Cost pressures, regulatory shifts, and evolving workforce dynamics continue to complicate middle-market leaders’ decisions. And yet, amid increasing uncertainty, businesses are forging ahead, favoring action over caution.
A survey conducted by The Ohio State University’s National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) and CBIZ found that 65% of middle-market businesses increased headcount over the past year — and those investing in workforce growth are seeing measurable results. Companies that achieved 10% revenue growth were 52% more likely to invest in training and upskilling, and 49% more likely to invest in attracting and hiring talent.
Market leaders recognize the link between workforce capability and their bottom line. In response, they’re leveraging total rewards as a lever for talent attraction, engagement, and retention.
Leveraging Total Rewards as a Lever for Growth
Rather than playing it safe, high-growth organizations are thinking outside the box to refine the factors that most directly influence workforce capability: health benefits, retirement options, compensation, and employee experience.
Optimized Health Benefits
Growth-oriented organizations don’t simply renew their health coverage year after year. Instead, they strategically evaluate plan performance and creative alternatives to ensure maximum return on investment.
Middle-market leaders optimize benefits by:
- Benchmarking plan competitiveness against industry peers
- Analyzing claims and utilization data to identify cost drivers and plan design gaps
- Reassessing contribution strategies to balance affordability and sustainability
- Expanding voluntary benefits to meet diverse workforce needs
- Incorporating wellbeing initiatives that address physical, financial, and mental health
These companies strive to continually enhance their benefit plans, resulting in stronger talent retention, cost control, and employee health.
Robust Retirement Benefits
Financial stress impacts employee productivity. High-growth organizations recognize that robust retirement benefits drive stability, enabling employees to perform.
A strong retirement plan goes beyond just offering a 401(k). It’s intentionally designed to foster participation, encourage long-term savings, and reinforce financial confidence among employees. Key areas of focus often include:
- Competitive employer contributions
- Automatic enrollment and escalation features to help increase participation rates
- Target-date funds and investment options for diversified portfolios based on employee needs
- Ongoing financial education and personalized guidance
- Governance and compliance processes that protect fiduciary integrity
Competitive Compensation
Pay transparency expectations and economic volatility are prompting more intentional and informed compensation planning — something that middle-market leaders are already doing.
Growing organizations regularly benchmark roles against relevant market data to ensure external competitiveness and internal equity. They often leverage structured salary bands to provide transparency and consistency, helping employees understand how progression connects to pay.
High-growth companies also recognize the importance of strong executive compensation. By tying a portion of pay to long-term performance goals through equity, profit-sharing, or performance-based incentives, organizations align executives’ interests with the company’s sustained growth and shareholder value. This approach ensures leadership is motivated to drive both near-term results and long-term outcomes.
Equally important, market leaders proactively evaluate pay equity and compensation governance practices to identify disparities and reduce risk. By integrating pay planning into broader financial strategies for employees and executives, high-growth organizations position themselves to sustain momentum. to identify disparities and reduce risk. By integrating pay planning into broader financial strategies, high-growth organizations position themselves to sustain momentum.
Seamless Employee Experiences
Total rewards only have the desired impact when they’re easy to access, understand, and use. Middle-market leaders prioritize a seamless experience across the entire employee lifecycle — from recruitment through retirement.
HR technology plays a central role in this effort. Integrated systems streamline people operations, enhance data visibility, and empower employees with self-service access to payroll, benefits, and professional development resources.
Growth-oriented organizations strengthen employee experience by:
- Consolidating HR, payroll, benefits, and talent management into one unified, user-friendly system
- Leveraging workforce analytics to inform decision-making
- Automating manual processes to reduce administrative burden
- Providing employees access to digital tools that simplify key processes, such as benefits enrollment and time tracking
- Connecting learning and development programs to career pathways
Download our guide, Employee Experience for Impact, to explore tactics to strengthen your employee experience, from onboarding to retention and beyond.
Tradeoff Economy: How Decision-Making Mindsets Shape Middle Market Performance
New research from CBIZ and The Ohio State University’s National Center for the Middle Market shows how leadership tradeoffs impact performance, especially under cost pressure and market uncertainty.
Download the ReportSustained Growth Starts With Workforce Capability
Middle-market companies that are outperforming their peers share a common trait: they treat workforce investment as a key growth strategy. In uncertain environments, they don’t sit and wait. Instead, they take action, refining the factors that directly influence performance and retention.
CBIZ helps middle-market businesses build total rewards programs that drive measurable impact. From compensation and benefits strategy to retirement plan design and human capital management, our advisors deliver integrated guidance designed to help you grow, scale, and thrive.
Ready to turn your workforce strategy into a lever for growth? Connect with CBIZ to get started.
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