This post brought to you by MetLife. The content and opinions expressed below are
that of Carol Roth – Carolroth.com.
Few things are more important to a small business than the quality of your
employees. Without great talent to help your business grow, you will
struggle to reach your goals.
The right person in the right position can make a huge impact on smaller
companies. The wrong person in a position can hold your growth back at a
minimum, or possibly be a full-on disaster. One bad apple really can spoil
the whole barrel, as they say. This is especially prevalent in a small
business where employees have to work closely with one another.
You want to have your pick of the best candidates when you are looking to
hire. You want your small business to be the company that your top pick
would pick if they were to get more than one offer. A competitive salary
and the right fit are important, but so is the overall compensation
package.
One tweak that can make a small business more competitive is a killer, comprehensive benefits
package. Where many small businesses may think that they can’t compete
with larger organizations around benefits like life insurance, dental
insurance, vision and disability benefits, they don’t realize that they
truly can.
In fact, small business owners can have something
to offer prospective employees that truly narrows the gap between your
small business and the “big guys.” And that creates a big impact on your
ability to attract top talent.
Comprehensive benefits are increasingly easier and more cost effective to
implement as a small business owner. MetLife understands the challenges
small businesses face and has developed products for companies ranging from
2-99 employees, and has served more than 40,000 small businesses.
One of the benefits of working with MetLife is that they can provide a
range of products, while you only have to work with one company. One-stop
shopping equals more efficiency for you. This means you can focus on
running your business and providing the best perks to attract—and to
retain—the best possible employees for your business.
If your small business is in a highly competitive industry, you will
definitely want to consider whether adding additional benefits makes sense.
Your business will probably be competing against not only other small
businesses, but also against other companies who have better benefits
packages.
Let’s walk through an example:
Susan is an application developer and is looking for a new position.
She has great skills and the last company she worked for was an industry
leader. She will have her pick of offers from other industry leaders and
startups that want to decrease their time to market by leveraging the
knowledge she gained at her last position.
Susan receives two offers. One has a higher salary but no benefits. One
has a competitive salary, but also has benefits. Susan knows that she will
need vision and dental care while she is employed. The higher salary isn’t
her only consideration, and might not be her best option as she values the
additional benefits and perks that make her personal life easier to manage.
Here’s the thing, the best—the top talent—will have choices of employment
options, and will know their value in the marketplace. They will be looking
at the overall compensation packages of each job offer.
It makes sense for you to consider which benefits your small business could
offer to sweeten the deal—and entice the best candidate to accept your
offer.
Your investment in benefits could have a huge payoff in the form of your
dream employee. That’s a real return on your investment.
For more information on benefits that your small business can offer
existing and prospective employees, visit MetLife My Small Business.
