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How the Talent Crunch is Impacting Benefits Brokers

James Edwards

Millions of employees continue to leave their jobs in favor of more flexibility, higher pay, and better benefits. Today, the percentage of employees looking to actively leave their roles is nearly 50%, according to Gallup. Employers are feeling the impact, as HR teams report their biggest challenge is attracting or retaining talent (86%), according to BrightPlan’s 2022 Wellness Barometer Survey.

The talent crunch has employers critically evaluating their benefits packages in order to gain a competitive advantage in the market. As a result, many are turning to their benefits brokers for more compelling yet cost-effective options and are exploring tech-forward solutions that address the holistic needs of their workforce, including their physical, mental and financial well-being.

The competitive labor market is an opportunity for forward-thinking brokers to set themselves apart as a strategic partner to their clients. Here’s how.

 

Meet employees where they are

Nearly two-thirds of employees say they are stressed all or most of the time at work, with 72% of employees citing increased financial stress. Not only can stress lead to reduced workplace productivity and engagement but it can also cause adverse health effects, increased missed workdays, and higher healthcare costs. With employees expecting their employers to support their needs both in and out of the office, holistic wellness benefits are increasingly important as employers vie for top talent. For these reasons, mental health resources, such as mindfulness apps, stress management training, mental health days, and employee assistance programs (EAPs) as well as financial wellness programs are garnering increased attention from clients.

 

Data is king

Now more than ever, employers are turning to their broker partners to help them build more creative plan designs that enable them to remain competitive while keeping costs in mind. Brokers need to offer benefits recommendations that meet the needs of their client’s workforce and align with their talent acquisition and retention goals. The best way to do this is through data-informed plan design. Leveraging benchmarking data as well as insights from solution provider partners, brokers can enable employers to evaluate the needs of their workforce and make recommendations that help drive employee engagement and retention. This real-time access to information improves decision-making for HR teams and provides valuable insights into the overall effectiveness of their benefits programs.

 

Digital first

To empower them to deliver benefits at scale and provide employees with access to the support they need, when they need it, HR teams are increasingly adopting a mix of digital and human-led solutions. Technology helps drive engagement with benefits through self-service tools and automated capabilities and enables HR teams to glean insights into benefits utilization and engagement. Digital solutions are also important for meeting employees where they are, especially millennials and Gen Z workers - the newest generation to hit the workforce. Collectively, according to BLS data, millennials and Gen Zers currently make up 76% of the U.S. labor force, and 91% of GenZ say technology would influence job choice. Brokers serve as a go-to resource in guiding their clients to the right mix of digital and human solutions - enabling them to improve the employee experience and provide their workforce with personalized and on-demand support.

 

Today, resource-constrained HR teams are asking more of their brokers and solution provider partners. Brokers can set themselves apart through creative and cost-effective plan design and detailed and on-demand reporting and recommendations in order to help their clients remain competitive in today’s market. 

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