Business Benefit and Retention Forum Planned in Pagosa

Many of our businesses are in the throes of working on budgeting for 2025. One of the biggest line items for most businesses is payroll and benefits. Another big concern is employee retention and the task of constantly needing to train new people.

What benefits, if any, can you offer that help retain good people?

Most think it is all about health care coverage. And, in many cases, health care is the biggest benefit employees are looking for. However, there are other health care options and things you can do to create meaningful benefits.

The Chamber will be hosting an Employee Benefit and Retention Forum on December 5 from 9am to 10:30am at the Ross Aragon Community Center.

Included in this forum will be representatives from various health care options showing an array of health care offerings or navigation systems that you or your employees might be able to utilize.

In addition, we will be discussing other benefit “perks” or options that you might be able to offer as an employer.
Think you know all the answers or have exhausted the ideas on various perks you could offer as an employer? I can guarantee you have not. I am amazed at some of the creative options that I am hearing businesses offer these days.

If you are one of those employers that has thought outside the box, please attend this forum and share your ideas. If you are an employer looking for ideas, please attend this forum. If you are looking at ways that you might be able to offer, in part or total, health care options, please attend this forum.

We have agencies including Archuleta County Public Health, Pagosa Springs Medical Center, Peak Health Alliance (formerly Elevate Health Plans), direct primary care options (which are very popular in certain communities), sliding scale payment options and business owners sharing other benefit options.

If you can’t offer full health care coverage, what other options might you be able to offer? Do you know what new services our local health care providers and agencies are offering?

The health care world is changing quickly and, as an employer, to retain good employees, you need to be able to offer your employees options.

We have some creative retention/ perks that employers are offering.

Just saying thank you and rewarding staff is an important part of business ownership. What an
employee considers a perk, we may not. So, have you even asked your employees what local perk they might like? The forum is free, snacks will be provided and it is open to business and individuals alike.

As we get ready for 2025, please learn more about what options are out there for you as a business owner or an individual. Some of them are more reasonable than you think.

Mary Jo Coulehan

Mary Jo Coulehan is Executive Director of the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce, and also serves on a number of local and state boards.