bake - February 2015 - 12

management

Beneﬁts Attract Quality
One of the most important things a retail bakery can do to

Healthcare - Health insurance is the most important and

maintain business health, longevity and proﬁt margin is to

expensive beneﬁt that you can offer. While health insurance

recruit, hire and retain quality employees. This means the ability

beneﬁts are not currently mandatory, they can help you attract

to compete with larger companies on salary, but that doesn't

and keep top quality talent. You can purchase group health

necessarily mean just paying an employee more per hour.

insurance directly from a wide range of insurance providers,
or you can shop through the new healthcare marketplaces

Employees today have learned that the total compensation

created by the Affordable Care Act. Offering healthcare

package needs to be looked at and considered rather than

through the SHOP Exchanges may also qualify your business

just the amount of money an employee gets paid. The savvy

for a number of tax breaks.

employee not only wants the best beneﬁt package, but a
choice in the matter as well.

There is no simple answer to how much health insurance will
cost, since this depends largely on where you purchase your

Considerations

company healthcare plan. In the past, about half of small

According to David Waring of ﬁtsmallbusiness.com, employers

businesses have spent roughly 7.5 percent of payroll costs,

need to consider a few things before choosing beneﬁts to offer

and about a quarter have spent more than 15 percent. While

their employees.

these costs are high, keep in mind that the recently passed
Affordable Care Act is designed to lower the costs of health

1. Beneﬁts are not one size ﬁts all. The appeal of certain beneﬁts

insurance for small businesses. There are a number of tax

will differ depending on the demographics of your company.

credits available to business with fewer than 25 full-time
employees.

2. It is important to allow your employees to choose from
different beneﬁt options. Your employees are more likely

Retirement - Most small businesses that offer retirement bene-

to be satisﬁed with their beneﬁts if they feel they are given

ﬁts choose deﬁned contribution plans, which includes 401(k)s

some freedom to select the package that best ﬁts their

and IRAs. Choosing the plan that's right for you can be a fairly

personal lifestyle and goals.

complicated affair, and it's recommended to ﬁnd a professional
to help you navigate the process. The cost of offering a deﬁned

3. You won't know what is most important to your employees

contribution plan will depend on the size of your company, if

if you don't ask them what they want. As you decide which

you decide to match a percentage of your employees' contri-

beneﬁt options to offer your employees, consider talking

butions and how much they end up saving.

to them about what their priorities are. This way, you won't
waste money by offering beneﬁts that don't appeal to your

"Specialty beneﬁts" refer to beneﬁts generally considered of

employees.

secondary importance to healthcare and retirement beneﬁts.
Nevertheless, specialty beneﬁts can help your company expand

Packaging

its range of beneﬁt options and really distinguish itself from the

Employers can break down beneﬁts into three basic catego-

competition. Examples include life insurance, disability, dental

ries to make up a comprehensive package. The categories are

and vision coverage, paid time off, tuition assistance, etc.

healthcare, retirement beneﬁts, and specialty beneﬁts.

SOURCE: WWW.FITSMALLBUSINESS.COM

12 < FEB 2015 | bakemag.com
http://www.fitsmallbusiness.com http://WWW.FITSMALLBUSINESS.COM http://www.bakemag.com
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