Why smarter benefits outperform raises in building long-term employee loyalty.
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Episode 29
A 2023 MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Study found that 73% of employees say having the right benefits increases their loyalty to their employer. Three benefits stand out as high-impact, low-complexity options that virtually every private practice can implement — regardless of size or budget.
Every unicorn employee prioritizes growth. But CE investment without accountability is just money spent. Brandon's approach: provide CE funding with an expectation of skill application. If you send someone to a conference or training, define what programs or changes they'll implement when they return. Learning and development are different — learning is comprehension, development is behavioral change. Measure both.
An FSA is a pre-tax benefit that helps employees cover healthcare and dependent care expenses — a win-win with minimal cost to the practice. Healthcare FSAs cover medications, copays, and therapy visits. Dependent care FSAs allow up to $5,000 pre-tax for childcare costs. For practices employing parents, this benefit can be a major retention driver at relatively low administrative burden.
Brandon's third recommendation challenges traditional thinking: give employees the choice to cash out unused PTO, ideally at 1.25x value as an incentive for working during those days. Why? Because in private practice, when a provider is out, revenue is typically lost. The 1.25x payout is offset by the revenue generated during those days. And for employees who love their work and would rather bank extra income than take time off, this is transformational. As Richard Branson said: take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.
