America's Benefit Specialist October 2022

BENCHMARKING

KEY NATIONAL FINDINGS

THE NEED FOR FLEXIBLE BENEFITS The workforce is made up of the most diverse population of gen erations, from Baby Boomers to Generation Z. The expectations of employees vary greatly, and employers are finding themselves needing to be more creative and flexible in the benefits they offer to accommodate these different generations in order to attract and retain top talent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by ChamberofCommerce.org, 244,000 Idaho employees - or 3.1% of those employed in the state, quit in 2021. Idaho ranked 12th in the U.S. for rate of quits. Nationwide, three percent of workers quit last year, nearly 47 million people. KEY REGIONAL FINDINGS

KEY REGIONAL FINDINGS When reviewing different Idaho markets’ compensation bench marks for the top 10 most in-demand entry-level jobs, it was estab lished that when looking at the national benchmark, Boise wages averaged 10.1% below, Idaho Falls averaged 16.5% below and Coeur d’Alene averaged 7.3% below.

NATIONAL TREND Employees have always preferred being able to customize their individual benefit portfolios to their lives. However, in 2021 many started re-evaluating what those benefits could, and should, entail. That means employers need to offer more benefits for their work force to choose from if they want to retain and attract top talent. In 2020, medium and large organizations increased the total number of benefits they offered but doing so didn’t seem feasible for smaller companies. This year, there was growth across the board and small organization offerings grew the most at over 10%.

Entry-level positions included in the benchmark report: ac counting clerk, administrative assistant, cashier, customer service rep, driver, food service worker, laborer, manufacturing technician, nursing assistant and sales rep. THE RISE OF SELF-FUNDING As more employers face rising costs to offer benefits, many are turning to self-insuring as a way to continue to offer a competitive benefits package. For decades, self-insuring was a funding mecha nism only available to large employers but, thanks to the emergence of new programs over the last five to 10 years, employers with as few as 50 employees are finding self-insuring a more viable option. KEY REGIONAL FINDINGS

TRAINING TO TRANSFORM EMPLOYEES While 70% of regional employers reported adding online strategies to reach applicants, less than 37% reported increased spending on training and professional development, while less than 18% reported increasing virtual learning programs to supplement training. However, according to a national study by SurveyMon key, 86% of employees say that job training is important to them and nearly three out of every four employees are willing to learn things outside of work hours to improve their job performance. Additionally, only 52% of employees think their employer provides the right amount of training, lack mentorship programs, or fail to provide continued education. Continued on page 14

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