Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to get to know your benefits, yours and
Speaker 1: your spouse's if you happen to be married. Many larger
Speaker 1: organizations and some professional organizations offer a wide range of perks.
Speaker 1: Some of these are significant, some are less so. But
Speaker 1: using your benefits allows you to take advantage of your
Speaker 1: full compensation even if you're not sure a raise is
Speaker 1: in the cards right now. Using more of your benefits
Speaker 1: can be the equivalent, and you probably don't have to
Speaker 1: negotiate for that. So where shall we start with our
Speaker 1: tour of benefits? Many of my American listeners have employer
Speaker 1: provided health insurance, which is probably the biggest part of
Speaker 1: any benefit package. Make sure you know what is covered
Speaker 1: and what is not. But beyond the obvious doctor visits
Speaker 1: and hospital stays, look at any other perks. Does your
Speaker 1: insurance reimburse for a gym membership or for weight loss
Speaker 1: or smoking cessation programs? What about glasses dental work? If
Speaker 1: you are pondering switching jobs and your current one has
Speaker 1: good orthodonic benefits, maybe you should get your kids in
Speaker 1: to see someone sooner rather than later. If you get
Speaker 1: a steep discount at a particular gym chain, it might
Speaker 1: be worth going there rather than somewhere else if the
Speaker 1: price is right. You also want to maximize any retirement benefits.
Speaker 1: Many people make elections when they get hired, and then
Speaker 1: they don't think about this for years. Now is a
Speaker 1: good time to think about it. If your employer provides
Speaker 1: a retirement match or your spouse's does, make sure you
Speaker 1: contribute enough to get that full match. If you are
Speaker 1: not doing that, turn off this podcast and call human
Speaker 1: resources right now. If you are driving, send that note
Speaker 1: as soon as you get where you are going. A
Speaker 1: one to one match means anything you contribute gets an
Speaker 1: immediate one hundred percent return on investment. Best not to
Speaker 1: leave that on the table. You also want to make
Speaker 1: sure you understand policies about time off. Paid time off
Speaker 1: is definitely part of your compensation, so make sure you
Speaker 1: know how many days you are eligible for and if
Speaker 1: you can carry those forward into new years. If you
Speaker 1: have a tendency not to take all of your vacation days,
Speaker 1: go ahead and schedule a few random long weekends for
Speaker 1: later in the year. Working fewer hours, but getting paid
Speaker 1: the same amount is a very straightforward way to have
Speaker 1: each working hour be better compensated. Some organizations have a
Speaker 1: distinction between sick days and vacation days, so you want
Speaker 1: to be sure that you are using the right amount
Speaker 1: of both. If your company has any longer leave policies,
Speaker 1: you might want to think about whether you would use
Speaker 1: those this year or maybe at some point in the future.
Speaker 1: Once you have a handle on those policies for yourself
Speaker 1: and for your spouse, start reading a little deeper into
Speaker 1: the employee handbook. Some company have employee assistance programs, which
Speaker 1: can help with things like finding a therapist for a
Speaker 1: child to see on an ongoing basis, or maybe they
Speaker 1: can help you find a mover if you are relocating,
Speaker 1: or help you choose a retirement home for older relatives.
Speaker 1: Some places offer commuting benefits. Buying a subway card with
Speaker 1: pre tax money definitely beats buying one with post tax money.
Speaker 1: A number of places offer some sort of backup childcare benefit.
Speaker 1: When we had some childcare issues this past summer, we
Speaker 1: learned that my husband's employer offered the equivalent of a
Speaker 1: few weeks of backup care at a daycare center near
Speaker 1: his office. To take advantage of that, though we needed
Speaker 1: to be registered with the center. Now we are, and
Speaker 1: if you might ever face a similar situation, you should
Speaker 1: likewise see what benefits your employer offered to keep you
Speaker 1: productive even when life doesn't go as planned. Some large employers,
Speaker 1: and even some professional or civic organizations, negotiate discounts for
Speaker 1: things like cell phone contracts, or computers or car rentals
Speaker 1: for personal use. A great many years ago, when I
Speaker 1: was an intern at a major corporation in New York City,
Speaker 1: I learned we got free entry to a number of museums.
Speaker 1: Who knew well, I did because I am cheap and
Speaker 1: I asked. But if you don't ask, you won't know.
Speaker 1: You won't know that because you work for a particular employer,
Speaker 1: you can go to the local history museum for free.
Speaker 1: Since you don't know that, you either buy the tickets
Speaker 1: or you go somewhere else when you could have had
Speaker 1: a free weekend family activity. Now, in the grand scheme
Speaker 1: of things, that is not so big a deal. You
Speaker 1: shouldn't join a gym you hate just for the corporate discount,
Speaker 1: and you shouldn't skip the art museum because your employer
Speaker 1: doesn't have a corporate membership there. But in situations where
Speaker 1: you don't have a strong preference, why not take advantage
Speaker 1: of the equivalent of a raise. You don't have to
Speaker 1: ask for. It's there for the taking, but many people
Speaker 1: don't take it. To be sure you do, you might
Speaker 1: even ask your HR rep what benefits they think are
Speaker 1: great but are under utilized. You might be surprised to
Speaker 1: learn about something that you or your family members could
Speaker 1: definitely use. And if you are an HR leader or
Speaker 1: lead an organization that offers any sort of benefits, I
Speaker 1: think it's smart to let people know what is available.
Speaker 1: If you do any regular communications with your employees, maybe
Speaker 1: highlight a different benefit in each newsletter and showcase an
Speaker 1: employee who use the benefit in situations where that is appropriate.
Speaker 1: Presumably you offer such benefits for a reason, namely, they
Speaker 1: make people think your organization is a good place to work.
Speaker 1: When people know about the benefits and use them, they
Speaker 1: feel more tied to the organization. Let's put it this way,
Speaker 1: if someone sticks around for an extra year, that is
Speaker 1: totally worth their gym discount. If you get to know
Speaker 1: your benefits, I would love to hear what you learn
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
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