Winning the War for Talent Requires a Holistic, Personalized and Flexible Approach to Human Capital Management

2016 Human Capital Insights & Strategies Report from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Offers Perspectives on 19 Topics to Help Organizations Become an Employer of Choice

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

May 25, 2016, 08:05 ET

ITASCA, Ill., May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With the unemployment rate stable at five percent and newly minted college graduates changing the demographics of the U.S. workforce, employers need to rethink their approach to human capital management. The Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) 2016 Human Capital Insights & Strategies Report provides employers with original perspectives from 28 thought leaders on how to engage employees, develop competitive benefit plans and control costs in order to attract and retain the best talent in today's competitive labor market.

"Traditional healthcare and retirement plans are no longer differentiators; they're table stakes," said James W. Durkin, Jr., President, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. "As workplace demographics shift to favor younger generations – who prioritize non-traditional benefits like flexible schedules and wellbeing programs – it's important for employers to take a more holistic and personalized approach to designing their benefit, compensation and reward programs. To win the war for talent as an employer of choice, organizations need to think about their employees as individuals and offer flexible options that appeal not only to a range of generations, but also different personalities and work styles."

Below are summaries from a few of the articles contained in the report:

Why Business Success Depends – More Than Ever – on Employee Engagement Success
Employers with employees who are emotionally connected to their organization have significant competitive advantages. Company investments in employee engagement can generate strong ROI in the form of lower turnover and replacement costs.

Total Wellbeing – Lowering Costs While Enhancing Culture, Employee Engagement and Productivity
Wellness programs focus on physical health. Wellbeing is a holistic concept that includes physical, emotional, financial, career and community health dimensions. Successfully implementing a wellbeing program requires in-depth research, the right data and – most importantly – commitment from leadership.

Driving Financial Wellbeing for Organizations and Their Employees
With 72 percent of employees feeling stressed about money at least some of the time, employers need to recognize that financial angst can turn into chronic physical conditions and, ultimately, reduced productivity. Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for financial wellbeing, employers should study their unique workforce and identify ways to get them "financially fit" and moving toward a secure future.

Engage Employees in Their Healthcare Choices and Save Money
Medical costs are rising too quickly for annual plan tweaks to have much of an impact. Instead, employers can offer a range of subsidized choices on a private exchange and let employees choose the medical, ancillary and voluntary products that best fit their needs.

Non-Traditional Voluntary Benefits Help Differentiate Employers in a Competitive Market
Employers looking to differentiate themselves to current and prospective employees are increasingly embracing non-traditional voluntary benefits. The most popular benefit programs go beyond the "status quo" by including relatively low-cost options such as discount buying programs, group legal plans and identity theft protection.

HR Tech Trends That Deliver Bottom-Line Impact
Through smart adoption of technology, employers now have the ability to engage employees with greater frequency and personalization than ever before from recruitment through retirement. Organizations who embrace proven HR technologies will attract and retain more and better employees and will therefore experience increased productivity.

Top Three Global HR Trends to Watch in 2016
To win the war for talent, global HR leaders must stretch their comfort zones, change their past behaviors and expand their thinking. Employers must also manage global benefit plans to be compliant, competitive and consistent. Finally, global organizations must embrace and support wellbeing rather than just wellness – a challenge complicated across different countries and cultures.

The full report can be accessed online at www.ajg.com/hcinsights2016.

ABOUT THE HUMAN CAPITAL INSIGHTS & STRATEGIES REPORT
The 2016 Human Capital Insights & Strategies Report from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) includes 19 articles to help employers make fully informed decisions about benefit programs and design plans that will help attract and retain the best employees without breaking the bank. The articles were written by 28 thought leaders from across Gallagher's Employee Benefits Consulting and Brokerage operation who average more than 25 years of industry experience.

ABOUT ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, has operations in 32 countries and offers client-service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.