(NC) – Many small businesses make it hard on themselves when it comes to recruiting and keeping good employees. Take the question of group health benefits for example: many entrepreneurs fail to offer their employees benefits because they misunderstand the costs. “Having a good benefit plan is often extremely important to employees,” says John Jenner, the vice president of marketing and communications at Western Financial Group. “There are many different ways to structure a plan to make sure it is both affordable and easy to administer.” Even small businesses can usually afford to offer group benefits, says Jenner, because purchasing through a group plan reduces the costs to individual plan members. Plans can include a wide variety of benefits including short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, health and dental benefits, as well as travel insurance and group critical illness benefits. Health spending accounts can offer even greater flexibility for both employers and employees. “In the competitive workplace, smart businesses need to recognize that offering group benefits can often be the difference between keeping or losing a good employee.”