Workforce benefits

For Mark Gisler and his family, a lack of good assisted living facilities in his area spurred two generations of Gislers to make their mark on the care home industry in Northern California—and to create a workplace where employees can feel like family.

Kenitra “Keni” Dominguez was determined to expand Red Bay Coffee’s employee benefits when she became the sustainable coffee company’s Director of People and Culture in early 2018.

“Finding good employee benefits takes time, dedication and resources, and before I came to Red Bay, there was no one serving in a dedicated HR or people operations capacity, so I was essentially starting from scratch,” she said.

Ink Link Marketing has a unique approach to boosting the health and wellness of its employees. This includes monthly programs like “fitness-fat Friday,” where staffers are encouraged to come to the office in workout gear, exercise together and reward themselves afterward by visiting a local cupcake shop. 

When you talk to business owners about what make their business successful, they often say their employees are their number one assets. That’s certainly true for the Columbus small business I co-own with my father, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing. We want to keep our employees happy, and for us, part of how we do that is by offering paid family and medical leave via a short-term disability policy. But paid leave isn’t just about treating our employees well – it’s also boosted our bottom line by increasing employee retention and morale.

Many small businesses can’t afford an HR department, which means that benefits – like health insurance, paid leave and retirement – can be difficult and costly to administer. But employee turnover is expensive as well, costing an employer approximately 75 to 150 percent of an employee’s salary. Benefits can be key to reducing employee turnover, increasing employee productivity and ultimately boosting businesses’ bottom lines.