Contacts
Benefits management will require more strategic planning to attract and retain diverse employee groups.
As you’ve probably been reminded over and over again, employee benefits can no longer be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Your business may now be comprised of a wide range of employee groups — which increases the need to offer the right benefits to bring the right employees on board and retain them.
Many organizations today have employees that range from Boomers and Generation X to Millennials and Generation Z. Each generational group values benefits differently. And the challenge employers face will be understanding, and then designing, affordable benefits that will resonate with multiple employee generations.
For example, Millennials (who will make up 50 percent of the workforce by 2020), along with Gen Z, are much more likely to embrace nontraditional benefits and work/life balance than Baby Boomers. In a 2015-2016 Willis Towers Watson study, nearly one-third of Millennials (32 percent) rank more paid time off, greater opportunities for flexible work arrangements and career advancement, and options to purchase a wider variety of voluntary benefits as top priorities.
Seeing employees in different lights
For many employees, work is far more than a way to earn money.They want and expect a job that brings meaning to their personal lives. And they want to do that job in a place that makes them feel welcome and appreciated.
Employees today want to be respected as individuals. That means employers need to understand an employee’s “whole self.” Simple demographics won’t reveal what truly motivates different employees.
The more employees feel that their employer is truly seeing them for who they really are, the more engaged they become. And more engaged employees are more productive, more effective, and far less subject to stress.
One excellent, effective way to show employees that they are understood and appreciated is to offer benefits that are truly meaningful to them.
Here are three areas you should consider focusing on for 2019:
- Invest in getting to know your current and future employees. Having a deep appreciation for what benefits are valued by which employee group will optimize the ROI in your total rewards program by ensuring that what you offer is truly meaningful. Employee surveys and benchmarking existing programs against similarly situated peers are excellent tools to help you determine what employees need.
- Work with your broker to develop a continuous 3- to 5-year benefits strategy. This will help optimize cost containment, which is a primary concern for most employers, and will also ensure that your investment in the benefits program remains current as your workforce and organization evolves.
- Create a culture that attracts employees and entices them to stay with you. Part of that task is providing the right benefits for the right individuals, but it also requires a commitment to emphasizing those areas that are important for employees such as employee wellness, meaningful work, clear goals, a positive corporate attitude, the ability to establish social connections, and proof that employees have management’s ear.
Here are four benefit areas you can tailor to a wide range of employees:
- Examine alternative and personalized health care options
Telemedicine
This provides convenient access to care for medical conditions from sore throats and flu to drug addiction issues. It can save time and cost, but getting employees to use the benefit can be daunting, there are significant issues with jurisdictional questions regarding medical malpractice claims, and potential cyber risk concerns. Artificial Intelligence will play a large role in making online diagnosis more accurate and therefore more prevalent.
Consumer Driven Health Plans with Health Savings Accounts
Legislation has been introduced to expand opportunities for employees to contribute to HSAs. Final rules will create a lot of discussion this year, but the complexity of the rules, administrative challenges and delayed effective dates will push real change back at least several years. - Financial assistance
Your employees want financial benefits that address their current lives. Providing this can have an enormous impact on both adoption rates and employee engagement. For example, student loan debt is a problem for the most recent college graduates you may be employing. But it can also be an issue for staff who are saddled with children’s student loan debt, or want to help their children or grandchildren save for college. - Personalize benefits communications
Everyone on your staff more than likely appreciates an in-person visit to discuss specific benefits packages. But that’s not always practical, meaning you need to find ways to communicate that resonate with a particular employee group. Not everyone wants to be contacted via email, just as not everyone appreciates a phone call or a text. Different employee groups respond best to different communications methods. Email is considered too old-school by Millennials and Generation Z, just as many Boomers dislike what they consider brusque, impersonal texts. - Increased popularity of voluntary benefits
Voluntary benefits are one of many strategies that employers use to control costs and provide more options to employees. Many employers are offering additional coverage options through voluntary benefit products. This obviously has a value to employees, but it offers a significant benefit to employers as well, as it allows them to show flexibility in their offerings, something that’s important for recruitment and retention.
Your Marsh & McLennan Agency representative can help you assess your employee needs using tailored employee surveys and offer benefits benchmarking relative to your employment market. These tools help you make sure you have the right balance of benefits to meet the evolving needs of your employee populations. Contact your local representative for more information.
Related Offerings
Employee Health & BenefitsYou May Also Be Interested In
- Event
01.20.2021
Webinar | New Developments in the Classification of Workers
- Event
01.27.2021
Webinar | The New Norm: Maintaining Productivity While Working From Home
- Event
02.09.2021
Webinar | 1+2=5? Understanding Your Benefits Cafeteria Plan
- Blog
01.14.2021
Benefits News and Views
- Event
01.13.2021
Webinar | Leave of Absence and Return to Work Issues in the Era of COVID-19
- Blog
12.31.2020
WellConnected Resources
- Event
12.17.2020
Webinar | Year End Checklist 2020 and Future Forecast 2021
- Event
11.19.2020
Webinar | ACA Reporting Requirements 2020
- Event
11.12.2020
Webcast | 2020 Election Results: The Impact to Benefit Plans
- Blog
11.12.2020
Live Well Work Well Newsletters
- Event
10.21.2020
Webinar | Telemedicine: Permanent Solution or Temporary Fix
- Event
10.15.2020
Webinar | Health Savings Accounts 2020
- Blog
10.14.2020
INSIGHTS Newsletter
- Event
10.08.2020
Lunch & Learn: Take Charge Health
- Blog
09.24.2020
DOL Issues New FFCRA Leave Guidance
- Event
09.17.2020
Webinar | FMLA and Employee Benefits 2020
- Event
09.15.2020
Webcast | Benefit Administration: State of the Market
- Blog
08.21.2020
Open Enrollment Going Virtual
- Event
08.20.2020
Webinar | Compliance Considerations When Self-Insuring 2020
- Event
07.22.2020
WEBINAR | Next Chapter: Massachusetts Family Leave Act 2021
- Event
07.21.2020
Webcast | Senior Care - The New Normal
- Event
07.16.2020
Webinar | Annual Required Notices 2020
- Event
06.25.2020
Webinar | Paycheck Protection Program- Q & A Town Hall
- Event
06.17.2020
Webinar | Financial Wellbeing: Essential to the Health of Your Employees
- Blog
06.17.2020
National Safety Month: Check Your Safety Lens with a safety perception survey
- Blog
06.16.2020
Connecting with Your Five Employee Demographics
- Event
05.21.2020
Webinar | COBRA 2020
- Event
05.19.2020
Webinar | Legal and Compliance Return to the Workplace: Considerations for Employers
- Event
04.30.2020
Webcast | COVID-19: Managing the Impact- Weekly Update 4.30.20
- Blog
04.28.2020
Employee Mental Health: More Vulnerable Than Ever During the COVID-19 Crisis
- Blog
04.20.2020
Diversity and Inclusion and the Battle for Talent
- Event
04.16.2020
Webcast | COVID-19: Managing the Impact- Weekly Update 4.16.20
- Event
04.09.2020
Webcast | COVID-19: Managing the Impact- Weekly Update 4.9.20
- Event
04.02.2020
Webcast | Update on COVID-19: Navigating the Coronavirus and Managing the Impact
- Event
03.30.2020
WEBCAST | Employee Benefits & 401K Compliance During The Coronavirus Outbreak
- Event
03.24.2020
Webinar | Navigating the Coronavirus and Managing the Impact
- Event
03.12.2020
Webinar | The Power of Food
- Blog
02.06.2020
AD&D: What Employers and Employees Need to Know
- Event
01.23.2020
Seminar | Employment Law Landscape 2020
- Blog
01.16.2020
Employee Health & Benefits 2020 and Beyond
- Event
12.19.2019
Webinar | Year End Checklist and Future Forecast
- Blog
12.09.2019
Employee Benefits and Perks – Life Science Industry Raises The Bar
- Blog
12.05.2019
Financial Wellness
- Blog
12.03.2019
Building the Foundation for a Successful Implementation
- Event
11.21.2019
Webinar | ACA Reporting Requirements
- Blog
11.05.2019
Before the Turn of the Decade: Important Reminders Regarding Employee Benefits
- Event
10.17.2019
Webinar | Health Savings Accounts
- Blog
10.07.2019
4 Ways to Improve Open Enrollment
- Event
09.19.2019
Webinar | New HRA Options
- Event
09.12.2019
Webinar | New Developments with HRAs and 2020
- Blog
09.10.2019
5 Employee Wellness Initiatives That Work
- Event
08.15.2019
Webinar | Association Health Plans
- Blog
08.02.2019
Podcast | Choosing Your Broker
- Blog
08.01.2019
Wearable Health Care Technology: Fashion Fad or the Future?
- Event
07.18.2019
Webinar | Annual Required Notices 2019
- News
06.21.2019
MMA Midwest Named Second Largest Dayton-Area Employee Benefits Company
- Event
06.20.2019
Webinar | Mid-Year Compliance Review
- Blog
06.20.2019
A New Era of Employee-Centric Work Perks
- Event
05.29.2019
Seminar | Pharmacy - Everyone's talking about it, but what can I do?
- Event
05.16.2019
Webinar | Wellness Programs
- Blog
04.26.2019
Massachusetts Releases New Guidance and Employee Notice Template For Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
- Event
04.25.2019
Webinar | Total Worker Health
- Event
04.18.2019
Webinar | HIPAA Privacy & Security Training
- Blog
04.11.2019
Approaching Healthcare Benefits Strategically
- Blog
04.11.2019
April is National Wellness Month
- Event
03.21.2019
Webinar | Federal Continuation Coverage
- Blog
03.15.2019
Five Ways Employee Benefits Are Advantageous for Smaller Businesses
- Event
02.21.2019
Webinar | FMLA & Employee Benefits
- Event
01.29.2019
Employment Law Landscape 2019
- Event
01.17.2019
Webinar: ACA Reporting Requirements
- Blog
01.16.2019
Understanding the Changes to Minnesota’s Whistleblower Act
- Event
12.20.2018
Webinar | 2018 Year in Review & Future Benefits Forecast
- Blog
12.20.2018
Making a List and Checking It Twice
- Event
12.14.2018
Webinar | Q4 2018 Health Care Reform Update
- Blog
12.12.2018
Can Telemedicine Make Health Care Benefits Healthier?
- Blog
12.03.2018
Employment Law Update: Minimum Wage Keeps Climbing
- News
11.29.2018
Engaging Your Employees Requires Your Own Engagement
- Blog
11.29.2018
IRS Increase Health FSA Contribution Limit for 2019 & Adjusts Other Benefit Limits
- Event
11.20.2018
Webinar | Back to Basics: Consumer-Based Plans 101
- Blog
11.08.2018
Four Steps Employers Can Take to Help Alleviate the Opioid Crisis
- Blog
11.02.2018
Build a Positive Workplace Culture That Promotes Honest Communication
- Blog
11.02.2018
Compliance Update: HRAs Poised For a Facelift
- Blog
10.25.2018
The Impact of Stress in the Workplace
- Event
10.18.2018
Webinar | Annual Required Notices
- Event
10.12.2018
Webinar | Q3 2018 Health Care Reform Update
- Blog
10.09.2018
IRS Releases Final 2018 ACA Reporting Forms and Instructions
- Blog
10.05.2018
What are the Government's Plans to Solve the Opioid Problem?
- Event
09.18.2018
The Opioid Epidemic: A Public Health Crisis
- Blog
09.17.2018
Is Marijuana the Answer to the Opioid Addiction Problem?
- Blog
09.12.2018
Compliance Update: Medical Loss Ratio Rebates Under the Affordable Care Act
- Blog
09.11.2018
2018 Stop-Loss Survey
- Event
09.06.2018
Webinar | Association Health Plans
- Blog
09.06.2018
Rule #1 For Effective Open Enrollment: Start Early
- Blog
08.21.2018
Tobacco: Still Affecting Businesses’ Financial Health
- Blog
08.17.2018
Open Enrollment: Ways to Control Costs
- Event
08.16.2018
Webinar | Surviving a DOL Audit
- Blog
08.07.2018
Open Enrollment: The Benefits of Smarter Communications
- Blog
08.06.2018
The Opioid Crisis: Using Alternative Approaches to Manage Pain
- Blog
07.25.2018
Is An EAP Worth The Investment?
- Blog
06.29.2018
The DOL's New Association Health Plan Rules and What They Actually Mean
- Event
06.21.2018
Webinar | 2018 Mid-Year Compliance Update
- Blog
05.30.2018
The Opioid Crisis: A Serious Societal and Business Issue
- Blog
12.27.2017
Employee Benefits in 2018
- Blog
10.13.2017
Telemedicine and HSAs
- Blog
10.06.2017
Data Breach Risks During Annual Enrollment
- Blog
09.26.2017
Annual Enrollment
- Event
03.14.2017
The Future of Health Care & Employee Benefits