ask-an-expert about :: controlling healthcare costs
Q :: i’m a small retailer in central massachusetts and am frightened our medical rates will keep jumping. is there anything i can do to prevent large increases? in the past i’ve paid the whole premium for my employees’ medical insurance, but there’s no way i can continue to afford this. what are my options?
A :: i have many clients anticipating medical rate increases. the good news is that as an employer who pays 100% of the premium, you have many options to reduce costs and offset large increases.
first, i’d recommend joining the retailers association of massachusetts. this group provides retailers (both small and large) with valuable information, resources and access to discounted insurance programs, including worker’s compensation. for more information visit their website (www.retailersma.org) or call (617) 523-1900.
you should also consult with a dedicated employee benefits broker to review your plan options, contribution strategy and funding options. employee benefits and plan options have become complicated, and a good broker will help you sort through the maze of options available. most brokers do not charge for the service and your rates do not increase as the result of working with a broker. in fact, a broker can often find significant savings for your company in the course of your plan review.
most good brokers will review all of your health plan options including healthcare reimbursement accounts and small group self-funded plans. a good healthcare consultant will also review your requirements under massachusetts and federal healthcare reform and offer guidance on how to stay compliant.
members of the main street ventures small business community can ask for and receive specific recommendations for brokers and service providers who have in-depth knowledge of specific industries and current best practices with respect to plan design and ways to control escalating costs.
most of my clients no longer pay 100% of the medical premiums. instead, many have required employees to share in the cost of many of the employee benefits (especially medical). over the last several years i’ve seen a shift where employees pay for a greater percentage of the costs. many of my clients pay for 50-75% of the medical care costs while the employee pays for the remaining portion.
employee communication is also important. do your employees understand you’ve been picking up the entire premium for their medical expenses? this is a practice that is almost unheard of in 2011, and it’s to your advantage to assure your employees understand the value of this benefit. if nothing else, it makes conversations about cost-sharing much easier when they recognize the full value of their total compensation.
pattie sinacole is founder & ceo of first beacon group, a human resources consulting and outsourcing firm. she’s helped countless companies create competitive advantage by providing an affordable array of professional services that lends “big company” expertise and resources to the smallest of organizations. ask-an-expert members can bring her talents to bear on issues ranging from regulatory compliance to creating benefits plans.
how managing risk can grow sales
“as a small-business owner, i sleep like a baby. i go to bed at 8 p.m. and wake up at midnight screaming my head off.” — unknown
according to the institute for business and home safety, a quarter of small businesses permanently shut down because of business interruptions following a “disaster.” what’s a “disaster?” anything ranging from natural events like floods and earthquakes to human frailties like sickness and injury to technology failures like computer crashes and security breaches.
most small business owners focus on investing their time, money and effort in activities that grow sales. so planning for a “disaster” that may never occur is usually at the bottom of the to-do list (if it even makes it on the list). but what if basic disaster planning can actually position a business to be more successful? well it can, and here are just two examples of how risk management can also grow your bottom line.
did you know there are businesses out in the world that spread nasty rumors about their competitors’ businesses? or that negative reviews posted by dissatisfied customers in a variety of on-line locations can often dominate the results list when people search for your business? how much would your business stand to lose if just 10 customers stop themselves from making a purchase because of what they read about your business?
it’s easy to understand how on-line reputation represents a major risk point for your business, but did you know it can also be an area for generating revenue. how? because effective reputation management dovetails nicely with other on-line marketing efforts (such as content marketing, digital advertising and search engine optimization). coordinating efforts across both arenas makes the resulting impact of both far more substantial.
unless you’re an expert across a wide variety of arenas, hiring a good reputation management service is your best bet for turning risk management into sales. for most businesses it will be a small investment, and you can easily measure how it more than pays for itself within no time at all. [ DISCLAIMER :: reputation911.com is a client ]
what are your contracts really saying to customers and prospective customers?
maybe you went on-line and downloaded contract templates to use in your business. maybe you hired an attorney to create your key documents. either way, they’re bound to suffer from a terminal case of legalese.
no matter how smart or sophisticated your customers may be, none of them want to spend time trying to interpret legalese. or worse, spending money on a lawyer to do it for them.
and when a contract is too long and complex, it will often call your intent into question. a simple, clear & transparent agreement (especially around pricing and deliverables), on the other hand, conveys a high level of trust and professionalism.
all other things being equal, if a prospective customer is facing a contract filled with legalese over a contract that’s simple to understand, which company do you think she’s going to end up doing business with?
so why settle for simply managing potential problems when you can advance your business & its opportunities? yeah, it’s a shameless plug, but it’s also the way a business owner needs to be thinking about business if they want to be successful.
jack speranza is an attorney, small business owner and principal of main street ventures. for 15 years he has helped his companies and his clients strike the right balance between risk and reward by weaving good business, good technology and good law into new services and operations.
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