Companies are looking at their benefits strategies in a serious way. A new Gallagher Survey says 40% of employers have considered re-evaluating their benefits strategy or philosophy as a result of changing economic and business conditions. The survey found that employers are considering plan design changes (47%), vendor or carrier changes (42%) or increased employee cost-sharing (43%).
The latest survey also identified that 45% of employers have indicated that the current economic conditions have impacted their organization’s culture:
How has this manifested itself?
- Reported higher levels of stress and burnout among employees (70%)
- Reduced morale and employee engagement (51%)
- Increased workload due to staff shortages (50%) despite 51% of employers holding steady at their current workforce headcount.
- Decreased job security or fear or layoffs (42%)
Also, when asked to rate overall sentiment about workplaces, 44% of people either felt neutral, negative or very negative. Whereas outlook for the labor market for the next year was 65% neutral, pessimistic and very pessimistic.
In response, nearly 30% of employers have increased salaries with more than a quarter (26%) providing flexible work arrangements in response to labor market challenges. Recruiting efforts are also evolving, with 34% citing soft/human skills (e.g., communication teamwork, empathy) as the most critical skills sought in new hires, followed by adaptability (32%) and technical skills (21%).
Also, employers are addressing skills gap by hiring skilled professionals (36%), upskilling current employees (51%), internal training (60%), and partnerships with educational institutions (21%). Eight percent said they are not experiencing skill gaps, while 2% said “other” and eight percent said they were unsure of how they will address the issue.
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