In today’s war for top talent hiring, every business has its own strategy for how to attract, hire, and hold onto the coveted employment of skilled professionals. From technicians to upper-level management, almost any position that requires significant skill and experience has become increasingly difficult to fill.
Companies have tried appealing to an employee’s desire for fun company cultures, catered lunches, and pets in the office. They have offered fitness programs, flexible hours, and remote positions. But health benefits are still one of the leading reasons why a highly valued professional might leave one job for another. Particularly if they are parents.
Top-Talent Parents Need Health Benefits
The fact of the matter is that if you employ parents (and with over 40% of all households containing children, there’s no question that you do employ parents), then you need to have competitive health benefits. Parents value health benefits more than almost any other employment perk because the welfare of their children is always at the top of their minds. And children can be surprisingly medically expensive to take good care of. let’s take a look at the five top reasons why top-talent parents will often take whatever job offers the best healthcare package.
Children Get Sick Often
First and foremost, professional parents need a plan that covers doctor visits for the whole family. As anyone who has been a parent knows, schools and daycares are hotbeds of little illnesses like colds and pink eye that can grow into big problems if left untreated. Every parent wants to be able to take their child to the doctor when they’re sick and get the best treatment they can to help with recovery. They also need to be able to take themselves and their partners to the doctor to ensure that no family illness puts their child at risk or reduces their ability to be good parents.
Children Get Injured on the Play Ground
Childhood injuries are one of those things we all accept as a fact of life. Each of us experienced our own childhood injuries and remember coming through it valiantly, getting the cast signed or showing off that wicked scab. What we don’t remember is that a trip to the emergency room, x-rays, treatment, and cast removal cost your parents thousands of dollars. Which they covered happily because they love you and probably had health insurance.
Modern parents need to be able to handle childhood injuries with equal grace. Able to smile and high-five their child for not crying because health benefits have the expenses covered so parents don’t have to spend their child’s recovery worried about medical debt.
Children Can Have Demanding Medical Conditions
Every year, millions of children are born with minor to serious medical conditions. Millions more develop a serious condition as they grow in the next few years. While modern medicine is incredible and can help most of these children live happy, fulfilled lives with just a little bit of medication or occasional treatments, this medical care does cost money.
Professionals who are also parents of a child with a medical condition have no option but to find jobs with good health benefits. They need the prescriptions, trips to the doctor, and occasional medical emergency to be covered so they can focus on being the best employee and the best parent they can.
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Is your business offering the kind of medical coverage that parents need? If not, you’re leaving top-talent opportunities in the dust. Take some time to consider what your current health benefits have to offer parent professionals and how you could improve that package to become much more appealing. For more tips on how to find and keep the top talent in your industry, contact us today!
