Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 1

14 E ducation is a unique career field in that the primary skill set of the service being offered–teaching –is fungible, and the number of transferable options are plentiful. Stated differently, there are plenty of places for a teacher to teach. Charter schools have created even more options for employment, even as the pool of teachers is shrinking.1 Furthermore, because charter schools need to attract students in order to be successful, that service being offered–teaching–must be better than the student’s alternatives. Your charter school's mission and curriculum are certainly a draw for students and parents, but the quality of the education through the teacher is still the key to progress and student retention. The question then becomes: How will you attract and retain the best teachers? There are many ways this question may be answered, but one way to do this is by offering better benefits. With the rising costs of health-care, and the threat of diminished or no social security retirement income in the future, employees not only want but need health and retirement benefits. Fortunately, all public schools in Utah and most charter schools are offering some health and retirement benefits to their employees. Ironically, in the age of abundance people continue to want more for less. People want more, not only from their consumer goods and services, but from their employers as well. One benefit of this attitude is that the quality of many goods and services has gone up, while costs have come down. One problem for employers is that it is more difficult to attract and retain talented employees with standard pay and benefit packages. Charter schools, like yours, spend thousands of dollars each year on health and retirement benefits, but are they truly a benefit? Some employers don’t offer retirement benefits, having heard from employees that they would rather have more money in their pocket now. While I understand the mentality (who doesn’t want more money now?), if you are not saving for retirement you are severely diminishing the quality of life of your future self. In our opinion, the “more-money-now” sentiment comes not from the fact that retirement benefits aren’t beneficial, but that employees aren’t seeing or feeling the benefit. In order to attract and retain talented employees, theymust feel valued. To feel valued, employees must see and feel that they are being taken care of. Offering quality health and retirement benefits to employees can help them see and feel that they are being taken care of. We have all heard someone say in passing that they would never leave their current employment, “because the benefits are soooo good.” I’ve even heard these sentiments expressed while the person simultane- ously explains that they could make more money elsewhere. These are the sentiments of employees that feel valued. These are the sentiments of employees that enjoy where they work. These are sentiments of employees that will work hard for their employer. These are the sentiments of employees that feel compelled to spread the word about the great company they work for. These are the sentiments your employees should be saying about you. The only way to achieve the kind of praise mentioned above is by caring deeply about your employees; not only caring about their current circumstances, but caring about their future. To do that, you’ll need to partner with benefit providers who care about your employees as much as you do. We care. And we’re grateful to be a UAPCS benefits partner. If you’re not utilizing your benefits options or feel that your benefits are not benefiting you, give us a call. "ARE YOUR BENEFITS A BENEFIT?" BY VeraPath Global Investing, LLC