Driving the Future of Benefits

By Austin Baker

As employees are bringing more of themselves to work, they are expecting more from their employers. They see their employers as responsible for supporting their overall well-being inside and outside of work. In fact, 80% of employers say that benefits play an important role in building and sustaining workplace culture; however, only 67% of employees are actually satisfied with the benefits they receive through their employer. Improved employee benefits are so important, in a study by MetLife, they were rated as the 3rd highest request on employees’ lists — behind salary and a positive work environment — of what they need to navigate their work-life worlds and succeed at work today.

The majority of Americans rely on company-provided healthcare benefits to get the coverages they need. Unfortunately, too many businesses fail to offer employee benefits packages that truly speak to their employees. Despite the complicated and confusing benefits landscape of today, new trends in 2019 show employee benefits are shifting to adapt more and more to true employee needs and convenience.

Supplemental Insurance

Voluntary benefits, while supplemental to core benefits like health insurance, are a way to address the unique needs of employees and allow employees to personalize their rewards.

Voluntary benefits are appealing to employees because they offer a nice flexibility to their compensation package. As employers are discovering that benefits are not a one-size-fits-all package, voluntary benefits provide a cadre of solutions that can be built for the employee base. Attractive benefits can make the difference between whether a prospective employee accepts a job offer or not. In 2019, employees are demanding more from their benefits packages and the addition of voluntary benefits will be used as a factor in recruitment. Supplemental insurance is much less expensive and is an easy way to offer additional value and coverage over standard core offerings.

Emotional health

Access to behavioral health services has improved tremendously in 2019 and will only continue to rise for the rest of the year. We will see more partnerships between traditional medical and behavioral health carriers on smaller, targeted point solutions such as telehealth counseling, and strategies to combat out-of-network utilization and costs. Underscoring this will be an increase in the number of organizations that step forward with their leadership front and center to commit to improving the conversation around and services for behavioral health.

Most recently Starbucks implemented mental health perks into their benefits offerings.

It is an employee assistance program, which provides short-term counseling to all U.S. employees, and will be further enhanced with input from employees and mental health experts. Beginning in the second quarter, Starbucks store managers will begin training inspired by Mental Health First Aid, a program that teaches laymen how to help someone with a mental illness.

For a range of emotional, behavioral and mental health issues, employers will address the challenge through onsite and virtual counseling, network expansion where feasible, and the integration of employee assistance programs & mental health benefits.

Telemedicine and Virtual Care

2019 is a pivotal year in the adoption of virtual health care as consumers and employers become more comfortable with health care delivered via digital technology. The push for telemedicine has been growing year by year. Telemedicine gives you access to healthcare providers in just a few clicks. Instead of needing to book an appointment with a provider in your local area, you can connect with one virtually through a smart device or your computer.

“Nine out of ten large businesses offer some type of virtual health care,” says Dan Trencher, senior vice president of product and corporate strategy, Teledoc Health. “We’re seeing that virtual health care is not a separate and isolated way to access health care; it’s increasingly an element in making access to care convenient to consumers.”

Studies have shown that telemedicine and virtual care increases access to behavioral health, improves how specialists are increasingly using telehealth to interact with patients, and improves access and consumer satisfaction with employee health care options. Fifty six percent of companies today already offer some form of telemedicine services to employees, and this number is expected to be close to 100% by 2020.

Digitization of Benefits

The rise of the millennial workforce has encouraged employers to seek new ways to communicate with and educate employees. Benefits are a key component of a recruitment and retention strategy, but delivery in a paper format with tedious requirements and hassles can create a negative experience with employees and candidates. Outside of work, employees conduct many of their activities through their phones. As a result, they expect the same ease-to-navigate smartphone applications and electronic interfaces to manage their employer-sponsored benefits plans.

Employees respond best to tools that allow visual stimulation, easy comparison and real-time access to information from anywhere. These technology solutions are to be all on a consolidated platform where they can find everything related to their employer in one app. The simplicity and availability of insurance cards, employee handbooks, plan information, etc., are what employees need to best engage them with their company offered benefits.

Outsourcing Healthcare

Last but not least, many businesses are simply passing the baton to vendors to manage their benefits and enrollments.

Outsourcing has become commonplace when it comes to benefits administration. According to the most recent Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, more than 80 percent of employers said they used an external vendor to manage at least one benefits task in 2017, an increase of almost 20 percent in only three years. Nearly 40 percent of companies cited outsourcing as a top benefits administration strategy. Outsourcing saves on overall enrollment costs, reduces the work of HR with benefits, shields against liability, boosts the efficiency and participation in preferred plans, and removes the administrative tasks to give your company the flexibility to grow.

The benefits enrollers these firms provide allow your employees to make educated decisions regarding their benefits, increase participation in core and supplemental plans, and enhance the overall employee experience with company funded benefits plans.