How the small business benefits landscape is changing

Two founders of HR firms and industry podcast leaders – Lars Schmidt and Joey Price – talk about how businesses are adapting their wellness and benefits packages in 2021. We focus on employers with 250 employees or less and the data from a new report. Lars and Joey offer practical advice on everything from benefits communication to how sole HR practitioners can lean on a wider community, as well as the urgency of implementing HR technology and process digitization.

• Customize employee benefits packages: Benefits are more important than ever, and companies are starting to broaden beyond what they traditionally viewed as a benefits suite, such as student loan repayments and a new urgency on mental health. (02:26)
• Strive for “digital by default”: It’s time to ditch the manual processes and adopt HR technology and digital solutions – to reflect a modern workplace. (06:05)
• You may be overspending already: Don’t shy away from HR tech because of cost. When you account for the time spent on manual processes or creating workarounds, you might find you may already have the budget to invest in digital tools. (08:45)
• Survey your employees: If you’re having to cut costs due to cash flow issues, engage your employees to co-create choices. Or, survey them to determine what they find valuable. (09:54)
• Benefits communication is key: Articulate the tangible benefits for the employee and educate everyone on the value of the benefits. (12:45)
• Are you an HR practitioner of one? Reach out to your HR communities and forums online to ask questions. See what your peers are doing and leverage their expertise to bring collective wisdom into your organization. (14:09)
• Access the recent report: Small Business Benefit Trends Report 2021.
• Check out the new book Redefining HR by Lars Schmidt.

Lars Schmidt
Founder, Amplify and Author and Podcast Host, Redefining HR

Lars Schmidt is the Founder of Amplify, an HR executive search and consulting firm that helps companies build progressive people teams and capabilities. He's spent over 20 years in the industry working in and alongside a range of leading global companies.

Joey Price, MS HRMD
Founder, Jumpstart:HR and Host, Business, Life, and Coffee Podcast

Joey Price is an award-winning start-up CEO of Jumpstart:HR and host of the Business, Life, and Coffee Podcastbased in Baltimore, Maryland. He has spent over 12 years in the HR industry and spends much of his time solving HR challenges in the areas of workplace culture, small team HR ops, and HR tech.