as an employer you can off er to subsidize those
policies, but even if you don’t, off ering some type of
group life insurance coverage can be yet another way
to cost eff ectively send the message to employees,
and their families, that your company cares about
their well-being.
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (EAP)
A staple of benefi ts packages at Fortune 500
companies is an Employee Assistance Program
(EAP). Th ese plans provide benefi ts to employees
in certain qualifying adverse circumstances that
can aff ect their performance, such as mental health,
legal or substance abuse issues, and even divorce,
off ering fi nancial reimbursements for legal fees,
rehabilitation services and counselling. Not only is
this a selling point to your potential new employee,
it can help keep an existing employee functioning
in circumstances in which their performance
would otherwise have suff ered or even ended their
employment.
Some large companies create their own pool of
capital and administer these EAPs internally. For
a small or medium-size business, subscribing to a
third-party EAP plan is the way to go. Th ese types
of plans are off ered through all the major payroll/
HR provider fi rms and some insurance carriers,
and they are relatively cheap compared to other
employee benefi ts. Check into available EAP
options in your area and as they may fi t your size
and scale and see if one makes sense for you.
PROFIT SHARING
Th e “Wall Street bonus culture” is often maligned as
excessive and fostering greed, but I can tell you fi rsthand
that it also fosters hustle and commitment.
Th e core benefi t of a profi t-sharing program is
to incentivize, with real money, your employees to
contribute to the overall success and profi tability
of the business. Profi t sharing can be executed
many diff erent ways, including some that present
a tax advantage. While it’s not for every business
(those in the early stages of business where profi ts
are unpredictable year to year, or those who simply
don’t have enough profi ts to share), if you can
off er it, there is no more powerful tool to motivate
employees.
Depending on the type of business, crafting the
details of a fair and equitable profi t-sharing plan
can be diffi cult. Th ere are a lot of options out there
and each facet of the benefi ts equation carries
with it its own idiosyncrasies to consider, and you
would be smart to have an in-depth discussion with
your tax and fi nancial advisors. Take some time to
investigate, though, and you may be surprised at the
amount of benefi ts you can off er to increase your
competitiveness at a low cost.
About the Author
Josh Fiorini has a wealth of experience in
manufacturing, business management and fi nance both
within and without the fi rearms industry. He was
the CEO of PTR Industries, Inc., for seven years and
spent the fi rst decade of his career in fi nance holding
positions as an equity analyst and portfolio manager
before starting his own hedge fund which led him to the
fi rearms industry. Th is experience, along with a deep
background in manufacturing, banking and private
equity, has made him a sought-after contributor on
numerous boards, discussion groups, media outlets,
corporations and community organizations. Currently,
Fiorini invests his time with non-profi t initiatives
and acts as a contributor and management consultant
to various fi rms in the fi rearms industry. His activities
have been reported in such publications as Th e Wall
Street Journal, Th e New York Times and USA Today.
INDUSTRY
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