Top Ten HR Issues for 2013-2014

Friday, February 14, 2014

 

Bi-annually, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) publishes a “Workplace Forecast” in which a sample of SHRM members voice their concerns and issues for the current and coming year.  The last Workplace Forecast was released as of May 2013.  Prior versions of the “Workplace Forecast” were released in 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005, and 2003.  Since 2005, the # 1 issue and concern for SHRM members has been the cost of employee health care.(Table 1)  And, the # 1 issue and concern for SHRM members looking at 2013 and beyond, is the cost of employee health care.(Table 2)  When questioned about the key factors in recruiting and retaining workers, SHRM members again cited the cost of employee health care as # 1.(Fig. 16 & Fig. 17)

 

Of the myriad issues and concerns facing HR professionals and their businesses what makes the cost of employee health care the # 1 problem for so many organizations?

 

Health care is expensive for both employers and their employees!  As an increasing number of employers move to high deductible plan designs, employees see the cost of health care with every office visit or trip to the pharmacy.

 

The Kaiser Family Foundation reported in its 2013 Employee Health Benefits survey, the cost of a PPO style plan was:
 

                                        Typical PPO Style Plan Costs

                Employee   Percent      Employer   Percent          Total

Single        $1,024         17%         $  5,008        83%         $  6,032

Family       $4,587         28%         $12,084        72%          $16,671

E X H I B I T B

Average Annual Firm and Worker Premium Contributions and Total Premiums for
Covered Workers for Single and Family Coverage, by Plan Type, 2013.

 

Health care is at the center of most employees’ focus!  Unlike benefits such as retirement, health care is something even a healthily person will experience several times a year.  For those employees with chronic illnesses, it could be weekly.

 

It becomes clear that for many candidates, given equal choices, the employer with the less costly and better managed health care plan is likely to win out in the bidding for that talent.  If health care is so important in recruiting and retaining talent, that organization which better manages the cost and delivery of health care will have a comparative advantage in the effort to acquire and retain talent.

 

As noted above, health care is expensive!  Managing that cost is not simple; witness the thousands of pages of laws, rules, and regulations promulgated by the Federal government and its agencies aimed at just that effort.  Educating and informing employees on the costs of health care procedures can go a long way to helping employees understand the value they are getting out of their health care plan.

 

The same approach when used with potential candidates can build an employer’s brand in the eye of job seekers.  Candidates who can appreciate the efforts of an organization to manage health care are more likely to be an engaged employee.  And a talented, skilled, and engaged employee is what most employers seek.