Top 5 concerns among business owners

November 17, 2015 at 07:00 PM
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Business owners have a lot on their minds from running their business to keeping and retaining employees to personal finances.

We recently asked 500 business owners to share their thoughts on a wide variety of financial topics including their top concerns when it comes to their employee benefits program. This is part of our latest research on Business Owner Perspectives. I covered the entire study in a recent post.

When it comes to managing their benefit programs, business owners ranked these as their top five concerns:

  • Affordability of benefits
  • Attracting the right employees
  • Offering competitive benefits
  • Retaining the right employees
  • Rewarding talented employees

These business owners aren't just focused on the cost of benefits. The main goal when offering an employee benefit package is to take care of their employees.

Based on the list of concerns above, owners understand the importance of finding and retaining the right employee and they know benefits play an important role. Four in 10 say that employee benefits improve the productivity of their workforce. The percentage increases for businesses with more than 10 employees.

What does all of this mean for you, their advisor? It provides you with an opportunity to show your business clients how implementing the right employee benefit plans can benefit both the business owner and his or her employees.

While these concerns top the list, these are just some of the many factors owners must consider as they run their business and manage their financial future. The next time you meet with your business owner clients, take a moment to ask questions about their employee benefits – are they meeting business needs and valued by the employees? Then showcase how you can help them address these concerns.

Stay tuned for new insights on business owners in my next post. I'll give some perspective on the lifecycle of a business to help you continue to identify and serve businesses and owners' financial planning needs.

About the research: 2015 The Principal Financial Group® Business Owner Market Study, conducted by Harris Poll.

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