Managing Costs: Should You Pass Benefit Premiums on to Your Employees?
By Michele MactaggartManaging costs effectively is crucial for the sustainability and growth of any company. One significant expense that often comes under scrutiny is employee benefits and insurance premiums. Employee benefits, especially health insurance, represent a substantial portion of overall compensation costs. With the continuous rise in healthcare expenses, many businesses find it increasingly difficult to bear […]
Prioritizing Wellness: Discussing Benefits with Your Team
By Michele MactaggartIn today’s professional landscape, where work-life balance is often elusive, prioritizing wellness in the workplace has become more important than ever. As a leader or manager, it’s essential to initiate conversations about benefits and wellness with your team to ensure their overall health and productivity. Addressing these topics is crucial for fostering a positive and […]
How can I lower my costs without reducing coverage for my employees?
By Michele MactaggartOne of biggest challenges in finding a benefits plan for an SME is the concept of cost vs. functionality. No two people, let alone an entire workforce, are living the same life, facing the same challenges, or experiencing the same hardships at one time; so how can you as an employer get the most functionality […]
How can benefits help make my business stronger?
By Michele MactaggartAs a small business owner, you’ve signed on to wear many hats in your day-to-day operations: manager, accountant, customer service… maybe even occasional therapist. It’s a balancing act, but if you’ve been able to master it, congratulations! That’s no small feat. While many small businesses prove that a job or service can be well executed […]
Benefits for Smaller Small Business
By Michele MactaggartSmall businesses face tough challenges when it comes to recruiting (and retaining!) top talent because the job market is competitive, and as a small business owner, you’re competing with companies of all sizes. To remain successfully competitive in today’s business world, it’s imperative for small businesses to be offering employees real value, which means meeting […]
Asking the Right Questions: Employee Benefits Surveys + Template
By Michele MactaggartThere’s a phrase I like that says, “if you don’t ask, you’ll never know,” which I think applies to most things in life, and your employees’ job satisfaction is no different. But we usually only hear answers to the questions we’re asking, and sometimes miss out on pertinent information. It may be time to ask […]
Holiday Giving: Benefits for All
By Michele MactaggartAs our children eagerly count down the days until Santa’s arrival, thousands of charities across the country await donations and volunteering that will allow them to continue making a difference in their communities. According to Imagine Canada, over 40 percent of all annual donations happen the last eight weeks of the year. This year, the […]
Hybrid Work Environments: Company Benefit or a Way of the Future?
By Michele MactaggartWhat used to be a luxury quickly became the only viable option for sustainable operation when things came to a halt back in 2020. If you were in an industry that didn’t require you to be physically present, well, you weren’t – and over the last two and a half years, companies have begun to […]
Value Over Cost – How to Positively Approach Benefit Renewals
By Michele MactaggartWhen it comes to employee group benefits, the whole administrative process can be daunting – what makes it worse? When you go to renew, and the cost has spiked. What’s that all about? Group benefit costs in Canada are forecasted to rise 7 per cent in 2022. A combination of higher costs for prescription drugs, […]
Going Against the Grain – Staffing up during COVID
By Michele MactaggartFew small businesses moved through the pandemic without experiencing monumental change. For one company, the “pandemic pivot” didn’t mean retreating but instead providing full-time jobs with benefits. Two years ago (almost to the day), when panic and uncertainty prevailed, businesses of all sizes across the country were forced to make some difficult decisions. Finances were […]
