Many of our businesses are in the throes of working on budgeting for 2025. One of the biggest line items for most businesses is payroll and benefits. Another big concern is employee retention and the task of constantly needing to train new people.
What benefits, if any, can you offer that help retain good people? Most think it is all about health care coverage. And, in many cases, health care is the biggest benefit employees are looking for. However, there are other health care options and things you can do to create meaningful benefits.
The Chamber will be hosting an Employee Benefit and Retention Forum on Dec. 5 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Ross Aragon Community Center.
Included in this forum will be representatives from various health care options showing an array of health care offerings or navigation systems that you or your employees might be able to utilize.
In addition, we will be discussing other benefit “perks” or options that you might be able to offer as an employer.
Think you know all the answers or have exhausted the ideas on various perks you could offer as an employer? I can guarantee you have not. I am amazed at some of the creative options that I am hearing businesses offer these days.
If you are one of those employers that has thought outside the box, please attend this forum and share your ideas. If you are an employer looking for ideas, please attend this forum. If you are looking at ways that you might be able to offer, in part or total, health care options, please attend this forum.
We have agencies including Archuleta County Public Health, Pagosa Springs Medical Center, Peak Health Alliance (formerly Elevate Health Plans), direct primary care options (which are very popular in certain communities), sliding scale payment options and business owners sharing other benefit options.
If you can’t offer full health care coverage, what other options might you be able to offer? Do you know what new services our local health care providers and agencies are offering?
The health care world is changing quickly and, as an employer, to retain good employees, you need to be able to offer your employees options.
We have some creative retention/perks that employers are offering. We want you to attend the forum, so we won’t mention some of them in this article.
However, just saying thank you and rewarding staff is an important part of business ownership. What an employee considers a perk, we may not. So, have you even asked your employees what local perk they might like? The forum is free, snacks will be provided and it is open to business and individuals alike.
As we get ready for 2025, please learn more about what options are out there for you as a business owner or an individual. Some of them are more reasonable than you think.
Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30
Small Business Saturday is an important date to shop local.
Not only do businesses offer great deals and giveaways to get you into the store, you are also supporting your neighbors and friends in their livelihood.
All throughout the year, our nonprofit agencies receive tens of thousands of dollars in goods, gift cards and cash to keep their services going. How about thanking our stores and restaurants for their generosity? Can you imagine what our community would be like if these businesses weren’t so generous?
As we shop small, we also send the message that our community wants and supports small business. Why would someone move here and open a business if not supported by the locals?
Remember that you are supporting businesses that provide jobs. And people in these jobs more often provide you with a personal touch and better customer service than anything you get online.
If we don’t support our local tax base, we are at risk of losing some of that tax base, and that in turn affects our infrastructure needs.
So, shop small. Say thank you. Make it a fun day with family and friends and shop, eat and be merry in Pagosa Springs.
