If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from current events, it’s that we have to be flexible. During this unprecedented time, the traditional office model has flipped on its side. More workers are remote than ever before and physical worksites have new challenges and considerations that have impacted employee hours and participation in health plans. In response to the shifting business model, employee health benefit solutions are also adapting to address those new concerns. From hour banking to crucial needs like healthcare and short-term disability, flexibility in the benefits offered can help businesses work through these times.
Flexibility in Adversity
Since last March, each day has brought about new challenges and adjustments to the current reality. Workplaces and the general public are being impacted both by restrictions and shelter-in-place orders, as well as necessary adjustments to business operations as states begin to reopen. Many individuals still live with anxiety over the coronavirus and will be making very personal decisions, regarding their health. A comprehensive and flexible benefit solution can address employee concerns and provide greater cost savings to the business. Solutions like hour banking, retirement, and healthcare benefits can provide much needed flexibility during a crisis.
Specific Challenges Requiring Flexibility
Particular challenges that have reached the employers during the COVID-19 health crisis have sometimes threatened member plan eligibility and access to employee benefits. The closure of workplaces and certain social distancing measures have caused diminished work hours for part-time and full-time employees and lowered participation. This means that, now more than ever, employers must flexibly respond to these very unique circumstances as employees have a heightened need to take care of their personal health while they are concerned with continued access to their employer benefits.
Fight Crisis with Flexibility
There are flexible solutions available to government contractors. An hour bank, for example, can help maintain ‘active employee’ coverage despite fluctuations in work hours. Hour banks allow employees to store fringe dollars attributable to extra work hours worked into a “bank” that can then be used at a later time when there may be an hour ‘shortfall’. It’s helpful in situations where employees experience an hour shortage and struggle to satisfy the eligibility requirements for their health benefits.
ASO, or Administrative Services Only, solutions are another highly customizable and flexible solution. Building a comprehensive and specific benefits package with ASO can give employers an edge in forming a strong response to the needs of their employees.
Government contractors have always had options, but what they need most right now in this crisis, is flexibility. A combination of employer-sponsored benefits can address current market needs, adjust to fluctuating hours, and still have the potential to preserve cashflow for the business.
Boon can offer a host of customizable benefit solutions specially designed for the current market. Click here to learn more about flexible benefit solutions.
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