How Your Industry Can Change Employee Benefits Delight
From retail to manufacturing, your industry is made up of unique people with unique wants and needs, especially when it comes to employee benefits.
Our latest data revealed, once again, employees are struggling to understand their benefits options, with 85% feeling in over their head. This is a 4-point increase from last year.
With confusion increasing, it’s time to ask, “Do employees have to understand their benefits to make positive health choices?”
They don’t.
Embracing this fact means shifting expectations on benefits delivery. Technology and communications can come together to educate and empower employees on their health journey, without the need to Google benefits jargon. If they need handholding, well, technology can do that!
With healthcare costs continuing to rise and benefit expectations shifting, HR teams are under increased pressure to make the most of each benefits dollar. A mindset change, prioritizing UX and personalization alongside your offering mix, can maximize the return on existing programs.
When employees make healthy choices, the positive outcomes stack up with each passing season.
How does your industry influence employees’ benefits decisions?
The better HR teams understand the nuances of their population, the better they can hone their benefits communications to keep care top of mind and promote lifelong health for employees.
From health and wealth to stress and emergency preparedness, each industry presents its own decision factors.
- Finance: This population has the highest levels of self-reported health and are more likely to handle a large, unexpected bill, though they’d rather not.
- Healthcare: These professionals typically make under $60k per year and are more likely to have a family history of illness.
- Retail: Majority Millennial, retail employees appreciate a mobile approach to benefits information and are least likely feel they have enough funds to save money.
- Manufacturing: More likely to smoke with only 87% abstaining, this population is also more likely to have multiple prescriptions.
- Business Services: Busy businesses employees are seeking benefits information on the evenings and weekends,
No matter your industry, personalized approaches drive benefits engagement.
Across all industries, personalization is critical to driving benefits value through year-round engagement. But personalization looks different for each industry. When you combine data and technology, HR teams can deliver smart, individual communications to their people.
For example, employees in the finance sector are likely to be savvy about their benefits when it comes to pairing financial support and solutions alongside their medical elections, while employees in the healthcare industry demonstrate a willingness to engage with their benefits. Retail employees, on the other hand, benefit from a tech-driven benefits engagement approach.
Reducing friction and creating delightful experiences are key to making benefits decisions easy. A place to start: Consider the unique needs and preferences of different employee populations.
With the right strategies and tools in place, HR teams can help their employees make informed decisions about their benefits, seek care year-round, and pursue lifelong health.
Your industry is unique. And so are your employees, what they need, and how they engage with their benefits.
