While small businesses face rising costs and talent challenges in 2024, affordable health benefits can help them stay competitive.
Small businesses employed a whopping 10.9 million Canadians in 2023 — nearly two thirds of all employees.[1] It’s no wonder they’re often described as the backbone of the Canadian economy. Year after year, Canada’s small businesses drive innovation, create jobs, and contribute significantly to our country’s overall economic growth.
But running a small business in 2024 comes with a host of challenges. Rising costs due to inflation — along with the higher input costs, rising interest rates— are making it harder and harder for small businesses to maintain profitability. On top of that, finding and keeping good people has become even tougher.
With economic pressures mounting, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to offer competitive health benefits as part of a broader strategy to attract and retain top talent.
A simpler, more affordable solution
“A health benefits plan is becoming a must-have for smaller companies who want to compete for the best people,” says Marc Avaria, Executive Vice-President, Group Benefits at Equitable. “The problem is, they’re competing with larger organizations with big budgets and more resources. They need a benefits solution that’s affordable, sustainable, and easy to manage.”
We wanted to help take the heavy lifting out of common HR tasks and provide small businesses with extra HR advice and support,
That’s why Equitable recently introduced Equitable EZBenefits™, a unique benefits solution designed specifically for the needs of small businesses. Available to organizations with between 2 and 25 employees, it allows small employers to offer competitive benefits without breaking the bank.
“We created EZBenefits to provide a benefits solution that’s affordable and easy — easy to understand, easy to implement and administer, and easy to use,” says Avaria.
Options to fit every need
Whether a small business is a startup or in growth mode, EZBenefits offers a range of plan design options to match different needs and budgets, including a mix of life, health, and dental coverage. Employers can also add long-term disability coverage or a health care spending account.
Embedded health and wellness services
To provide employees with extra support for both their physical and mental well-being, EZBenefits includes additional health and wellness services at no extra cost. Employees will have access to Virtual Healthcare from Dialogue and an Employee and Family Assistance Program provided by Homewood Health®.
Extra HR support
Because of their size, small businesses often don’t have in-house HR departments or expertise to handle the day-to-day needs of their people and the personnel issues that can arise.
EZBenefits therefore also comes with built-in HR support tools and services through Equitable’s partnership with Citation Canada® (formerly HRdownloads). Employers receive access to an award-winning human resource (HR) information system, a library of over 3,000 HR documents and templates with 25 free downloads, a free workplace diversity and inclusion online training course, and free HR advice calls with a seasoned HR expert.
“We wanted to help take the heavy lifting out of common HR tasks and provide small businesses with extra HR advice and support,” says Don Bisch, Director of Group Marketing at Equitable. “That’s why we embedded HR client support and health and wellness services in each plan design.”
Small business owners interested in learning more about EZBenefits and how it can help their small business should contact their advisor. Or, they can visit info.equitable.ca/ezbenefits to explore plan design options and get connected with an independent group benefits advisor.
Resources
[1] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2024007-eng.htm
