The workplace paradigm shift that came during and after the pandemic in the US has benefit advisors and human resource professionals everywhere reevaluating their employee benefits. For the first time since the 1980’s it is an employee driven market and employers are looking for ways to restructure employee benefits to attract and retain talent. This restructuring includes looking at the cost benefits of certain employee benefits and entertaining some new benefits that have made their way to the marketplace. Researching how some of the companies are progressively stretching their benefits dollars and offerings to keep a happy and healthy workforce in 2022 and beyond.
Financial Planning
The pandemic has really stressed the importance of financial planning and having a rainy-day fund to cover unexpected illness and loss. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, 62 % of employers feel responsible for employee financial wellness beyond basic healthcare and retirement. The Bank of America 11th Annual Workplace Benefits Report also found that over the last year more employers are offering financial wellness programs, access to financial advisors and access to financial products and services. Several financial ancillary benefits are available on the market today for employers to offer employees and help relieve the stress that financial worries can cause employees which ultimately results in lost productivity and sick days. It’s time to take a look at the new programs on the market and see if they fit your needs.
Benefits without Borders
As the workplace has shifted to a more remote/hybrid dominant environment, benefits to need to undergo a shift. Some workers have decided to relocate to different states with their newfound flexibility and freedom leaving some healthcare coverage only providing emergency services. This is new consideration for not only employee but for employers hoping to attract the best and the brightest. Also now that the geography of workers has spread outside the brick and mortar building task like open enrollment and fielding basic benefit questions has taken on a new virtual format and other inventive ways to connect and maker sure benefits options are available, understood and utilized. This directly leads us into our next restructuring trend bringing in the tech!
Source: Bank of America’s Workplace Benefits Reports
Telehealth & Cybersecurity Becomes Personal
Now the landscape has changed and while office interactions are declining the virtual world of Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Slack have become the norm. When you bring benefits into the virtual tech side of things it becomes a little more personal and Cybersecurity become more paramount. Benefit administrator and human resource managers need to be considering technical options for both the administration of benefit forms and the actual benefits themselves.
Telemedicine is here to stay. According to Mckinsey & Company, telehealth usage has surged 38-fold since 2020. Consumers and providers have continually sought ways to safely access and deliver healthcare.
Regulatory changes have helped facilitate the expanded use of telehealth and have become permanent, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ expansion of reimbursable telehealth codes for the 2021and 2022 physician fee schedule.
Mckinsey’s consumer research shows that consumers continue to view telehealth as an important factor in their future healthcare needs. Overall, the current consumer usage of telehealth continues to rise and is becoming more popular especially regarding basic triage care and various specialties.
What platform you are using to deliver telehealth and the cybersecurity measures in place around those platforms are new considerations as you shop for new benefits. Additional technical components and security also need to be built around employees working from home. The transfer of personal health information through email and apps has become more commonplace and now that utilization rates are up security behind these services is critical.
Back to Benefits 101
Restructuring benefits for the future is a complicated task for administrators as there have been many changes to consider in the benefits landscape. The front facing benefits that your employees see should remain uncomplicated, so a full implementation and communication strategy needs to be a large part of your restructuring plan. Employees won’t use benefits they don’t understand so be sure to keep it simple!