Insight Two
Employee feedback is the chief driver of choosing and switching providers, over cost.
For benefits leaders, employee input is critical when benefits leaders are assessing benefits.
Employee happiness heavily impacts benefits leaders' when deciding whether to stay with or switch providers and is the key factor in driving change. Cost increases or budget constraints, the quality of customer service, and ease of use for administrators also play a key role.
The top two reasons to switch providers were employee feedback and cost.
About one-in-four benefits leaders would switch due to employee input, versus about one-in-six for cost.
Would switch providers based on employee feedback.
Would switch providers based on cost.
Catalyst to change benefits providers
Why benefits leaders decide to renew with a provider
Employee feedback is integral to benefits leaders when deciding to look for a new provider and is also the top reason to stay with a provider.
Employee feedback
Benefits administration platform compatibility
Cost savings
Health plan compatibility
Cost savings
Trusted sources of trends and information on benefits providers
Not only do benefits leaders rely on employee feedback to help decide whether to stay with a provider or find a new one, they also put the most trust into employee feedback when it comes to understanding benefit trends and information about providers.
We also found that those at organizations with progressive (47%) or neutral (40%) benefits approach are significantly more likely to trust a broker or consultant than those at organizations with a conservative (24%) approach. 39% of benefits leaders at organizations with a conservative approach are significantly more likely to trust third-party reviews.
Analysis and action items
Benefits that a company offers directly impact employees’ quality of life, ability to save and plan for the future, and how they choose to budget for and afford day-to-day expenses. Because benefits have a direct impact on employees, their feedback and experience with benefits providers matters. While broker, peer, and provider recommendations can make an impact and help guide benefits leaders decision making, overall it's the needs of employees that are front and center when HR leaders make decisions about benefits.
Action items for HR leaders
Conduct employee surveys throughout the year to collect employee feedback about your benefits offering. Learn more about:
- What employees like and don’t like about the benefits you offer
- If employees receive the support they need from your benefits providers and if that support is easy to access
- Which benefits are easy to access and use and which have a challenging user-experience
- Employee pain points and challenges that could be alleviated through benefits, such as commuting, pet care, child care, or access to emergency savings
Action items for brokers and consultants
Help your clients conduct an employee survey to collect feedback about their benefits offering. You can even offer to run the survey for them to alleviate administrative burden for your clients and get more direct information about what is and is not working for your clients’ team. Use the survey to learn more about:
- What employees like and don’t like about their benefits
- If employees receive the support they need from their benefits providers and if that support is easy to access
- Which benefits are easy to access and use and which have a challenging user-experience
- Any pain points and challenges that could be alleviated through benefits, such as commuting, pet care, child care, or access to emergency savings