Winning Workplaces

Whether you're struggling to stay open in this economy or are trying to maintain growth, you will undoubtedly need to hire more workers once the recession ends. In either case, providing medical coverage for employees will be a key differentiator that determines whether top talent will beat a path to your door.

It appears, based on a Wall Street Journal article yesterday, that the number of small businesses that cover employees' medical coverage vs. those that do not (or will stop doing so) will be more imbalanced in the near term:

Around 10% are considering eliminating coverage over the next year, according to the National Small Business Association.
19% plan to stop providing healthcare benefits in the next 3-5 years, according to Hewitt Associates.

By comparison, all of our Top Small Workplaces, which we've honored the last two years in partnership with the Journal, offer medical insurance to their employees. What's more, the percentage of premium the companies cover, on average, for employees and their dependents has actually trended upward:

Sources: 1 | 2

Note: We don't have comparable data from the 2009 winners as they have not yet been selected. This year's winners will be announced in a WSJ Journal Report on September 28 and honored at our conference later that week.

The big question is, with this much investment in healthcare, what do these organizations get back? Namely:

Steady growth (revenues up 23% the last three years on average)
Average per-employee revenue of over $233,000
Strong employee tenure (6 years on average)
Low turnover (13% on average)
A business with a long life cycle (42 years in business on average)

So while times are tough and, as the Journal article notes, many firms are having to choose between offering coverage or laying people off, the case for continuing that investment is clear when it comes to recruiting, employee engagement, retention, and productivity.

If your organization still offers medical insurance, how is it contributing to more highly engaged employees and good team building?