ALBUQUERQUE, N.M -- Workers come and go. At the height of the pandemic last year, employers had to let go of some good ones. Now that businesses are picking up, you may be one of those employers facing employee recruitment woes.

Filling in vacant positions can be a tedious task. So how does direct primary care (DPC) help you with recruiting the best employees in Albuquerque?

Job seekers are attracted to companies giving more than a hefty salary. For example,  Well Life Family Practice, a DPC provider, offers comprehensive healthcare services that attract qualified candidates. 

Discover DPC as an employee recruitment advantage:

• Profiles of your potential workers
• What workers want from you 
• Why health benefits matter in employee recruitment
• DPC and its comprehensive healthcare services 

Profiles of your potential employees

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, an estimated 7.9% of New Mexicans were unemployed in June 2021. In Albuquerque, there’s an increased rate of unemployment based on the current population. Statistics show a surge from 8.1 last year to 10 this year.

There’s no lack of potential employees as their numbers rise. Employers, though, have a list of desirable attributes. Of course, as an employer, you’d want to hire highly skilled employees. Traditional and blue-collar jobs require it most. 

Other employers consider millennials as new blood to inject dynamism into their businesses. Their birth years are between 1981 and 1996. People see them as a tech-savvy generation who want to be connected anytime and anywhere.

Some human resources (HR) experts brand millennials as the dominant working-age group in the US. They claim millennials will make up about 75% of the workforce by 2025. 

Other authorities remark that it’s an overestimation. However, millennials will still comprise a big chunk of the workforce by 2025, based on calculations.

As an employer, you may want to hire a highly skilled person or a millennial. In doing so, you have to know what they want. 

What employees want from you: To give you the employee recruitment advantage. 

1. Medical, dental, and healthcare insurance: Recruiters say one of the most critical benefits jobseekers find attractive is health insurance. It’s an essential benefit expected by highly skilled candidates. 
   
   They want health coverage for themselves and the immediate members of their families. But, unfortunately, health insurance can be costly. Companies pay about $6,000 annually for employee coverage. It goes up to about $18,000 for full family coverage.
   
   However, not all businesses are required to give health insurance to workers. If you are a small business, the government doesn’t mandate you to offer one. 
   
   It’s a different case if, as a small business owner, you can offer this benefit. Advertising this benefit to candidates can have a positive result. You stand out like a beacon to jobseekers, based on a survey. Moreover, it’s the most desirable benefit for workers, according to the Harvard Business Review.

2. Work from home (WFH) or flexible work hours (FWH): The pandemic has shaped and will forever alter the work environment. WFH and FWH are the “in” things these days. Letting staff WFH and offering FWH unburden them in many ways.
   
   They have the freedom of time to organize their activities without compromising their output. It saves time, money, and effort going back and forth to the office. It promotes work-life balance, as well.
   
   However, there are cases when employees can’t WFH. Their jobs require them to be at the workplace. But you can give them the option of FWH if they need to report to work physically. 
   
   Based on the Harvard Business Review, FWH comes second to health insurance as the top requested benefit. It satisfies the goal of work-life balance. Jobseekers want this benefit, too.

3. Mental health and wellness: Workers are now focusing on their overall health and wellness. It may be due to aging as the baby boomers grow old and develop chronic diseases. 
   
   As for millennials, they’re more wellness conscious than the older generation. Or, it may be due to the effects of the pandemic because people fear for their health.
   
   Willis Towers Watson released the Emerging from Pandemic Survey this year. It reveals employers now focus on the workers’ well-being. It includes mental health services and programs promoting physical fitness.
   
   Some examples of wellness programs are meditation classes, discounts on gym memberships, and diet/nutrition counseling.
   
   Like health insurance, employers believe quality candidates find health and wellness programs appealing.

4. Retirement plan: The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey found that 90% of companies offer some form of retirement plan.
   
   An example of a company-sponsored retirement plan is 401(k). It allows employers to match their workforce’s contribution. It’s a long-term benefit a job seeker looks forward to after years of hard work.
   
   The total cost can reach up to $700,000. However, this amount of investment lures job seekers to your business.

5. Other perks may include career development opportunities and training incentives. These perks are vital to workers’ job satisfaction. 
   
   It’s a win-win situation. First, it shows employers are investing in their workers’ improvement and long-term tenure. In return, workers improve their skills and become more productive. 
   
   Since health-related benefits are top-of-mind, some employers partner with healthcare providers. DPC providers deliver various healthcare services at a fixed monthly rate.
   
   Jobseekers see these perks as an added value to the essential benefits.

Why health benefits matter in employee recruitment

SHRM survey included insights on benefits strategies to give you, the employee, recruitment advantage. A total of 738 HR practitioners participated in the survey.

The survey reveals health care benefits top the list most important to workers at a 95% rate. In addition, HR practitioners said their companies changed benefits to help acquire new talents. 

About 65% of them said their companies modified their health care benefits to attract candidates. It included retirement savings, flexible hours, and career development.

Two-thirds, or 73% of HR practitioners, said health care benefits are vital in the next three to five years. Considering the survey was released in 2016, this foresight is now.

• Highly-skilled employees: 13% of HR practitioners said their companies changed their benefits to aid in recruitment. More than half of the 13% altered their health care benefits.
  
  More than half of the HR practitioners anticipated health care benefits to increase importance soon. However, a little less than half of them considered wellness and preventive health benefits.

• Millennials: 10% of HR practitioners said their companies changed their benefits to aid in recruitment. Two-fifths of the 10% altered their healthcare benefits.
  
  More than half of the HR practitioners anticipated health care, wellness, and preventive health benefits to increase importance soon.

Health benefits are timelessly significant. Jobseekers considered it vital before, and especially, during or post-pandemic. 

Well Life Family Medicine offers comprehensive healthcare services: An employee recruitment advantage for you. 

Health is a primary concern of jobseekers. The majority of them consider health benefits in deciding whether to apply to a company or not. Millennials find nontraditional benefits attractive, too.

They look forward to healthcare services offered by a DPC provider, like Well Life Family Medicine. 

• Timely and comprehensive services: A 2020 survey shows one in four employees said they would increase their healthcare use post-pandemic. It includes workers with disabilities, Hispanics, LGBTQ, high-earners, and millennials. 
  
  The highest healthcare use is for employees with mental health problems at 57% and chronic diseases at 53%. Well Life provides chronic illnesses and preventive care management.

• Virtual consult and telemedicine: The use of technology during the pandemic has increased based on a survey. Virtual care or telehealth surged from 17% in 2019 to 47% in 2020. 
  
  More than half of the respondents said they are more likely to access virtual care for chronic illnesses and mental health problems.
  
  Your workers can access telemedicine anytime and anywhere. Instead of visiting our clinic, they can call for an appointment. Our medical practitioners get to see them through virtual consultation. 
  
  It saves your workers time, effort, and money. Also, it doesn’t affect their productivity, since they won’t have to leave work.

• Low-cost quality healthcare: Employers need to look for an alternative and more affordable healthcare benefit. As costs continue to rise due to the pandemic, DPC offers a fixed monthly membership fee. At Well Life, services include discounted meds and labs.
  
  Employers gain from the low-cost quality healthcare of DPC. As a result, small companies can increase healthcare benefits they otherwise couldn’t afford. 
  
  At low cost, DPC doesn’t compromise the quality of care. Your workers and their families get unlimited access to healthcare. In addition, compared to insurance-based clinics, your workers spend more time and continuity of care with us.

• Add-on benefit: Nontraditional health benefit or add-on to your existing health insurance attracts highly-qualified candidates. In addition, it retains your current employees.
  
  DPC goes well with businesses that have existing health insurance. Your workers get the best of both services. Health insurance covers catastrophic and hospitalizations, which DPC doesn’t cover. 
  
  It does better for small businesses with no health insurance at all. Well Life offers a comprehensive healthcare package for a minimal membership fee. Core services include:

• Healthcare for the whole family
• Discounted medications
• Discounted labs
• Acute care
• Chronic disease management
• 24/7

Bottom line

Jobseekers have different levels of knowledge, skills, and work experience. It’s why employee recruitment is challenging. 

How, then, can you hire the best employee? It helps if you look into what makes your business attractive to highly skilled or millennial workers.

Health and wellness benefits top the list of “must-have,” based on studies. DPC, like Well Life Family Practice, works to your employee recruitment advantage. It entices job seekers to apply to your business. In addition, we provide a comprehensive and quality healthcare package at a low cost.