The pandemic has had a major impact on employees’ physical, emotional and financial health, causing many to look more closely at the benefits available to them. Forward-thinking companies are redefining the employee experience and creating a new culture of care by providing a holistic and flexible Total Rewards program to better attract, retain, and engage talent.
Read on for the three ways to modernize your Total Reward program amidst the changes brought on by the pandemic.
3 Ways To Modernize Your Organization’s Employee Benefits
1. Prioritize What Employees Value
Gen X and Baby Boomers are retiring at a much faster pace, leaving millennials as the largest demographic in the workforce. This generation, along with Gen Z who are starting to enter the workforce, may have different needs and expectations. Employers have an opportunity to expand their benefits program to support these employees’ needs as well as the needs of their entire workforce.
The best way to determine what your employees want is to ask them. Conduct a baseline survey on your Total Rewards program and segment findings by key employee demographics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, level within the organization, and geographic location. This will help reveal whether your current benefits program is meeting your employees’ needs and where you may need to make some adjustments. Focus future investments on what your employees value and divest in programs that are underutilized.
2. Offer Flexibility In Your Benefits Offering
Student loan benefits, child care assistance, parental leave. These are all benefits that may or may not be pertinent to employees based on their specific situation. Every employee is unique, and your benefits program should reflect that.
To help address this reality, some employers have implemented a core benefit program consisting of traditional benefits—such as health insurance, paid time off, and a 401(k) plan— plus an additional menu of benefits that employees can select from based on their needs. Typically with flexible benefit plans, employers set a limit to the number of benefits that they are willing to reimburse and if employees choose to purchase additional benefits, they may be able to pay for them with pre-tax dollars.
The diversity of the current workforce calls for giving employees control over their benefits. This is a truly modern approach that sends a clear message that the organization values its employees’ needs.
3. Leverage Technology
Important benefits can go unnoticed or underutilized without a solid communication strategy and technology to support it. Cumbersome enrollments and a lack of visibility into their entire benefits offering can make it difficult for employees to understand the value of employer-provided benefits. Not only that, but employees face a number of financial decisions when it comes to selecting and using employer-provided benefits. For this reason, benefits optimization is a crucial element of a financial wellness program.
BrightPlan integrates your benefits program into employee financial plans through our digital platform and tailored education and advice. Employees see their benefits in the context of their entire financial picture, enabling them to track everything in one place. The future of work lies within the employee experience and employers are looking for solutions that their employees can seamlessly use to be more productive and healthy.
The Bottom Line
The labor market is evolving at an accelerated pace. Organizations that provide their employees with competitive compensation and personalized benefits will likely be able to demonstrate a culture of care and realize increased employee retention, productivity, engagement, and morale.
Modernize your employee benefits with BrightPlan.
