Session Description - John Gelb

Benefits Cost Reductions / Trends

In the wild, there are no rules except the strong survive.  In a similar way, the globalization of the US economy means there’s continuing and building pressure for companies to attract and retain the best talent, while at the same time doing so with fewer resources in the form of benefits.  

Even so, adhering to “tried and true” formulas for attractive benefits packages is clearly a recipe for trouble.  In a similar way, several years ago, some hiring practices suddenly seemed quaint after Google advertised for new hires by placing a quiz on a highway billboard. 

Clearly, as the overall growth in jobs (temporarily slowed by current economic conditions) picks up, all signs point to a worrisome trend:  more jobs to fill than qualified people to fill them.  This leads to prospective new hires having more choice, and that leads to a focus on benefits.  While companies are seeking to reduce their costs and thus place more burden for medical expenses on employees, there are new opportunities to satisfy employee demands for work/life balance with health and wellness programs.

Three objectives or “deliverables” that participants will learn in this session include:

1. The importance of HR professionals in communicating benefits, especially those benefits that are underutilized. 

2.  More variation in the demographics of the work force will demand greater flexibility by HR staff to create a wider range of benefits within budgets. 

3.  “Come into the Wild” quite simply means to break through into news ways of thinking about spending money to make money > incentivizing employees to make wise health choices for their own benefit, and the benefit of the company.