Whether a business is large or small, the managers and business owners want to recruit the very best employees. This is a common trend regardless of the number of staff members. While the initial hiring decision lies in the hands of the employer, a good candidate for employment may receive several job offers. While potential employees may make their employment decision on salary, location, or rank in the company, often it is other benefits that sway their decision. Employers who offer health insurance to their workforce often hold the upper hand in obtaining and retaining quality employees.

Employer health insurance requirements vary from state to state and depend on the size of the company. Most large employers will offer some type of group health insurance, where premiums are offered at a reduced rate because of the shared cost through a large number of employees that participate in a group health insurance plan. The costs can remain low in a group health insurance plan because a majority of the company’s employees are generally healthy who pay premiums into the plan and only a few folks will eventually file a claim for expensive healthcare. For group health insurance plans, an employer typically pays approximately 85% of the cost of the health insurance premiums for the company’s employees.

While this can equal a large sum of money for many large companies, when multiplied by the sheer number of employees that a large company can have, this can also be a good investment in the company’s workforce to keep them healthy, happy, and secure in the hopes of boosting productivity. Employers subsidize the cost of health insurance by paying these premiums as a cost of doing business, and it makes financial sense in the long term. By offering good healthcare coverage for its employees, the business is not only attracting the best employees for the company but also provides an incentive for current employees to work hard and be an asset to the company. The alternative is that they might lose their job, and the valuable employer sponsored health insurance that goes with it. By being able to attract quality, professional staff who are happy and motivated in their work, productivity increases along with lowering employee turnover, lowering training costs, and increasing profits.

For smaller businesses, offering health insurance may be one of the few incentives which will entice great prospective employees to come to work for them. They are not bound by the same legal requirements as the larger organizations to provide health insurance, and they will not be able to offer the same level of employer health insurance as a more developed business, but the very fact that they are offering it at all will make them a more attractive employer than those that do not.

The rising costs of health care and health insurance premiums mean that now more than ever employer health insurance is seen to be vitally important to people who are looking for a new job. It might be the deciding factor when it comes to whether a job offer is accepted or not. As a business owner, by offering a good health insurance package you will immediately be seen as a good prospective employer who cares for his or her employees, which will give you an advantage over your competitors.

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