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| Free Hospitality Publications |
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Restaurant Industry News
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Tuesday October 24th, 2006 |
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Hot Labor Market, Low Unemployment Numbers Make Good Benefits 'Competitive Mandatory'
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According to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, employee productivity is up, unemployment continues to stay low at less than five percent, and hourly earnings for workers continues to increase. |
Great news - if you're not in an industry that employs 500 or more part-time or hourly workers. The bottom line: it's harder to find qualified hourly and part-time employees to either pitch in for upcoming seasonal work, or remain in backbone industries like hospitality, retail and restaurant.
According to research from national specialty staffing and recruiting services firm Ajilon Office, one of the top five reasons workers stay in a job - having access to medical and dental insurance. The same study shows that seeking better benefits is citied as a top five reason for leaving. Fortunately, according to Susan Nicolai, Director of Marketing, Planned Administrators, Inc., the administrator for EssentialCare, industries employing a significant number of part-time and hourly workers have new choices in providing quality benefits and healthcare options.
'Employers are worried about the future of attracting the hourly and part-time workforce, as well as pending legislative pressures that may mandate benefits being provided to employees,' Nicolai explains. 'The labor pool over the next five years is only going to get increasingly more competitive, and retention and recruitment advantages are going to be key. Insurance is not the only reason quality workers join or stay, but it does play a significant role. EssentialCare can mitigate a major worry of workers and employers alike.'
Nicolai encourages human resources and operational executives to seek out quality part-time and hourly worker insurance options that provide flexibility to the employee, without being a drain to an employer's bottom line.
Nicolai adds that providing such insurance is the beginning of education for workers who may be unfamiliar with insurance. Limited benefits give part-time and hourly employees tools to be more effective in their health care decisions and in seeking proactive treatment and prevention, better ensuring a healthy workforce - a la fewer sick days, Nicolai says. Finally, she says, limited benefits, while not catastrophic coverage, are a practical first step for workers and employees as part of a holistic and nationwide healthcare insurance solution.
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