To Benefit or Not To Benefit – That is the Question

October 6, 2009 |
Valor

employee benefitBenefits that are offered to employees by California nonprofits are diverse, sometimes complex and constantly changing.  In this current economy of drastically decreasing agency budgets and increasing unemployment, do you feel that employees should be provided benefits or is having a job and receiving a paycheck benefit enough?
For this article, when referring to employee benefits I am excluding mandatory benefits such as Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and Family Medical Leave; as these are governed by state and federal statue.
Employers have used and continue to use employee benefits as a way to attract and retain highly qualified staff.  The employee benefits that employers offer have only been limited by agency budget constraints and or management’s imagination.  Some of the benefits that are offered by California nonprofits are medical, dental, and vision insurance, chiropractic services, acupuncture, retirement plans, long term care insurance, adoption assistance, child care benefits, transportation benefits, paid vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, bereavement leave, employee assistance program, relocation assistance, etc.
Every year Executive Directors, Directors and Managers spend hours and sometimes weeks discussing and reviewing documents to accurately forecast their next year’s financial situation to determine a workable personnel, program, and overall agency budget.  With nonprofit’s budgets decreasing and layoffs and anxiety increasing; management is taking a concise look at if the agency can afford to continue to offer full, partial or any benefits at all.
There are many difficult decisions facing agency management.  If your primary premise behind decreasing or cutting all employee benefits is solely financial then you may not have all the facts.  There are some things that cannot be measured in terms of money:

  • Increased employee morale
  • Increase pride in the agency
  • Increase productivity and dedication of the employee
  • Mutual appreciation of employee and employer

Providing employee benefits or not providing employee benefits is a crucial question for you to consider. 
Contact Kavin Black  at CALCASA for more information related to this topic.
Additional Resource:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Taxability of Employee Benefits
Society For Human Resource Management
California Department of Personnel Administration