While a robust benefits plan can be an important incentive to both current and prospective employees, employee benefits management takes time and expertise, especially for today’s ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) facing rising health insurance premiums and changing regulations. To help clients keep up, MedHQ offers three suggestions for improving and streamlining the benefits management process.
“It’s critical to manage employee benefits proactively,” says Rita Hernandez Figi, MedHQ’s COO. “You can stay ahead of potential issues by making sure the benefits you offer are efficient, understood by your employees, competitive in your marketplace, and continually updated for compliance.”
Analyze Your Current Benefits
MedHQ’s first suggestion is to take a hard look at the benefits your ASC currently offers. The goal here is to understand which benefits are important to your employees, that is, which truly contribute to employee recruiting and retention. Following careful analysis, you may be able to eliminate benefits that are costly, time-intensive, and not necessary.
Educate Employees
The second thing ASC leaders can do when it comes to improving the benefits management process is to make sure employees have a full understanding of their benefits plan. Thorough communications – ongoing, in-person and online — helps ensure employees get the best benefits for their needs and can clear up often-confusing details saving time when it comes to answering individual questions. If you have open enrollment, it’s best to share educational materials 1-2 weeks beforehand.
Consider Outsourcing Benefits Management
Finally, if your ASC can’t afford professional human resources (HR) staff, outsourcing benefits management can be an efficient way to handle this important function. The only HR and Accounting Outsourcing company that specializes in the ambulatory surgery center market, MedHQ can assist in managing employee’s health and welfare benefits. We can analyze what is driving your premium increases, evaluate and negotiate other insurance options, and compare your benefits package against your market to make sure it is competitive for recruiting, while not overly costly. Because they’re focused only on HR, an outsourced group also is often more effective at making sure you stay compliant with laws and regulations.
