Dentaltown September 2016 - 82

practice management feature Continued from p. 80 Here's a secret: If you create a great team, it will help you create the profit needed to fund more benefits. workday around a normal schedule is an optional benefit (although most dental offices can't accommodate this). * Holiday pay * Leave of absence (LOA): Until you hit 50 employees, it's up to you whether you'd prefer to have no LOA policy (not recommended), or if you want to create a legally compliant unpaid leave policy (a good idea!). On the other hand, if you do have 50 or more employees, then under a specific set of circumstances, you must grant unpaid leave. * Life insurance * Medical coverage via a companysponsored health insurance plan, if there are fewer than 50 employees. * Personal time, paid vacation time or PTO * Sick and emergency leave (unless it's a requirement of your state or locality) * Professional dues or license fees * Tuition assistance Note that neither list is all-inclusive. There are many other benefits you could choose to offer employees. Likewise, many other laws apply to you as an employer- often depending on your state, how many employees you have, and even your specialty. Plus, as you offer additional benefits, watch out! You may unintentionally incur additional requirements. (One example is the need for ERISA compliance if you're offering a health insurance or a retirement or disability plan.) Handling benefits effectively Ensuring that you fully understand your employer obligations versus your employee benefit options-and the laws that apply to both-can be a painstaking process. But does that mean employee benefits are bad for employers, and that it's easier to offer the minimum you can get away with? Not at all. First, offering less won't make you HR-compliant. You still need to follow all employment laws that apply to you, whether or not they're benefit-related. 82 SEPTEMBER 2016 // dentaltown.com It doesn't matter if you offer only five benefits instead of 15-if one of those five is problematic, you'll still find yourself fined by a government agency-or worse, sued by an employee. Instead, take the easy (and smart!) way out, and have your benefits and other HR policies checked regularly by an expert you trust. Consult that expert again any time you consider modifying benefits or plans-and also just on a regular basis, to make sure your policies stay up-to-date and are powerful enough to help protect your interests. That way, you'll benefit, too. This is only the beginning of what benefits bring to you as the employer, because great benefit plans are essential to hiring and retention. Cui bono: Who benefits? Offering competitive benefits to your employees is a way to add value to both sides of the employment equation. Your employees get enhancements that have a direct impact on their quality of life-health insurance, for instance, and paid time off, so they don't burn out. Meanwhile, you stand a better chance of attracting high-quality job candidates each time you hire. But do benefits really matter to job seekers as much as salary alone? Yes! Top-caliber candidates know what they're worth, and often won't even apply if they don't find the benefits they want or need the most. After all, you've got hiring competition from the practice down the road, across town and even across the country. You stand a better chance of finding and keeping great team members long-term if they know they're valued and have reasons to love working for you. And if you can't yet offer all the benefits you'd like to, don't despair. Even great candidates look for many other factors, from schedules that suit them to career growth in a direction they'd like to go. You'll have time to build up your benefit offerings as you build your practice and your team. Here's a secret: If you create a great team, it will help you create the profit needed to fund more benefits. http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown September 2016