Open enrollment is almost here and it’s time to commit to a benefits decision support solution. As you evaluate your options, we know that the process can feel overwhelming. With all of the tools available on the market, it can be difficult to determine which one will work best for your organization’s (and your employees’) needs. But, you’re in luck - we’ve compiled our top tips to ensure you choose the right benefits decision support solution this year.
Your team works hard to offer a broad range of benefits to keep employees happy and healthy. But, even if your organization offers the best benefits in the world, they’re only valuable if your employees are enrolling in, and using, them. Keeping benefits engagement steady (and working on ways to improve it!) are crucial to ensuring your benefits programs are successful.
So you’ve evaluated your benefits offering and have decided to stick with the same plans for this year’s open enrollment. Without any new benefits to offer, you probably feel like it will be difficult to get employees excited about their benefits. Many will just stick with the same plan because it’s comfortable and easy. But that’s not always the best option - and it will be your job to show them that.
The past several years have thrown a wrench into the way your employees live their lives and make decisions - especially when it comes to health care benefits.
Most Millennials are now seasoned professionals, and the competition to recruit them is fierce. So, if you want your company to be an employer of choice among this workforce-dominating generation, you must tailor your benefits package and administrative approach to their needs. According to a recent AFLAC survey, 34% of Millennials have rejected a job offer due to dissatisfaction with the benefits provided.
It’s the year of the HSA and this tax-advantaged benefit is finally getting the recognition it deserves! While health savings accounts (HSAs) have always featured a host of valuable benefits, many employees have shied away from them in the past, often due to a lack of awareness and understanding. Now (due in part to the effects of the pandemic) nearly 50% of workers surveyed are investing the time to learn more about the plans that protect their health and their wallet. In addition, 77% of employees reported their HSA gave them peace of mind over the past year!
The way people work has changed forever. Technological advancements, shifting attitudes, new priorities, and the pandemic have ushered in an era where more and more people fulfill their professional roles at home. And, this era is here to stay - indefinitely. In fact, a recent study from SHRM revealed that more than half of employees want to work remotely permanently.
Let's face it. The last couple of years have not been easy. Between budget cuts, the need to learn new technology on the fly, and other unprecedented, pandemic-related challenges, your institution’s faculty and staff have been put through the wringer these past two years. And so have you. As an HR professional in higher education, you’ve been forced to wear more hats than usual, as you plan ‘return to campus’ strategies and work to keep your teams happy and healthy as uncertainty continues to loom.
Your workforce is becoming increasingly diverse, and in order to stay competitive, your benefits have to follow suit. That means your suite of perks must cater to the unique needs of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ team members, veterans, workers with disabilities, and every other group that you employ. According to the recent Willis Towers Watson Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey, more than 70% of polled employers plan to redesign their benefits using a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens as their guide.
