Author Archives: CorpStrat News

Inflation’s Impact on 2023 Open Enrollment

Many employees are currently feeling financially strained because of the impacts of inflation. The cost of everything has gone up in their lives — from the price of a chicken breast to a gallon of gas to healthcare. As Open Enrollment draws near and employees are poised to make their annual selections, we’re starting to see the impact inflation will have on the choices employees make in regards to their benefits.

Employees are feeling the squeeze.

According to The Hartford’s Future of Benefits Pulse Survey, 40% of U.S. workers reported that they will cut back on the Benefits they select during 2023’s Open Enrollment because of inflation. People are really feeling the squeeze on their finances — a lack of pay increases is made even worse by inflation — and as a result, they may make some tough choices to scale back when it comes to their Benefits selections. Without relief in the form of salary increases or help in increased employer contributions, many workers are expected to cut back on their benefits.

The perfect storm.

As an employer, the impact of inflation on their employees’ finances may make Open Enrollment more challenging than usual. Inflation has placed Employee Benefits at the forefront of many employers’ attraction and retention strategies. Employers have worked hard to put together creative offerings that are appealing. However, the combination of employers trying to ramp up Benefit offerings because they’re not able to offer pay increases that keep pace with inflation and employees not having as much spending power for said Benefits is creating the perfect storm.

What can employers do?

It’s important that going into Open Enrollment, employers take steps to help their employees better understand their Benefits options so they can make more informed decisions. This can help employees better protect themselves and their families in the upcoming year. Employers can assist employees this open enrollment season by doing the following:

Use multiple communication channels.
Employ clear language that features personalized messaging. Don’t just throw bullet points at them and expect them to absorb everything. Demonstrate how the insurance products relate to their lifestyle, financial security, and overall wellness.
Highlight the services that come with coverage. Employees often genuinely want to know that they’re choosing the plan that will benefit them the most. Sometimes, even when they choose the right plan, they don’t know how to optimize it. Communicate how they’re actually being covered and educate them on how they can best optimize these benefits.
Help employees look into the future. Finances may be tough right now and there are certain Benefits that they don’t absolutely need in the moment. Employers can help clearly communicate that cutting back on Benefits can actually place them in more financial harm.
Use creative storytelling. A lot of Benefits details can go over the majority of peoples’ heads. Create clear examples of what these Benefits might actually look like in real world situations that are relatable and understandable.
Listen to your employees year round. If your employees have specific feedback, take the time to listen. Try and understand what their pain points are so you can support them and retain your best team members.

Why clear communication matters.

Employers have the opportunity to simplify and personalize their open enrollment this year. This will help employees determine how best to allocate their potentially limited resources strained by inflation.

Let’s take the Health FSA Limit Increase for 2023 as an example. On Oct. 18, 2022, the IRS announced various inflation-adjusted tax limits for 2023, including the limit on employees’ salary reduction contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) offered under cafeteria plans. Many employees may not fully understand what this will mean for them. Increasing the FSA limit by 7% is meant to alleviate some financial concerns. In short: this increase can be helpful to workers. But without clear communication, many employees may overlook the details of this Benefit entirely.

By communicating effectively and providing employees with Benefits information through multiple communication channels, employers can help them optimize their resources and make the best benefits selections for themselves and their families during this period of financial difficulty.

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If you need help with your Open Enrollment, let’s talk. Email us at marketing@corpstrat.com

Round out your Benefits by bringing in HR & Payroll. Here’s why.

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Open Enrollment is just around the corner and it seems like every company is trying to get their hands in your pocket. Whether it’s Payroll companies, software companies, retirement companies, plan vendors, or companies like ADP and Paychex, everyone has a “better solution” that they want to sell you. Upon closer examination, these “better solutions” all lack a piece that is generally critical to your business.

What if there was one place where you could manage it all: your “people” business processes, Employee Benefits, and Human Resources?

That’s where CorpStrat comes in. We can help you streamline your Employee Benefits, Human Resources, and Payroll to one location to make your life easier. Streamlining is an extremely effective tool that we believe will help simplify your life.

Here are some benefits of bringing your HR and Payroll into your Employee Benefits:

1. Personalized support.

No more wasting an entire day calling multiple companies and STILL not getting the answer you need. By streamlining your HR and Payroll into your Benefits, you call one number and reach someone who knows and cares about your business. Also we have a variety of experts on our team, from insurance to Human Resources, to Employee Benefits.

2. A comprehensive approach to your Benefits.

No more expensive piecemeal solutions that all don’t do what you actually need. We’ll help manage all the complexity and ensure compliance so you don’t have to stress.

3. Benchmarking gives you complete confidence.

Your CorpStrat advisor is working with hundreds of other employers so they know exactly what’s happening in the marketplace. You get real-time benchmarking, not last years’ assessment, so you know you’re being presented with the best options.

4. Cutting edge products.

We are in the trenches with carriers and underwriters daily. This means we’re constantly gaining insights into the best ways to use and design plans, which helps us deliver the best, custom plan for you and your team.

5. Coordinated approach to growing your business.

At CorpStrat, we’re not just passive participants. We strive to be a part of your advisory team and seek to collaborate with your professional advisory team, especially when there are tax or legal aspects to address.

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If you don’t currently work with us on Benefits or Payroll and you are still dangerously using Google to find HR answers, reach out to us. What we are offering could potentially help save you money, time, and make your business more effective. We take pride in being hands-on, non-call-center partners that are committed to helping employers manage their most important assets: their people.

Email us at marketing@corpstrat.com today.

Employees now rank healthcare as more important than salary.

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Employees are now ranking healthcare as more important than salary increases. With healthcare insurance premiums rising again this fall, employers are faced with a unique challenge: revisiting the balance between salary increases, compensation, and benefits. Remember, this is all happening in a competitive market in which employees are no longer as connected to the companies they work for.

With a volatile economy and employees adhering to a remote-first work attitude, a recent survey showed that 70% of employees rank healthcare coverage as the most important benefit when considering a job change. They may not know the intricate mechanics of health plans, but they want the assurance of being taken care of, both physically and mentally. They’re also keenly aware of the amount that’s coming out of their paychecks through co-pays and monthly fees.

For employers, this focus on Benefits over salary can present a huge opportunity. If you listen to what your employees actually want, you can present them a Benefits package that’s creative and fresh. This can help you increase retention without breaking the bank.

Here are a few things that employers can do to keep their offerings fresh:

1. Revisit your benefits package.

Employees like choices! Make sure there is a full array of products including things like financial planning, legal, and Voluntary Benefits. Include perks that can increase morale like flexible work hours, fitness discounts, or career development opportunities. Don’t underestimate how little things can make a big difference in building good will with your employees.

2. Communicate the value of your benefits.

Spend time and resources in communicating the value of your benefits. Most employees won’t dig deep into benefit brochures on their own so be sure to highlight your offerings. Be transparent about why you’ve painstakingly chosen the plans they’re being offered.

Make this process fun! Create easy to understand graphics so all the information is digestible. If you’re in office, invite your employees to participate in an information session with a catered lunch or snacks. If you’re a primarily remote team, hold an informational Zoom session and send everyone who joins a free gift card for coffee to encourage them to attend. Do what you can to help your employees understand how much value they can gain from their Benefits package.

3. Go Digital

Make sure your benefit enrollment and communication has gone digital. The days of paper communication are long over! Employees want easy mobile access for every step of their Benefit enrollment and management. The less pain points there are in the enrollment and management of their Benefits, the more autonomy and agency they feel they have. Having a robust mobile application also builds confidence in employees that 1.) their data is secure and 2.) their company is using technology that’s with the times.

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At CorpStrat we pride ourselves in helping employers do all of the above. If you know of an employer who could benefit from our service and guidance, please recommend us. It’s that time of year when everyone deals with this issue and we are MONEY when it comes to these issues.

If you need help making sure your benefits packages are the best they can be, give us a call.

Make your benefits sizzle by bringing them into your HCM

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If you have a robust Human Resource Management (HRMS) tool, you could be missing out on the full benefits of technology and automation if you’re not adding your Employee Benefits management into it.

It might be surprising to hear but employees rank Employee Benefits as the number two reason they stay at or switch jobs. That’s right, Employee Benefits are second only to salary. Ensuring your Employee Benefits are vibrant, easily understandable, and technologically advanced will help you manage your costs, communicate your offerings clearly, and streamline your processes. Not to mention, it will give your employees the confidence that they’re truly valued and are receiving the best possible benefits in the market.

Being efficient matters.

During the annual Open Enrollment, which is just around the corner, employers have the ability to deliver many more options. Sometimes this can mean passing on costs to employees for a broad range of plans, like Voluntary. But the fact is, no matter how many appealing options are available, if an employer doesn’t have the technology that enables them to communicate these options and deliver these benefits, everyone loses out.

Money can’t solve everything.

Now this doesn’t mean you can just throw money at the problem. Just because you’ve purchased an expensive HCM platform doesn’t solve all your problems. You need to supplement your HRMS with skilled leadership and guidance to strategize on how to engage your team. Without this, you risk not being able to balance technology, wellness, and culture. That’s where we come in.

We’d like to help.

At CorpStrat we make this process seamless. We’re benefit experts to the core. Our team of trusted, experienced licensed providers is available to you, with no call centers or 800 numbers to get in the way. We’re real people helping real people, like yourself.

If CorpStrat isn’t your broker, let’s have a conversation. Just ask any of our clients about the value we create. We want to help you make your benefits sizzle. Give us a call at (818) today!

Are You Unintentionally Breaking CA Lunch Break Laws?

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california lunch punch laws

As an employer, you already have so many things to worry about, from delivering the best Employee Benefits packing to retaining and attracting your top employees. The last thing you want is to run into substantial fines for breaking California’s hyper specific wage and hour laws. Today we’re talking about how important it is to have a plan and policy in place to ensure compliance so you don’t end up having to pay big money.

Decoding lunch punch laws.

You might be saying, “I’m not so worried about this.” Well, here’s a simple example that shows just how complex this can get:

Let’s say your employee is eating lunch at their desk. Are they:

Working
Taking a break
On their lunch hour

Not so easy to nail down, is it? Making sure employees get their required breaks and that these breaks are recorded properly is a bigger challenge than it seems on the surface.

California law says employees must receive a full break allowance, so rounding up time clock punches is no longer a permitted activity. An employee who is not relieved of all their duties during their lunch break is still considered “on duty.” This includes employees who are relieved of all duties but must remain on the work site. An “on duty” meal break still counts as hours worked and must be compensated at the employee’s standard rate of pay. On top of this, now that so many teams are working remotely, it’s even more impossible to track when an employee is “on duty” accurately. More so than ever, you need to have a robust Time and Attendance system in place to ensure Compliance.

A great Time and Attendance system can make recording employee breaks virtually foolproof. Employees can use a smart phone app or web portal to clock in and out electronically from anywhere. This system is a win-win, it gives employees a simple way to track their time while providing you with an accurate account of the time worked and robust reporting so you can get a good look at the productivity and efficiency of your company.

Without a great Time and Attendance system to help you automate certain processes and accurately track your employees’ work hours and breaks, you can easily end up mired in a costly Wage and Hour dispute. Wage and Hour disputes are the number one, most popular lawsuits facing employers today. Let’s make sure you’re not next, get a plan in place.

If you don’t have a plan, give us a call at 818.377.7260