will occur more frequently.

Who is Involved in the Hiring Process?

Human resources representatives are most likely to be involved in the interview process. More than half of HR professionals include the manager for the role or the department leader in the interview process. Nearly 40 percent include co-workers and just 15 percent involve direct reports in the interview process.

Companies use personality assessments, cultural assessments and homework assignments to evaluate how potential hires will fit within the organization. Cultural fit is considered the most important attribute, followed by qualifications, work experience, willingness to work and lastly, education.

More than 60 percent of employers evaluate a candidate’s education, but less than 10 percent value it. Employers are more flexible with educational requirements in light of the financial challenges associated with earning a college degree.