The Great Resignation is still going strong – and HR professionals feel the tremendous impact.

For 20 years, the resignation rate in the United States had not exceeded 2.4% of the workforce per month, according to Thought Exchange. In late 2021, resignation rates in the private sector increased to 3.4% per month.

What’s more, the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary.

Compensation and benefits need to be competitive to attract the best talent. Organizations also need to assess their culture because it could impact how candidates feel about joining a company. Employers who can provide this successfully will be the ultimate winners in the war for talent.

5 employee well-being levers

Make sure employee benefits and company culture appeal to the five key levers of employee well-being:

• Mental health well-being: Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), access to mental health coaching / therapist, health and wellness apps
• Physical well-being: health insurance, wellness programs, gym reimbursements
• Social well-being: flexibility, work-life balance, support for personal causes
• Career well-being: training and development, coaching and mentorship, tuition reimbursement, internal mobility, and
• Financial well-being: compensation, retirement benefits, financial wellness and education.

Understand what employees value

The way benefits are structured and communicated to employees has a significant impact on how they value and utilize them during the Great Resignation. Benefits should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all solution but rather as a personalized package that meets the needs of each individual employee. 

Traditional benefits like time off and healthcare insurance are a given for most employees. But how businesses prioritize additional, non-traditional benefits can vary based on the demographics of the workforce. They might consider employees’ life stage or generation when deciding what’s important to offer them.

If you are uncertain what benefits your employees will value, don’t be afraid to ask them. A focus group or survey can be helpful tools to quantify interest and understand what benefits are most likely to be used. Using specialty accounts,

employers can create a tailored benefits program that aligns with employees’ needs. These impactful plans allow employers to create every aspect of the program, including funding, use and eligibility requirements.

Promote, improve benefits packages

Flexibility is key to success. Adjusting and staying up to date with new trends and opportunities helps you retain your current workforce. Offering updated benefits packages and competitive salaries sets the tone for attracting and retaining talent. Be sure to highlight your benefits and compensation package in job listings.

Once new employees are hired, it’s vital to have a meeting to explain the company’s benefits and help them sign up. Make sure employees understand the value of the benefits you offer. In addition to direct communication, highlight covered services and rewards programs that might be built into the company’s insurance services.

Employers should also look at promoting benefits outside of open enrollment. Help employees understand the benefits they can add/change all year long. This will help employees get the most out of their benefits and helps employers understand what employees value.

Add what employees value

Companies have found success in offering unique benefits not typically found in other workplaces. Look for opportunities to appeal to personal needs or passions. Consider a total rewards strategy in which employees can select from a variety of benefits that are important to them.

Creative benefits can include everything from providing employees with Audible or Spotify memberships to having a “bring your pet to work” day. With more employees working remotely than ever before, employers should also consider providing benefits to employees working from home, too, like covering the cost of setting up the employee’s home office.

In order to best support employee well-being, start by amplifying the resources that already exist within your organization. Next, encourage employees to take ownership of how they leverage those tools and finally be proactive in providing appropriate resources so everyone has what they need now and going forward.