Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 6, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 19 By Chrystine M. Heier Chrystine M. Heier is the president of Sullivan Benefits, based in Marlborough. Rising interest rates, inflation, recession concerns, and major corporate layoffs con- tinue to fuel labor market uncertainty, leav- ing employers concerned about retention and attracting talent. Beyond wages, your benefit program can be a key tool to help you retain and hire the best. Ensure your benefit program is an effective asset. 1) Have a multi-year strategic plan. Di- verse and rapidly changing employee needs and rising costs demand a longer-term approach. A strong plan moves you from re- active to proactive, aligns your team around a common goal, increases efficiencies, allows you to evaluate and capitalize upon opportunities, and charts a path towards success. 2) Compare yourself to high-per- forming employers. Over the years we've identified several commonalities: a. They benchmark their programs against competition. b. They operate with a high-level of trans- parency in their programs, collecting and tracking data where possible. c. They create simple administrative, compliance and communication processes and automate them where possible. d. They set key performance indicators to assess their programs and track success. e. They regularly review their strategic plan and the overall health of their program. 3) Maximize the dollars you spend for better outcomes. For most employers, employee benefits are their second highest expense after wages. When was the last time you evaluated overall benefit program costs, program funding, what your vendors are paid, and the tools and resources available to your employees? You owe it to yourself and your employees to make sure your program is producing desired results and not just on autopilot. Often employers can do better without additional spending. 4) Communicate, communicate, com- municate. Do you want your employees to highly value the program that is your second largest expense? We cannot overemphasize the importance of a communications calen- dar; after all, your employees can't value a program they don't understand. You need to market your program to them, remind them what you provide and how your program works. Providing regular communication builds trust and confidence, promotes the value of your program, and elevates your employee relationships. K N O W H O W Know when it's time to bring in a marketing agency P urchasing a commercial property for your business can reap enormous rewards, but plenty of complex risks impede the road to getting there. Here are some things to look out for when you're thinking about making a big property purchase. Assemble a team of experts. Real estate is a big undertaking, and you can't do it alone. As you go throughout the process, be sure to put together a group of specialists, including a commercial broker, a mortgage broker, an accountant, and a lawyer. "Bring in an expert who will advise you on what your business can afford, navigate you through tax benefits, and forecast your operating budget," reads an article on Bank of America's website. Ask yourself, 'Why?' What do you hope to get out of the purchase? What are your goals for wanting to own property? Define what would be a successful financial return and what your long- and short-term goals would be. "While buying commercial real estate can be a worthwhile investment, plans tend to fall through if you don't have direction," Ashley Kilroy wrote on RockerMortgage.com. "So, it's important to reflect on your reasons behind buying commercial property." Realize depreciation is possible. Prepare for the possibility the investment might not be exactly what you thought it would be. "In a nutshell, unless you have experience investing in commercial property, you're 100% confident in the value of your building's location over the long-term, and you're comfortable taking on some liability and risks, then leasing may be the right option for your company," Lane Kawaoka wrote on FastCompany. com. 4 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT... ... Making your benefit program a powerful retention and recruitment tool 101: HOW TO PICK A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FOR YOUR BUSINESS BY LAURA FINALDI Special to WBJ Brittany Wong is CEO of Worcester marketing agency Studio Jade. Reach her at brittany@ hellostudiojade.com. BY BRITTANY WONG Special to the WBJ B usiness owners are constantly analyzing expenses and looking to cut back costs while bringing in more revenue. Marketing is one of the most enigmatic spends in the business industry. Do you outsource to an agency or try to stay in-house? It's a tough decision; but eventually push comes to shove, and you have to decide: Is it time to call for extra help? It takes a village In today's world, you need someone specializing in strategy, website, digital, social, billboards, email and SMS, branding, content, videography, and more. at workload isn't a one-person ordeal. Hell, it's not even something two can take on confidently. To adequately handle the marketing side of your business, it's going to take a village. Someone to captain the ship One option is to keep it in-house, but that gets pricey depending on the size of your team. e other is outsourcing to an agency, which is not nearly as costly as you might think compared to some in-house solutions. Hiring an agency saves you the cost of big salaries and allows you to leverage built-out project management and reporting progress. A well-oiled agency can absorb the responsibility of managing an entire marketing team on your behalf. You'll also get more insight into your campaigns due to the experience agencies get from working with many businesses in several different industries. Allocating your assets Appropriately allocating your assets comes with the task of cost comparison. Viewing from 10,000 feet, hiring an agency may sound expensive. However, when you get right down to it, outsourcing can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary and benefits, while boosting your overall profit. When building an in-house marketing team, you'll need most, if not all, of the following positions: • Director of marketing ($100K - $200K) • Graphic designer ($45K - $70K) • Social media coordinator ($45K - $60K) • Videographer ($50K - $80K) • Website developer ($70K - $130K) • SEO/Google ad specialist ($45K - $90K) • Copywriter ($45K - $80K) e lower end of those salaries comes to $400,000. at's not accounting for subscription costs, such as tools including project management systems, social scheduling, Adobe soware, stock photography, and more. Agencies, however, operate on a retainer basis, with costs built in. My agency, for example, charges an average monthly retainer of $6,000 to handle all marketing needs. Over the course of the year, that's $72,000, a far cry from $400,000. Retainers are highly fluid, as they can be oriented to supplement your in-house team if you already have one and instead are only looking to fill in some gaps. 2023 is your year Keep in mind no two businesses are the same. One may need an agency, while another could operate swimmingly with an in-house team. Regardless of what your team looks like, 2023 can be your company's moment to shine. It's time to supersede your competition, break any barriers in front of you, and smash your goals. is is your year. W W W

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