How Employers Can Keep Healthcare Costs Down

Employco USA

Group healthcare expert reveals how employers can save big on healthcare plans in 2019

Healthcare CostsAccording to the most recent data, premium healthcare plans for individuals in 2019 will increase by 15 percent in many states across America. As the Affordable Care Act continues to be in flux, employers are very concerned about how they can help keep healthcare costs down.

With insurance renewals approaching later this year, Rob Wilson, human resources expert and President of Employco USA, offers some tips that can help employers save on healthcare costs while also keeping employees happy and healthy:

  • Move to consumer-directed health plans. “Instead of traditional PPOs, high deductible health plans might be a smarter choice for you. With these plans, employees pay for preventive care visits, which in turn teaches them to watch prices and become better spenders. It empowers employees and gives them more ownership over their own health choices and costs.”
  • Consider surcharges for smokers. “Now, with HIPAA and the ADA, there are some concerns regarding employers regulating an employees’ decision to smoke or not to smoke. However, what you can do is encourage smokers to attend smoking cessation classes. If smokers attend these groups, you can offer them the premium discount even if they are not able to stop smoking.”
  • Implement spousal surcharges. “Many companies are now charging their employees a spousal surcharge. With this cost-saving measure, employees will have to indicate if their spouse has access to healthcare at their job. If they do have access to healthcare elsewhere, but your employee still wants them to be on your plan, they might have to pay a small amount of more than employees who aren’t making this same choice.”
  • Shift the claim cost to employees. “Some employers are reducing costs by shifting the claim for cost to employees,” says Wilson. “For example, instead of offering a PPO with a $30 dollar co-pay, you might shift that to $40 or $45 employees.”
  • Encourage virtual office visits. “e-Medicine is becoming a growing trend, and for good reason. It can help keep costs down while helping to decrease the amount of time doctor’s visits can take. It’s a win-win for employers: Your employees are able to see their doctor and get back to work in less time and with less cost.”
  • Shift part of the premium cost to employees. “For example, instead of playing 75 percent of the premium, in 2019, you might ask your employees to pay 73 percent. It is a small but meaningful reduction, and one that will not to be too costly for your workers,” says Wilson.
  • Encourage health initiatives. “Workplace wellness programs aren’t just going to reduce your overall health costs, they are going to ensure that your employees are healthy, happy and productive. So, whether you want to have an on-site fitness center, or hand out Fit bits or incentivize healthy eating and fitness programs, anything you can do to get your employees moving and eating more mindfully will have massive paybacks for you.”
  • Make sure employees know their benefits. “It is common for many employers and insurance providers to send out information about the employees’ health plans via email, but people’s inboxes are so packed with junk that they might not open these messages,” says Wilson. “It might be a smart idea to rely on snail-mail when it comes to keeping employees informed and on top of their health care spending. To this end, on a quarterly or bi-annual basis, you might want to send out packet with tips and package benefits to employees’ home address, or leave it on their desk.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Companies Commit to Hire Workers with Autism, but is the Workplace Autism-Friendly?

Employco USA

Employment expert explains what adaptations employers should make for employees with autism

Companies like SAP and Microsoft have recently made a committed effort to start hiring employees who fall on the autism spectrum. This is timely, as more people than ever are being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Although varying in degree, individuals with ASD can require several modifications to the workplace. However, 80 percent of people with autism struggle to find employment, likely because employers are not well-versed in this condition and how to manage it in the workplace.

DeskRob Wilson, President of Employco USA says, “It’s important to become educated about these conditions and to realize that some people genuinely do need to have modifications made to their workplaces to be successful at their duties. Just as we do not hesitate to make handicap-accessible restrooms, we should similarly be willing to work with those who have developmental disorders.”

Wilson says that hiring staff with ASD can be incredibly beneficial for your company. “Experts theorize that if great thinkers like Einstein and Newton were alive today, they would be diagnosed with ASD.  No wonder corporations like Microsoft and Walgreens are going out of their way to seek job candidates with autism. These firms realize that autism has amazingly powerful advantages: People with autism tend to be highly intelligent and highly focused workers, along with loyal employees,” he says.

Here, Wilson outlines steps that companies should take to make their workplaces ASD-friendly:

Continue reading →

No Lunch for You! New Study Says Your Boss Judges You for Taking Lunch Breaks

Employco USA

H.R. expert weighs in on new findings and why the research is so troubling

HungryA recent study has discovered that many employees are afraid to take their lunch breaks. Rather than appear ‘lazy’ before their manager or boss, they opt to skip their appointed lunch break…even though that can have a negative impact on their ability to perform as well as their general mood and well-being.

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and human resources expert says, “The study found that almost 20 percent of employees are worried their boss judges them when they take a lunch break. 13 percent worry that their coworkers judge them for taking a break.”

And, sadly, Wilson says that these fears are not unfounded.

“The same study found that bosses do indeed judge employees for taking breaks. 22 percent of bosses believe that employees who take regular lunch breaks are not as hard-working as employees who do not, and 34 percent of bosses say that they take into account how often an employee takes lunch breaks when they are evaluating their job performance,” says the Chicago-based president of the employee solutions firm Employco USA.

Unfortunately, says Wilson, this particular management belief (that employees who take lunch breaks are slacking off) can actually be harmful to a company. “Almost 90 percent of employees say that a lunch break makes them feel refreshed and ready to return to work with a clear mind. Other research has borne out the fact that taking breaks is good for an employee’s mood, precision and creative abilities.”

Wilson says it’s time to start changing the way that bosses think about lunch breaks and for managers to step up and start encouraging people to take their lunch breaks every day.

“Don’t think of it as losing money,” says Wilson. “But, rather a way to improve your bottom line and retain your staff. A happy, rested employee is an employee who is going to give 100 percent and be a credit to your company.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Update: This blog post was quoted by Business Vancouver in an 07/17/18 article, read more here: https://biv.com/article/2018/07/one-five-bosses-are-judging-their-employees-taking-lunch-breaks-study

Business Vancouver

GoLocal LIVE: How to Prevent Employee Suicide in the Workplace

Employco USA

Rob Wilson discusses employee suicide in the workplace on GoLocal LIVE with Rachel Nunes.

“National discussions about suicide and how to prevent it have come into the spotlight following the death of high-profile figures such as Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain.

In an effort to reduce these tragedies, President of Employco USA and Human Resources Expert Rob Wilson joined GoLocal to discuss what workplaces can do to help and prevent workplace suicides.”

(Read more here…)

GoLocal LIVE

And, watch the full interview segment below:

Is America Really Near Full Employment?

Employco USA

Employment expert weighs in on the truth behind latest jobs numbers

JobsThe latest jobs report has many people talking about “full employment” and the fact that America is allegedly near this state. However, what does full employment really mean, and is our nation truly almost to this place?

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert says, “The fact is that we are not at full employment yet.  We’ll know if we are approaching full employment when inflation starts to really pick up, which I expect to see within the next 6-9 months.  At that time, I believe the Fed will answer with more dramatic rate increases and we’ll virtually reach full employment.”

Wilson says that experts who are calling this ‘full employment’ are speaking too soon due to our rocky economic history.

“Normally, the general rule-of-thumb full employment indicator of around 4.5% can’t be relied upon right now.  We’re still in uncharted waters coming out of the freakish recession and the new tariffs, which means the economic and employment industries are struggling with accurate predictions,” says Wilson.

However, Wilson says that the jobs’ report is very good news, and right on track with what employers in this nation say they are experiencing.

“In talking to our clients, even though we’re not quite at the full employment level yet, employers are still having a difficult time finding good quality candidates for their open positions.  We haven’t seen significant wage growth that typically accompanies low unemployment rates, but I think that’s next on the horizon,” says Wilson. “We need to be careful to keep rapid wage growth under control, otherwise, the U.S. might face a brand-new set of problems that will be very tough to overcome.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

The Don and Mike Show, Podcast

Employco USA

Rob joined Mike Morrison of the Don and Mike Show for a podcast interview while onsite in California for ESCA. Rob’s interview comes in at the 17:42 mark.

“Mike was in California for ESCA Summer Educational Conference and Don was in Chicago for IFES … Interviews with attendees and recaps for this week’s show!”

Contact us with any questions you may have, we’re here to help: hr@employco.com

The Illegal Questions Employers Ask on Job Interviews

Employco USA

Employment expert weighs in on the most common illegal questions interviewees face

InterviewPrevious research has revealed that in 1 in 5 employers have asked illegal questions during interviews. And, a recent study led by The Associated Press and CNBC found that many job interview candidates say that they have still been asked inappropriate (and illegal) questions about things such as their age and intention to have children.

Rob Wilson, human resources expert and President of Employco USA (a Chicago-based employment solutions firm), says, “The reality is that many employers and hiring managers are asking questions that are either blatantly illegal or just hovering near that line. Yet I think it’s important to note that these people are not willfully thumbing their nose at the law, but that they lack the training and the knowledge required to handle interviews in a professional and ethical manner.”

Not to mention, says Wilson, the laws which regulate job interview questions are ever-changing. Questions which used to be considered par-for-the-course, such as questions about a person’s criminal background, could soon be against the law.

“People in many states are working to keep questions about an interview candidate’s criminal history out of the job interview process all together,” says Wilson. “They view these questions as discriminatory and depending on where you live, questions about a person’s criminal background have already been removed from job applications.”

So, what other questions are off the table when it comes to a job interview?

Wilson says, “Questions about a person’s age and marital status are no-go’s. And, while you can ask about any vacations or traveling plans a person has in the future, you cannot ask about their intention to have children…even if you see a visible baby bump! Additionally, you cannot inquire about a person’s religious or political beliefs.”

Employment expert Rob Wilson also adds that in many cases, asking about a person’s salary history could also be frowned upon. “There is a movement to remove questions about salary history from the interview process. Proponents say that this could help to repair the gender pay gap as well as racial pay gaps.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Why So Many Americans Are “Ghosting” Employers

Employco USA

Employment experts talks new trend and how it’s impacting the hiring process

Ghosting“Ghosting” (when a person ends a relationship with no communication or forewarning) has been a hot-button topic in the dating community for years, but now the word is being used in employment circles to describe a new and troubling trend of job applicants who simply disappear off an employer’s radar.

“Ghosting isn’t just for Tinder users anymore,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert. “It seems that our booming jobs economy has led to applicants who simply ‘disappear’ during the interview process. According to LinkedIn, many employers now say that the tides have turned on them…instead of applicants desperately hoping to get a call-back, hiring teams themselves now find themselves dealing with unanswered calls and candidates who suddenly go MIA without warning.”

Wilson says that the problem is such that some companies have even instituted changes to their hiring process, including putting multiple conditions on job offers. He also adds, “Instead of narrowing it down to just 1-2 qualified applicants and cutting everyone else loose, companies are now wisely holding onto all possibilities before assuming that their search is over. With so many job openings, applicants can now play fast and loose with opportunities, and sadly many of these applicants take the coward’s way out and simply disappear without any further communication.”

Along with this growing trend of ghosting job opportunities, Wilson says that many employees are now quitting their posts in droves. “According to the  Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of employees who have voluntarily left their jobs is almost DOUBLE that of the number of employees who were fired. And, in March of this year, 3 million Americans quit their jobs out of their own volition.”

While Wilson says it is wonderful that so many jobs are opening up and Americans now feel safe to quit their positions or seek new opportunities, he cautions that ‘ghosting’ possible employers is in very bad form and could come back to bite you in the future.

“Even if you decide you do not want to work with a company, it is a bad idea to just cease communication without giving the employer any idea of what is going on,” says Wilson. “You never know when you could wind up looking for a job again, or when you could find yourself at an industry event or networking dinner with that same hiring agent. It’s always best to treat people the way you would want to be treated, even in the hiring process.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Update: This blog post was quoted by Benefits Pro in an 07/13/18 article, read more here:
https://biv.com/article/2018/07/one-five-bosses-are-judging-their-employees-taking-lunch-breaks-study

Benefits Pro