With all the changes affecting health care and premiums, you, along with your Head and Board, might be looking for additional benefits to offer your faculty and staff. Not necessarily medical or life insurance benefits, but instead small changes or alterations to your schoolwide policies that can be perceived as beneficial, helping lift some of the frustrating focus off increasing premiums and diminishing coverages.
Common employee benefits are typically thought of as paid vacation time (offered by 75% of small businesses), health insurance plans (offered by 61% of small businesses; offered by 79% of ISM Consortium schools), paid sick time (offered by 59% of small businesses), disability insurance (offered by 41% of small businesses; Long Term Disability insurance offered by 74% of ISM Consortium schools), life insurance plans (offered by 29% of small businesses; offered by 85% of ISM Consortium schools), and dental insurance (offered by 24% of small businesses; offered by 36% of ISM Consortium schools). These benefits help your school both attract and retain some of the brightest, mission-appropriate faculty and staff. However, offering health insurance plans and/or life and disability coverages isn’t always practical for small schools. During transition periods, such as the one our economy is currently lingering in, policies such as these can be challenging for even the largest of schools.* Yet, again, it’s vital to your school’s success to attract talented personnel who can help communicate your mission and enhance your school’s culture.
Your school can (and probably already does) offer advantages for joining the team besides employee insurance packages. Leveraging these, you can reposition your school to be more attractive to those who share your school’s values, but who are teetering between your school and your competition.
Support a faculty evaluation system that nurtures and develops. Faculty evaluations have been a hot topic for several years. Public and private schools alike have been searching for a way to measure teacher success that focuses on student excellence. Evaluations should be about professional growth—implement a supportive faculty evaluation system and it will become your school’s greatest benefit. (Our Comprehensive Faculty Development book takes an in-depth look at implementing a supportive faculty evaluation system.)
Organize a wellness program and encourage participation. Any form of a fitness program, assistance with smoking cessation, and stress-reduction activities (such as garden clubs and walking groups) will improve productivity and potentially reduce absenteeism. Wellness programs not only impact your employees’ lives, they also help manage rising health care costs—a win/win for both your school’s bottom line and your employees’ overall satisfaction.
Implement computer loan and purchase programs. If your school has old laptops, tablets, and computers that are no longer being used, consider offering your faculty and staff an interest-free loan or buy option. Determine time limits and dollar amounts, create a contract, and perhaps design a lottery system if interest is high.
Provide community discounts and savings. Many schools are heavily involved in their communities. Students host events, charity drives, community service—on and on the possibilities go—and certainly they don’t start and end with your student body’s activities. Chances are your faculty and staff are just as involved in their surroundings as your kids are. Offering discounts and saving opportunities to local restaurants, boutiques, and the like can be a real benefit! Also, offering vendor savings to your employees can also be a highlight. One site worth investigating is anyperk.com. It offers savings on fitness, shopping, services, travel, and entertainment for a low monthly fee.
Establish policies on vacation, sick time, and personal days. Schools' policies on time off vary. Some offer a fixed number of days that includes sick, personal, and vacation time; some offer fixed vacation time but are more flexible with sick time. Allowing employees to decide how much time off they can take can become a slippery slope, but it can also help motivate them to work harder. (Studies reveal both ends of the spectrum.) ISM stands by schools creating policies that match their mission and culture. We also believe that employees need time to recharge and fully regroup.
*Protecting your faculty and staff is as important as protecting your students. The foundation of health care is changing in America, and, yes, companies and schools alike are facing laws mandating policy alterations—some of which will increase premiums. It has never been more important than it is now to work with a broker and an organization that understands the unique climate of private-independent schools. ISM offers insurance solutions—protection options—to schools of all sizes. We’ve been working with schools for nearly four decades, consulting, leading, and partnering with them to assure a stable future for generations. We’re not just an insurance provider—we’re your 360° Risk Partners.
Additional ISM articles of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Business Officers Vol. 11 No. 1 Thinking About Your School Benefits
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 8 No.1 How to Communicate Reduced Benefits With Faculty and Staff
ISM Monthly Update for Trustees Vol. 10 No. 4 Finding Savings in Your Health Insurance Plans
Additional ISM articles of interest for Consortium Gold Members I&P Vol. 34 No. 3 Reducing Insurance Costs: Employee Benefits
I&P Vol. 37 No. 12 Key Advice on Shaping Your Employee Health Benefits Plans
