Trend Three: Benefits education will be a critical component to adoption
Benefits education must meet employees where they are and employers must work with providers that emphasize education and ease-of-use.
Employees have complex lives, needs, and concerns and employers are increasingly offering benefits that can help address those. However, as more businesses offer a wider range of benefits, employee education becomes increasingly important to ensure that employees understand and utilize these benefits.
While 81% of People leaders say that employees understanding their benefits is essential, 63% say that employee education is the most challenging aspect of benefits administration, and nearly one-third said that benefits education took more time than expected. In addition, nearly half of People leaders said that handling employee complaints about benefits was a “major challenge.”
of Benefits leaders say that employees understanding their benefits is essential.
of Benefits leaders say that employee education is the most challenging aspect of benefits administration.
of Benefits leaders say that handling employee complaints about benefits is a "major challenge."
What does this mean for companies and People teams?
Employees expect access to benefits to be like other services they rely on: On-demand, accessible, and easy-to-use. They are also drowning in information. If they are going to use a benefit, it must be presented to them in simple terms through multiple touchpoints. While most organizations focus on benefits education during open enrollment, you can make your job easier, and ease information overload, by providing continuous benefit education.
Simply offering a benefit is no longer enough. Organizations must invest in ongoing employee education to ensure understanding and engagement with benefits if both organizations and their team members are going to get any value out of their benefits package. Over half of HR leaders rely on their benefits providers for the creation of education materials. Providers that make employee education easy and benefits accessible with built-in education programs, responsive and knowledgeable service and support, and easy-to-use dashboards and mobile apps that empower account holders to maximize their benefits and use them to support their lives.
Action items
Assess your benefits for access to employee-education and ease of use.
- Survey employees to find out what they do and don’t like about using their benefits.
- Ensure each benefit provider you work with offers a mobile app, online dashboard, and paperless options.
Create or revisit your year-round benefits education and communications plan.
- Plan in advance to make your job easier and ensure that your employees are informed about what’s available to them and able to get the value out of their benefits. Employees that use their benefits help enable you to meet your culture and retention goals.
- Send regular communications to remind your employees about the value of their benefits all year long and increase participation at open enrollment.
- Focus on benefits adoption in the first and second quarters. Inform employees about how to access their accounts, eligible expenses, contribution limits for HSA, FSA, and retirement accounts, and the reimbursement process for Lifestyle Spending Accounts.
- Focus on open enrollment, any changes that you are making to employees’ benefit packages, and how to maximize their accounts and make the most of their benefits in the third and fourth quarters.
Reach out to your benefits providers and brokers to explore their benefits education offerings.
- Set up a meeting with your customer support team or representative to discuss how they can support employee benefit adoption.
- Find out what kind of communication or employee education materials they offer and work those into your communication plan.
- Schedule check-in meetings with your provider throughout the year so that you can ensure employees are getting what they need and so you can prepare in advance for open enrollment.
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