Inflation and Employees: How Can Employers Help?

Inflation is increasingly affecting everyone’s life.  The Consumer Price Index has risen to nearly 8 percent between 2021 and 2022, a high that the United States has not seen in 40 years.  The prices of gasoline, food, clothing, and shelter have all increased because of the global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and oil supply issues from the war in Ukraine.  As a result, workers are experiencing a loss of buying power, which tends to affect lower-income households more than those of higher-income. Inflation is also expected to manifest in health care costs, which historically lags behind consumer price increases but generally tends to last longer, according to an expert quoted in SHRM.org. No one can predict how long these inflationary pressures will continue, but they are already causing financial strain in people’s everyday lives. This may prompt many employees to seek better compensation packages, posing a risk to employee retention.

Salary, Benefits, and Retention

The current combination of a tight labor market and rising inflation puts pressure on employers to increase salaries, or to consider more frequent raises and bonuses, in order to attract and retain talent.  Employers also need to be aware of the cost of health care and other benefits to employees and be prepared to keep their compensation packages competitive. Companies may not always have the budget to provide salary increases and bonuses that are significant enough to counteract increases in the cost of living. In order to strike a balance, employers can improve their benefits package by increasing coverage, or providing additional benefits, to lessen employees’ stress about caring for themselves and their families, which can ultimately support long-term retention.

The Importance of Family Building Benefits

Offering family building benefits can be a powerful tool in recruitment and retention, especially in competitive industries.  Family building benefits are increasingly in demand by employers and are becoming more popular with employees, from IVF coverage to fertility preservation.  A comprehensive benefit that covers LGBTQ+ as well as heterosexual employees shows your company supports all employees’ in their heartfelt desire to have a family. By implementing comprehensive family building benefits, or increasing coverage amounts for existing family building benefits already in place, employers can make their compensation packages more desirable to potential talent and current employees, assisting with recruitment and retention efforts. Providing a managed family building benefit can increase your employee’s chances of success at having a child, while helping the company contain health care expenses by reducing multiple births and managing treatment costs.  One of the advantages of WINFertility’s managed benefits is clinical oversight, which can help soften the impact of rising costs by stretching benefit dollars further. Specifically, WIN Nurse Care Managers are focused on clinically proven best practices and serve as the employees’ personal advocates by helping them choose the most appropriate doctors, medications and treatments. This efficient approach prevents employees from spending unnecessary time and money on ineffective treatments, allowing them to successfully pursue their dream of having a family with smarter spending in mind. Click here to learn more about how WIN’s managed family building benefits can lower costs and improve outcomes.