HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
Rich Walters, Triangle Regional Manager
Hill, Chesson & Woody

If you, a business colleague or a friend, ever want to do a quick evaluation of where you are in a particular area of your business or personal life, ask this question: “So, how's that (fill in the blank) working for you?” Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day chaos called our lives that we don't have time to stop and evaluate some of the critical decisions and choices we've made. Or, we've just forgotten to do it and often wonder why we're not getting the results we want. Or, we have somehow convinced ourselves that we're "all set," and no changes are necessary, in spite of a constantly changing world. This happens all the time.

In our world of human resources, change happens regularly and we must continuously evaluate how effective our programs, strategies, legal compliance and employee benefits are working to stay competitive.

One of the best ways for any organization to get a snapshot of how well their benefits strategies and programs are performing is to have a professional benefits consultant sit down and benchmark your current program against the market, your geographic area and companies in your market — not just against national data. 

Benchmarking is often offered as a complimentary service.  Much of what is evaluated deals with how your company stacks up competitively, dealing with the “moving target” that employee benefits has become, especially in the wake of healthcare reform. You’ll learn about other strategies, best practices and areas you may want to shore up that will help with the attraction and retention of top talent, risk mitigation, process improvement and lowering the overall cost of doing business.

Take the time to have a benchmarking report completed on your behalf. The impact on your organization's profitability, productivity, time savings and liability should be very positive and even eye-opening. You'll know where you're strong and where opportunities exist for improvement.

So, the next time a business peer, friend, coworker or consultant asks, "So, how's that benefits program working for you?" you'll know for sure. And you'll have a game plan for future success.