The benefits of employee benefits

Cash is not enough today to recruit and retain top talent for your business. Providing an attractive benefits plan is just as important.

While the costs can be exorbitant and the choices overwhelming, you can find ways to build a benefits program that works for your company. Here's help.

Find out what your employees want

It's critical to recognize just how important a competitive benefits package can be in recruiting the best staff possible. Gone are the days when salary in and of itself was lure enough.

"Competitive organizations, whether they are big or small, with benefits programs will be able to attract employees away [from you]—especially if you don't provide the most fundamental programs such as health care, disability insurance, and things like that. It's almost mandatory," says Lloyd Foight, a benefits consultant with the Ross Companies in New York.

The two essentials for every plan

While you might be faced with a variety of requests, experts say that there are two essentials for every plan: medical coverage and a retirement plan. Other coverage such as dental, disability, and life insurance often are considered extras.

"Most people want to know that they're covered when they go into the hospital. So that's one of the things on the top of our list," says Larry Landes, president of Garden State Brickface, Windows & Siding in Roselle, N.J.

One way or another, someone has to foot the bill for your employee benefits. However, it doesn't have to be you who picks up the entire check. You could even pass on the entire cost to your employees.

Here are three other options:

Communication matters, too

Once you've arrived at a plan that suits both you and your employees, let your people know about it. "People need to know that you're spending money on these things. They need to realize that and know that it is a benefit for them even if they choose not to participate in it," says Bruce Wynn, a compensation and benefits lawyer in Atlanta. Lange recommends taking this level of awareness a step further and providing an itemized list with yearly tax statements. This way, the employees will know just what they're getting and what you've spent on them.