Learn how to measure the return on employee benefits instead of treating them as sunk costs.
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Episode 28
A 2023 PwC Employee Benefits Survey found that 60% of employees would leave their current job for one with better benefits — even if salary remained the same. Most private practices are losing this battle not because they don't care, but because they don't have a strategy. Brandon calls the missing ingredient "fiscal literacy": helping employees understand the real financial value of the benefits they're receiving.
Many practice owners design benefit packages based on what they think employees value — then get frustrated when those benefits don't drive loyalty or retention. The better approach: make the full cost of each benefit visible, then give employees a framework to choose how that money is allocated. Health insurance, PTO, continuing education, gym memberships, student loan repayment — each has a dollar value that can be transparently communicated.
It's worth noting: group health plans are rarely cheaper than individual plans. Brandon advocates for exploring high-deductible plans where appropriate, supported by HSA/FSA accounts, as a way to stretch employee dollars further while keeping costs manageable for the practice.
Brandon's framework: Net Profit (financial impact minus total benefit cost) ÷ Investment × 100. If you spend $100,000 on benefits and generate $150,000 in measurable financial impact — through reduced turnover, absenteeism savings, and productivity gains — your ROI is 50%. Track this with qualitative surveys, utilization rates, and retention metrics.
Creative benefit ideas that top practices are implementing: cash-out PTO at 1.25x rate for employees who elect to work on designated days, on-site daycare partnerships, sabbatical earning programs, financial wellness coaching, and pet-friendly policies. As Mary Kay Ash said, a company is only as good as the people it keeps — and how you invest in those people defines whether they stay. Brandon's conference case study: one practice owner brought his entire team and hired a private masseuse for each attendee — an unforgettable benefit that cost a fraction of what turnover would.
