In today’s fiercely competitive job market, employers are faced with needing to retain highly skilled employees and attract top-tier talent. Increasingly, employee benefits packages are becoming a lynchpin in ensuring job satisfaction, loyalty and a competitive edge in recruiting and retaining the best talent.
A report by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that 90% of survey respondents said healthcare is an extremely or very important employee benefit. Another study revealed that 60% of employees indicated that employee benefits were extremely or very important when considering whether to stay with their current employer.
Attracting and retaining valuable employees is a two-part strategy: Not only do employers need to provide these exceptional benefits, but they must also take an active role in educating and empowering their workforce with the knowledge to fully leverage them.
Three practical strategies can help employers achieve this greater level of healthcare literacy.
Tailoring Communication for Employee Life Stages
When creating benefits packages, employers go to great lengths to ensure the offerings line up with their workforces’ needs. A similar approach should be adopted when it comes to sharing details of that plan — for example, emphasizing maternity and childcare benefits to young families and focusing on long-term healthcare for employees approaching retirement are pivotal to encouraging participation.
Using clear communication to detail what’s important to a specific audience, and why, is critical. In addition, providing regular updates through a range of channels like newsletters, emails and both video and in-person seminars, as well as recruitment and on-boarding materials, ensures continuous engagement and understanding throughout the year.
Deploying Customized Video Resources
The traditional approach of disseminating information through extensive paperwork is becoming less and less effective. Statistics show that employees, on average, spend a mere 18 minutes selecting insurance plans during enrollment, often skimming over critical details.
This calls for a more engaging and efficient way to communicate benefits information.
Customized videos can enhance health literacy if they have the following key elements:
- Clear Narration: Add a human touch with narration, effectively simplifying complex healthcare benefit explanations.
- Consistent Messaging: Keep video content concise and jargon-free. Ensure information is easily digestible and memorable.
- Bilingual Support: Recognize workforce language diversity by providing videos in both English and Spanish, and possibly other languages determined by the workforce.
Empowering Employees with Alternative Healthcare Choices
Rising costs. Complex choices. In a world where healthcare expenses soar and options overwhelm, employers have a unique opportunity to introduce emerging, lesser-known strategies — such as value-based healthcare plans and network steerage — that can enable employees to make informed, cost-effective healthcare decisions.
- Value-Based Healthcare Plans
Value-based healthcare plans, which emphasize treatment quality and patient outcomes, are revolutionizing healthcare. These plans aim for the most beneficial, cost-effective care, leading to improved health management and reduced costs for employees. Employers should underscore the advantages of these plans, such as enhanced preventive care and effective chronic condition management, leading to better health outcomes and decreased out-of-pocket expenses.
- Network Steerage
Network steerage encourages employees to use in-network healthcare providers, often resulting in lower costs and better access to quality care. Educating employees on the advantages of in-network options enables them to make more informed healthcare decisions and can reduce their own costs. Employers can support this by simplifying in-network provider searches, offering incentives for in-network use and conducting educational sessions to empower their workforce.
- Additional Lower-Cost Options
As the 0healthcare landscape becomes more complex and costs become potentially overwhelming, employers can proactively help their teams find alternative and often-overlooked options that can lead to substantial savings. One such avenue for achieving considerable savings is through membership-warehouse retailers’ pharmacies. These pharmacies can offer substantial discounts on prescription medications without membership as a prerequisite to access. Equipping employees with this knowledge can significantly impact healthcare expenses and serve as a key strategy for cost reduction.
Effective communication about benefit plans is paramount — it shows an employer is doing more than offering a plan, they’re helping an employee make informed decisions and maximize the value of their benefits, ultimately promoting financial security and well-being.
By tailoring resources to meet employees at different life stages, offering clear and consistent guidance and promoting cost-effective strategies, employers can empower their workforce to fully understand and utilize their benefits, creating a win-win situation for both themselves and their workforce.
JJ Joppru is an employee health and benefits advisor with Marsh McLennan Agency. He advises clients on employee benefits, total rewards and HR strategies. MMA provides business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement and wealth, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individuals, combining the personalized service model of a local consultant with the global resources of the world’s leading professional services firm, Marsh McLennan.
