Leaning on Company Benefits to Fuel Employee Engagement

BY Wanly Chen | August 04, 2023

In a recent study on worker satisfaction in the U.S., only 49% of workers stated they were satisfied with their company benefits. At a time when employee satisfaction is increasingly important because of a mass exodus of employees paired with quiet quitting, employers need to prioritize not only salaries, but also benefits and work culture.

Companies and leaders need to develop new strategies to keep and attract talent. In a From Day One thought leadership spotlight session titled, “Using Benefits to Drive Employee Engagement,” Veronica Knuth, chief people officer at Quantum Health, a consumer healthcare navigation company, speaks to leaders on how to use benefits to increase employee engagement.

Personalizing and Communicating Company Benefits

When offering benefits, leaders need to ensure employees learn of company benefits as early as possible, Knuth said. By engaging with employees in the early stages of their job, leaders can help mitigate questions and concerns early and increase employee engagement.

“First, you may have candidates who are coming with pre-existing conditions who will want to know [these benefits], so make sure you have real ways to engage with them even in the candidate stage,” Knuth said. “Then, giving [employees] more benefits information when they have a job offer, an offer of acceptance or at new hire orientation. At 30, 60, even at 90 days on the job, companies should keep reminding new employees of where to find the benefits and what benefits they have access to.”

But having benefits is only a part of activating employee engagement, Knuth said. Companies and leaders need to personalize benefits for their employees, especially around key life changes or milestones. For employees of all ages, a certain birthday is usually a milestone for healthcare and requires companies to proactively reach out to their employees.

Veronica Knuth, Quantum Health's chief people officer, led the session (company photo)

“We send our employees information when they turn 40 or 50 because there are some important things that they need to do from a healthcare perspective. When they reach those milestones, we need to make sure that they know what those things are, and how to access the providers,” Knuth said. “We also have to engage with early career employees. In Ohio, people age out of their parents’ benefits at 26 so [it’s important to engage] with employees on their 25th birthday to help them think about potentially needing to sign up for a benefit plan.”’

Companies should also build strong relationships with benefits champion groups like employee resource groups (ERGs) to not only help disseminate information but to also further expand and revise benefits offerings as needed.

“We talk to [our ERG leaders] about the healthcare needs of specific demographics and populations,” Knuth said. “It gives us an opportunity to say, “Did you know that we offer these benefits?” or “We’re planning to look at our 2024 benefits. What are the gaps that you’re seeing in your population?”’

Reducing Complexity

Finding and understanding information related to benefits can be overwhelming for employees. In a study on healthcare benefits by Jellyvision, researchers found 49% of employees find making health insurance decisions difficult. Over half of these employees (56%) stated they would like help from their employers to choose a health plan.

To reduce the complexity of benefits, companies should make sure adequate help is available for employees' questions and concerns, Knuth said. For a company, this may require setting up human and digital point solutions that are prepared to engage with employees at any time.

“Employees want to know where they can go when they have a challenging healthcare situation and they might want to talk to an individual, so make sure that you make that easily available,” Knuth said. “We [created] a document for our employees that [offers guidance on] when to use telehealth, when to go to their primary care provider, when to go to urgent care, and when to go to the emergency room. We [also] gave them the costs of those choices so that they’re more informed.”

Using Navigation and Care Solutions

Having a navigation and care solution partner for company benefits can also be an asset for companies and leaders. By working with employees directly, navigation and care solution partners can provide the personal and human-centric help that members need while ensuring they receive quality and cost-effective care.

Quantum Health does just that, Knuth says. As a leader in the industry, Knuth discusses what employers should look for in a navigation partner.

“If you are looking for a navigation partner, you want to look for a solution that is really at the center of the member which may be your employee, the employer, yourself, and the providers,” Knuth said. “The right navigation partner will simplify the user experience, increase member engagement, improve clinical outcomes and reduce claims costs to provide significant ROI.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Quantum Health, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.

Wanly Chen is a writer and poet based in New York City. 

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Balancing Cost Efficiency and Positive Outcomes in Employee Benefits

As the employee benefits landscape continues changing, it’s important for employers to identify what benefits their workers find most meaningful today. During the pandemic there was a big push for mental health support—and that’s still important given all the cultural and political uncertainty impacting workers in a variety of ways.But now, the physical, financial, and personalized offerings are returning to the forefront. At From Day One’s Boston benefits conference, leaders discussed the benefits that make the biggest impact for their employees. Here are the key takeaways.A Focus on Physical Health“With the advent of GLP-1s and medically assisted weight loss, one of the hottest topics we’re seeing in the industry is around weight management,” said Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at Noom. With GLP-1s, he says, “Think about the member experience first,” in terms of minimizing hurdles and prior authorizations. Consider alternative funding methods to access medications at a reduced cost to the patient through rebates, and add behavior change support in addition to the medication options for long-term success. “We’re [also] seeing a lot of talk around women’s health, specifically around menopause,” Fair said. Generally, he says, people are not just interested in living longer–they want to live healthy longer. Therefore, employers are best served by taking a holistic approach.“As an organization, we focus on the overall happiness of our employees. That’s something that we practice very intentionally as part of our cultural framework. And because of that, we have programs which not only focus on physical health [and] mental wellness, but holistic well-being, which includes even things like financial literacy [and] how we plan for retirement,” said Shahina Islam, VP, HR at Zensar. To increase DEI initiatives for an increasingly diverse workforce, employers can also consider adding benefits for fertility and resources for parents and those involved in elder care, she says.Serving a Large Workforce While Staying on BudgetModerator Rebecca Knight, independent journalist and contributor at Harvard Business Review, notes the challenges of providing adequate benefits to a large, diverse workforce with varying needs while also “staying on budget.” Part of the answer, says Amy Claffey Widell, global benefits director at Akamai Technologies, is identifying point solutions that can cover several areas at once, such as musculoskeletal, fertility, cardiovascular, and cancer, and then being able to prove the cost effectiveness.Leaders shared insight on the subject of "In Employee Benefits, Balancing Cost Efficiency With Good Employee Outcomes"“I’m creating that business case to our senior leaders: if we implement a mental health benefit, we’re going to see a decrease in claims from our medical spend,” Widell said. “[For example], we implemented a point solution three years ago, and we’ve seen a 10% decrease in the claims in our medical plan.”To determine ROI, claims analysis paired with employee feedback is key. Employee surveys can help you understand which benefits employees are using, which they aren’t, what they want and, importantly, what they may not realize is already being offered. HR leaders should remember that the vendors themselves are constantly changing, so it’s important to stay flexible. “Every couple years, revisit the market, see who’s out there, [and] see if you can consolidate vendors,” Widell said. “I don’t necessarily want to have 500 vendors,” as that causes confusion for workers and a headache for HR managers. ROI can’t be pegged to one particular benefit, since wellness itself is holistic. “Look at the cumulative effect of everything you do. Are you managing cost and trend from everything you do, and are you reaching the maximum efficiency on those things you do?” said Scott Kirschner, senior director, global benefits at Greystar.Implementing Digital Solutions“Employees are increasingly looking for a more seamless experience,” Knight said. That’s where technological advances can help, especially when it comes to healthcare and wellness benefits. “With digital care, I’m noticing that we’re really able to take an ordeal that could take three hours and turn it into a 30-minute access thing,” said Dr. Bijal Toprani, senior clinical solutions lead and doctor of physical therapy, Hinge Health. Healthcare apps allow for easy provider follow-up and opportunities for patients to access care outside of traditional in-person office hours, she says.“How are we going to get people to use [a benefit] if they don’t know about it?” Kirschner posited. Digital solutions also offer centralized access to benefits for a workforce that is becoming increasingly dispersed as hybrid and remote setups become the norm. Additionally, Kirschner says, employers should take advantage of the fact that everyone is always on their phones. Place QR codes around the office for employees to scan for benefits, offer webinars to train employees on the benefits portal, send regular text updates with an option to opt-out, and embrace internal email marketing. To meet employees where they are, you might need to get even more creative with your communications. For example, Toprani was able to successfully reach her truck-driving workforce by leaving cards about benefits on their windshields, since they might not regularly check their email. Focusing on Positive Employee OutcomesThe best employee benefits programs take into account the entirety of the population they are meant to serve. For example, even if most of your employees are men, Toprani shares, sending them information about women’s healthcare is important since they may be married or have daughters.For workforces spread across multiple countries, it may be necessary for HR to seek out local vendors for certain benefits. Menopause care in particular, Widell notes, is more accessible in the U.S. but does not yet have prominent global solutions available in other countries. Ultimately, benefits programs are meant to do just that: provide benefits. “Everything that we are doing we need to ensure that we have a very happy and engaged workforce,” Islam said. “Our annual survey has a big section on how employees are feeling valued, and benefits are a big component of that.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by Rick Friedman for From Day One)

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Balancing Cost Efficiency With Good Employee Outcomes in Benefits

If investing in benefits could improve employee retention by 40% in a year, how much would that be worth to your company?That’s what Jon Harold, head of sales and partnership success at SoFi at Work spoke about at From Day One’s Chicago benefits conference. Harold joined three other panelists, who talked about how to offer employee benefits in a cost-effective way. Patricia Garland, adjunct instructor, labor and employment relations at Loyola University, Chicago, and author of 33 Ways Not to Screw Up HR, moderated the session.SoFi at Work, which provides student debt and financial benefits to over 1,000 companies, knows how to get creative. Section 127, in place since 2020, lets companies contribute tax free to employee student loans up to $5,250. About 31% of companies now offer this, Harold says. Prompted by a shortage of healthcare workers, a Tennessee-based health system reached out to SoFi for assistance. “They were having a terrible retention problem with the nurses that they were bringing on,” he said. “Their hypothesis was, these nurses have student loans. Not many other hospitals offer this type of program. Therefore, if we roll out a program where we’re contributing to student debt, and we tier that after years of tenure, that will help with retention.”SoFi at Work helped them come up with a plan by putting it into real numbers. If they’re leaving after a few years, then the benchmark is six to nine months of that employee’s salary. 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Empowering Your People to Be Better Health Care Consumers

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Sokol pointed to an internal Quantum survey in which 88% HR professionals said their employees knew how to navigate their health care system, but only 35% of employees agreed.“All of us can get into those times where we're extremely busy, there's a lot going on,” added Miycol Jones, senior director of employee experience and growth at Quantum Health. “It happens with our employees, and it happens with the HR professionals as well. 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A navigation partner like Quantum can provide a single point of contact for members and providers.”The speakers from top left, Patty Starr, Miycol Jones, moderator Anna Maltby, and Dr. Mike Sokol (photo by From Day One)Starr agreed. “As employers, we sometimes forget the human side of things, and what's happening in somebody's life on a day-to-day basis that we might actually not know,” she said. “So there might be a whole bunch of chaos, things pulling them like Gumby in a whole bunch of different directions, but all we see is what’s happening in front of us on a day-to-day basis. There's sometimes a disconnect between what our employees need and want at that moment.”When it comes to human resources leadership, part of being effective means knowing about the latest trends and changes in health care that can add value for your organization’s employees.“We're seeing a number of interesting trends,” Sokol said. “One that we're seeing quite a bit now is an explosion of these “point solutions.” We have a number of vendors out there now that are focusing on one specific area, like diabetes reversal, weight loss, musculoskeletal conditions, or fertility management. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of these companies popping up all over the place. And what we're finding is that a number of large and medium and even small self-insured employers are starting to contract with the solutions, but in some cases, they may have multiple solutions in place.”Sokol added that these layers of complexity are causing some companies to engage with marketplace navigation providers, who can track all the changes and ensure multiple plans aren’t contracted inadvertently.Help Workers Improve Health Literacy, EquitablyDon’t underestimate the level of support your employees may need to grasp fundamental health insurance terms, added Sokol.“Do they really understand the basic concepts of health insurance and the health care system?” he said. “If they don't, how can we really expect that they can take care of themselves? [health literacy] really is a very important topic.” Sokol cited one industry study in which only 4% of workers could correctly define the terms copay, coinsurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum.When it comes to health insurance, don’t be afraid to repeat your message often in order to help workers get comfortable with the benefits they earn and deserve each month.“I definitely encourage teaching it all year long, all the time,” Starr said. “The number of people who don't know the basics today is overwhelming. Just keep on repeating it.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Quantum Health, for sponsoring this webinar.Nick Wolny is an editor, journalist, and consultant. Currently a senior editor at CNET, he has previously written for Fast Company, Fortune, Business Insider, and OUT Magazine, and is a frequent television commentator on technology and work life. He is based in Los Angeles.

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