Independent healthcare practices face increasing pressure to offer competitive employee benefits in today’s labor market. With rising employee expectations, understanding which benefits to prioritize is crucial for independent practices to remain competitive. Stitch PEO’s report, Navigating Employee Benefits: Trends and Takeaways for Independent Practices, offers critical insights into the benefits most commonly offered by companies and how independent practices can effectively align their offerings with employee expectations. Below is a concise review of the report’s key findings. For a comprehensive look at the data, we recommend exploring the full report.
What Benefits Are Companies Offering?
The report identifies the benefits most likely to be offered by companies. Unsurprisingly, health insurance leads the list, alongside other key offerings such as paid time off, retirement plans, and flexible work arrangements. This data provides a clear picture of what employees expect in today’s competitive job market, especially as more companies adapt their benefits packages to remain competitive.
One of the most revealing aspects of the report is the emphasis on consistency across industries—companies of all sizes tend to offer these same core benefits, underscoring their importance. The report’s visual breakdown highlights these offerings, giving a clear indication of where independent practices should focus when designing benefits packages.
This graph illustrates which benefits are most frequently offered by companies, with health insurance, paid time off, and retirement plans leading the way. Understanding this data can help independent practices align their offerings with employee expectations.
Retirement Plans Are in High Demand
Another critical finding in the report is the increasing demand for retirement plans. Employees are showing a strong preference for benefits that offer long-term financial security, and retirement plans—particularly those with employer contributions—are among the most valued. Independent healthcare practices looking to attract and retain top talent should consider the importance of offering retirement benefits, especially given their rising importance to the workforce.
For independent healthcare practices, offering a competitive retirement plan can be a key differentiator in attracting and retaining top talent. By offering even modest employer contributions, independent practices can strengthen their benefits packages and improve their appeal to prospective employees.
This graph visually illustrates the levels of employer contributions to retirement plans across different companies, reinforcing the value employees place on financial security through their benefits.
The Importance of Flexibility
The report also highlights how flexibility has become a key factor in employee satisfaction. More companies are offering flexible work arrangements, including the ability to work remotely or adjust working hours. While these benefits are traditionally more common in other industries, they are becoming increasingly important in healthcare settings, particularly for roles like administrative or telemedicine positions.
Providing flexibility is not only about accommodating employee preferences but also about staying competitive in a landscape where employees value work-life balance more than ever. Practices that can adapt to these expectations are likely to experience higher employee satisfaction and retention.
Why These Findings Matter for Independent Practices
The findings of this report emphasize the need for independent practices to stay in line with broader industry trends in benefits offerings. While some benefits may seem challenging to implement for smaller organizations, understanding what employees prioritize can help independent practices make more informed decisions about where to invest in their benefits packages.
The report clearly shows that aligning benefits offerings with employee expectations—whether through health insurance, retirement plans, or flexibility—can have a significant impact on employee retention and satisfaction. Independent practices that want to stay competitive in today’s job market must prioritize these offerings to attract the talent they need.
Final Thoughts
The Navigating Employee Benefits: Trends and Takeaways for Independent Practices report from Stitch PEO provides invaluable insights into what employees value most in their benefits packages. Independent practices can use this data to make informed decisions about the benefits they offer, helping them stay competitive in attracting and retaining top talent.
For more detailed insights and data on employee benefits, download the full report today.