Telemedicine: A Creative Benefit That May Help Attract Top Talent
Attracting top talent in today’s climate is especially challenging when you don’t have the same name recognition and capital as Google or Target.
That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, of course. They key is to offer a competitive compensation package that is innovative and all-encompassing, one that shows candidates and current employees alike that you are invested in their well-being.
All employers beyond a certain size are mandated by the Affordable Care Act to provide health insurance. It is what you offer beyond the status quo that attracts high-quality employees to your business.
Voluntary benefits are an asset when it comes to acquiring talent. The right benefits can both make your compensation packages more competitive and increase employee engagement. The more engaged your employees are, the more likely they are to refer other employees to your business. Engaged employees also have lower than average turnover rates, decreasing the amount of time and resources your business has to spend on recruiting and onboarding.
Telemedicine: A Powerful Voluntary Benefit
A great example of a voluntary benefit that helps to acquire top talent is telemedicine. Despite its rapidly increasing popularity, it is only offered by a small percentage of businesses.
Telemedicine benefits allow employees to access a physician from anywhere at any time via a phone, tablet, or computer. Beyond its technological convenience, telemedicine also helps employees avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency room and increases access to medical care for individuals living in rural areas. Employees enjoy telemedicine benefits because they help them save time and money while connecting them with critical healthcare resources.
A typical case for telemedicine is when an employee falls sick on a Sunday and their only option is to go to the emergency room or urgent care, which can both charge high copays and have long wait times. With telemedicine, the employee can contact a doctor and get a medical consult or even a prescription right away. I’ve personally seen employees talk openly to their colleagues about how easy it was to get care when using telemedicine — which is great for your internal employer brand and your company culture.
If you offer telemedicine benefits, you can promote to prospective employees that you provide 24/7 access to healthcare for your workers, something few of your competitors can claim. This is a powerful differentiating benefit in the talent market.
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Attracting talent in today’s competitive market starts with offering your employees benefits that improve engagement and support their well-being. Telemedicine is one voluntary benefit that works, along with others like flexible spending accounts and wellness programs. These benefits remind employees that you’re invested in their health and care about more than the output they produce for your business. This will foster a sense of loyalty among workers, encouraging employees to stay at your company for an extended period of time. The higher your retention rates, the less you’ll have to recruit.
Similarly, happy, engaged employees are your best advocates for hiring. If your benefits and compensation package creates an empowering and engaging environment, your employees will want to refer their friends, creating a brand new pipeline of talent directly to your business.
David Reid is the founder and CEO of EaseCentral.