Using Positive Benefit & People Experiences to Combat K-12 Educator Burnout

Using Positive Benefit & People Experiences to Combat K-12 Educator Burnout

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and If you’re a caregiver to a school-aged child, you may have attended a celebratory breakfast or contributed to a classroom gift in honor of the millions of educators across this nation who are shaping future generations.

Teaching is consistently cited as one of the most rewarding paid professions in the U.S., and the gratitude shown towards educators during events like Teacher Appreciation Week undoubtedly helps teachers feel recognized, reinforcing the meaning of their work. However, the cost-reward balance of a career in education has reached a critical tipping point, and many educators say that they continue to feel that their well-being is not prioritized by their employers.

In fact, research conducted by McKinsey & Company found that 75 percent of educators say they put more into their job than they receive, and 69 percent say that their total compensation does not reflect their qualifications, efforts, value, or output.

Unfortunately, many educators do not recognize the true value of their total compensation, whether it be in the form of healthcare benefits, mental health resources, pensions or retirement plans, or other wellness programs.

Additionally, communication challenges can plague this unique, deskless workforce, making it all the more critical that districts ensure that their people understand and leverage the support available to them.

K-12 Educators are Leaving Their Posts at an Alarming Rate

Unfortunately, the number of K-12 educators is dwindling at an alarming rate, a trend that began even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 2020, new issues emerged and existing ones were amplified, driving an estimated 55 percent of educators to consider leaving the profession earlier than they had planned.

The same study, conducted by the National Education Association, also found that a disproportionate number of those looking to leave the education field “are Black (62%) and Hispanic/Latino (59%) educators, already underrepresented in the teaching profession.”

Not only is teacher turnover high, but the pipeline to replace those teachers is in jeopardy as well. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) says that enrollment in colleges of education has been steadily declining for the past decade. The AACTE says that concerns about pay and working conditions have been a long-standing contributor to the decline, but recent increases in educator-reported stress, legislative pressures and public scrutiny on curriculum, and increased shortages driving unsustainable classroom sizes are predicted to continue to drive a recurring cycle of teacher shortages and exits from the field.

Those considering leaving the field represent just one piece of an alarming cycle of staff shortages, workplace stress and burnout, and eventual turnover that is expected to impact educators and students for years to come.  

The Impact of Educator Burnout & Turnover on Student Learning

A recent data analysis conducted by Chalkbeat shows that more teachers than ever left their posts last year. Their analysis also saw a troubling uptick in teachers leaving their classrooms mid-school year, making it even more challenging to replace them, and creating additional stressors for educators forced to absorb the workloads of exiting teachers.

While employee turnover also skyrocketed across the private sector during The Great Resignation, experts say that turnover in public education is much more meaningful and detrimental to a district’s ability to make up for pandemic-era learning loss and build a strong sense of community across its students.

“Teacher attrition can be destabilizing for schools,” said Kevin Bastian, a researcher at the University of North Carolina. Bastian’s research found that successful, effective teachers were increasingly leaving their positions as well, leaving an even greater void across many districts already struggling with limited resources.

Research conducted by Stanford University has cited the negative impacts of teacher turnover on student achievement, most negatively impacting underfunded districts and those with high proportions of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. Learning loss is cited to be fueled by issues like losing relationships with trusted educators, an influx of early career or inexperienced teachers, and in many cases – no replacement teachers at all.

What is Driving Educator Turnover?

Data across time and different survey groups show that workplace stress is the most common reason cited for leaving public education before retirement.

While high rates of workplace stress and burnout are impacting American workers across all professions, the impact is disproportionately high amongst those in education. A 2021 study conducted by RAND Corp. found that 25 percent of teachers reported symptoms of depression. Declining mental health was not just concentrated to teachers – school administrators are also experiencing not only their own workplace stress, but also the stress of supporting the mental health and well-being of their teachers.

A 2022 Gallup Poll on occupational burnout listed teachers as one of the top two roles experiencing ongoing workplace stress and burnout, and 44 percent of K-12 teachers say they very often or always feel burned out at work. Female teachers are disproportionately represented as experiencing constant workplace burnout at 55 percent.

McKinsey & Company research compared the top reasons educators reported wanting to leave their current role or the profession altogether against those looking to stay in their roles.

The top factors driving teachers to leave include:

  1. Compensation
  2. Expectations
  3. Well-being
  4. Leadership
  5. Workplace Flexibility

Research also shows that “the quality of a teacher’s work environment plays a major role in determining teacher retention, satisfaction, and effectiveness.” Teachers who do not feel supported in their work are not only more likely to leave the profession, but to isolate from their school community.

How Can You Improve District & Educator Outcomes Through a Positive People Experience?

McKinsey & Company found that the top factors that would drive educators to stay in their current roles are meaningful work, colleagues, compensation, and community.

So, how can districts retain their workforce – especially those who cite compensation, unreasonable expectations, and an inability to protect their well-being as top motivators to vacate their role? Even with limited budgets and resources, there are ways districts can support their people and improve educator outcomes through positive people and benefit experiences.

1. Make it easier to understand and access the mental health resources you already offer.

Data shows that employer-sponsored mental health support improves teacher resiliency and decreases feelings of workplace stress. However, the National Education Association says that nearly 35 percent of educators report not knowing what mental health resources are available to them or how to access them.

This is not an issue exclusive to education. Benefit education gaps persist across the private sector as well. Only 49 percent of employees say they can accurately recall their benefit elections, making it critical that all employers make it as easy as possible to understand, access, and engage with the benefits available to them.

Executing a strong, year-round benefits communication plan will draw attention to the programs you already offer, driving improved adoption, ease of access, and improved well-being.  

2. Build a strong community.

Districts that build strong communities across teachers, administrators, students, and parents will go far in being able to retain their educators and drive positive outcomes for their workforce. Among those educators who say their school community has influenced them to stay in their role, 87 percent attribute their longevity to colleagues who show genuine concern and support for one another.

Experts also encourage districts to increase teacher connection points not only with students, parents, and each other, but also with leadership. Studies point to the positive impact on satisfaction and sense of purpose when leaders connect with their teachers and students through coaching, feedback, and mentorship programs. Experts also recommend removing administrative burdens often placed on teachers wherever possible.

3. Leverage technology and individualized health data to drive centralized and personalized benefit experiences.

Educators are susceptible to the same communication overload as any other American worker, but they spend the vast majority of their contracted workday in front of a classroom, not in front of a screen engaging with email or other types of online communication.  

Additionally, K-12 educators have decentralized communication channels – especially as it relates to email communication. Separate email addresses often exist for district or city communications and touchpoints with parents, closed communications with students, and personal email addresses for union communications make it even harder to keep track of important messages. This is in addition to other decentralized, online communication channels for things like school closures due to weather. This can lead to communication fatigue, and can cause educators to ignore channels not dedicated exclusively to their work output.

Personalized benefit communications from one centralized access point increases benefits communication engagement, which has a positive correlation to improved benefits adoption and engagement.

Additionally, leveraging technology that uses individualized health data can support the delivery of messages that are personalized for that individual. This makes it possible to send tailored communications, whether tied to diabetes management or pre-natal care, helping your people to better navigate their individual healthcare journey in ways that lead to improved employer and employee outcomes through increased health and wellness.

4. Make it easier for educators to understand the value of their benefits as part of their total compensation.

While many teachers cite compensation as a reason they have left or are considering leaving education, for many, this refers to salary alone. As the cost of living rises and financial uncertainty looms, it is clear why teachers are focused on take-home pay as a standalone metric of compensation.  

Experts encourage districts to emphasize the value of the total compensation offered to K-12 educators. While pensions and other long-term retirement plans are a strong incentive for many teachers to remain in their roles, for younger generations it can be hard to prioritize long-term financial health against the need to care for themselves and their families today.

This makes it critical for districts to communicate the value of their total benefits offering. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the value of a teacher’s benefits program is on average equal to 45 percent of their annual wages. That compares to just 19 percent in the private sector. As healthcare spending continues to climb (even more quickly than the rate of inflation) the monetary value and impact of a rich healthcare program can quickly outpace a wage bump gained by leaving their current role.

Providing total compensation statements can help provide greater visibility into your employer value proposition. Additionally, providing year-round insight into the performance of their health plan, incurred savings, and even access to preventative care and resources also makes it easier for your people to understand the full impact of their benefits coverage.

Let’s appreciate our teachers beyond Teacher Appreciation Week.

The negative impacts of workplace stress on mental and physical health are widely documented, and perhaps nowhere more clearly than when it comes to our educators. Supporting our teachers through benefits and positive people experiences will go far to better support the well-being of this critical workforce.

A Behind the Scenes Look at Empyrean’s Annual Conference

A Behind the Scenes Look at Empyrean’s Annual Conference

Last week, Empyrean welcomed over 150 attendees to EVOLVE23, its annual invitation-only conference. This year’s event was held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Savannah along the city’s famed waterfront.

The theme for EVOLVE23 was “Connecting Benefits, Enriching Lives”, which aligns with the organization’s corporate mission. Educational programming presented throughout the conference was centered around the critical connections between people experience, benefits, and positive HR and organizational outcomes.

The clients, prospects, partners, and sponsors in attendance were also provided with insights from Empyrean CEO Rich Wolfe about the future of Empyrean, and how the organization’s recent acquisition of Enspire has played a part in Empyrean’s go-forward vision. Wolfe also shared his own passion for connecting benefits and enriching lives, and why engaging, personalized benefits and people experiences are critical to overall organizational success.

Educational Programming

The event featured many dynamic, industry experts presenting on topics designed to provide strategies and techniques needed to effectively leverage benefits to improve and ensure employee trust, psychological safety, and physical wellness – all of which lead to happy, energized teams and successful organizations.

EVOLVE’s conference content also delivered key insights into finding HR, benefits, and organizational success while addressing the needs of their populations with economic efficiency.

The educational content covered at EVOLVE23 was delivered by both individual speakers and through expert panels featuring Empyrean’s clients, internal subject matter experts, and partners.

Featured speakers at EVOLVE23 included:

For a full list of conference educational programming and session descriptions, please click here.

EVOLVE23 in Review

In addition to a jam-packed slate of educational programming, EVOLVE23 also offered many opportunities for networking and fun, including a client reception at the Georgia State Railroad Museum and time spent along Savannah’s famed riverfront.

More information about EVOLVE24 will be released Summer 2023.

Learn more about how Empyrean can help you connect benefits and enrich lives at your own organization.

About Empyrean
We believe that everybody deserves a workplace culture that supports their total well-being through benefits. Since 2006, Empyrean has provided hundreds of employers of varying size, industry, and benefit plan complexity with the innovative technology and best-in-class service necessary to accelerate their benefits strategies and bring their benefits programs to life. Empyrean’s platform and services are designed to create connected employee benefit experiences that enrich lives, strengthen employer brands, and improve workplace cultures for over 5 million people. With our +YOU solution, clients can deliver a holistic employee experience to help HR and benefit leaders simplify the work technology stack for all of the HR initiatives designed to improve employee productivity, well-being, and retention. Visit us at goempyrean.com.

Empyrean Releases Full Agenda for EVOLVE\23

Empyrean Releases Full Agenda for EVOLVE\23

Connecting Benefits, Enriching Lives

Empyrean has released its full conference agenda and speaker lineup for EVOLVE\23, which will feature some of the industry’s top thought leaders and HR and benefits experts.

DATE: April 12-14, 2023

LOCATION: The Hyatt Regency Savannah

The theme for this year’s event is “Connecting Benefits, Enriching Lives”, which is also Empyrean’s corporate mission. Thought leadership content covered during the conference will explore the connection between people experience, benefits, and positive HR and organizational outcomes.

The event will feature two dynamic, high-energy keynotes as well as several expert panels. These sessions are designed to provide the strategies and tools needed to effectively lead the charge in using benefits to improve and ensure employee trust, psychological safety, and physical wellness – all of which lead to happy, energized teams and successful organizations.

Conference speakers will also provide actionable insights and strategies that will empower attendees to create personalized, connected, life-enriching benefits experiences that address the needs of the individual while also addressing populations with economic efficiency.

Platinum event sponsors Securian and LifeLock will also share critical information about how to improve people experience through benefits.

Conference Keynotes: EVOLVE\23


Opening Keynote: From Populations to People – Creating Remarkable Experiences One Individual at a Time 

Joey Coleman
Customer & Employee Engagement Expert

The opening keynote will be delivered by Joey Coleman, an employee engagement and customer experience expert who has worked with organizations like Whirlpool, NASA, Volkswagen Australia, and Zappos to design and implement their internal and external brand experiences.

Content covered will include:  

  • Why your employees are your most important customers.
  • How to improve employee experiences to reduce churn and increase engagement. 
  • Delivering personalized interactions at scale.
  • The three elements of long-term employee engagement.  
  • Becoming a more strategic organizational contributor by focusing on people experience and engagement.

Closing Keynote: The Power of a People-First Approach: Aligning HR, Benefit, and Organizational Success 

Mark Stelzner
Founder / Managing Principal at IA HR

While the insights shared at EVOLVE\23 will help attendees better leverage benefit programs for organizational success, it is critical for benefit and HR leaders to understand how to communicate this value up to the C-Suite.

As the role of strategic HR and benefits leaders continues to evolve, so do the demands on those in these positions. HR and benefit leaders are not only responsible for ensuring that their people understand how to choose and use their benefits, but that they also recognize the importance of these programs and how they support every individual’s total health and wellbeing – at work and in life.

This session will examine how HR leaders can survive and thrive during times of unprecedented change, all while continuing to provide essential physical, mental, and emotional support for their people. It will also dive into the many ways that this support advances every aspect of their organizational success, leveraging outcomes that speak to leadership and the C-Suite. 

Expert Panels


Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Through Financial Wellness Strategies 

Across the US, people are feeling financially insecure. Whether they’re having difficulty saving, paying off debt, planning for future expenses, or simply managing the cost of everyday life – financial wellness plays a huge role in the mental, emotional, and even physical well-being of today’s workforce.  

A recent survey conducted by PwC found that 56% of employees are stressed about their finances, 49% of which said that money concerns have had a major impact on their mental health in the past year. Financial instability causes widespread uncertainty, and financially strained employees are twice as likely to look for employment elsewhere.

As organizations look to provide resources, programs, and aid for their employees, it is critical to recognize that traditional financial wellness programs are not always inclusive, and may not properly support employees across different backgrounds, incomes, and geographies.  

This session will cover:  

  • An exploration of the growing scope of financial wellness programs, including student loan, home buyer, and caregiver assistance.  
  • Programs and educational resources valuable to employees throughout varying life stages.  
  • How to better support under-represented populations.  
  • Empowering low-wage workers with tools that meet them where they are. 
  • Tax-advantaged accounts and programs.   
  • Promoting financial wellness programs to help candidates and employees understand how to leverage them to their benefit.  

Lifestyles + Life Stages: Optimizing Benefits Value by Meeting Your People Where They Are  

Each member of any given workforce approaches their health, wellness, and financial planning goals differently, depending on what matters to them at that moment. Throughout any employee population, there are also different styles and preferences tied to communication, especially for those working outside of a traditional office environment.  

This session will take a deep dive into how HR and benefit teams can help their team members see the value of their benefits at their unique life stage – whether they are just entering the workforce, expanding their family, or approaching retirement – through targeted, meaningful employee communication and education.  

This session will cover: 

  • Strategies to better understand employee populations, including what they value, how they prefer to communicate, and how and when they absorb information.  
  • Why benefits personalization matters, and the science behind engagement with individualized messages and prompts.  
  • How to position benefits by life stage, including how a particular benefit could have different advantages depending on the age of the participant.  
  • Strategies to promote benefits to ensure everyone at every life stage understands how to enroll in and use the best benefits available to them.  
  • Communication preferences across the generations and how to flex to each style. 
  • How to improve benefits education and fluency across your populations.  
  • Reaching “deskless” and frontline workers in non-traditional office environments.  
  • How benefits personalization can support a DEIB strategy.   

Creating Connected People & Benefit Experiences Across a Dispersed Workforce: A Client Case Study with NexTier  

Learn how NexTier Oilfield Solutions was able to significantly improve their people engagement and retention rates across their dispersed, deskless workforce by using personalized benefits and communication experiences.

The Future is Now: How Empyrean’s Vision Aligns with the Future of Benefits  

During this session, Empyrean’s Chief Strategy Officer, Jim Priebe, and Chief Information & Technology Officer, Kelly Clark, will share Empyrean’s go forward vision as we advance our mission to connect benefits and enrich lives.

Throughout the discussion, Jim and Kelly will talk through the various macro and micro factors influencing the space, including areas where Empyrean will make a concentrated investment in using our technology, security, infrastructure, and services to solve for the evolving challenges impacting Empyrean’s clients.

*Wagmo Pet Insurance is also a Bronze sponsor of EVOLVE\23.

Please contact our events team for more information about this invitation-only conference.

Empyrean Acquires Employee Communications and Engagement Platform and Launches +YOU, a Holistic Solution That Improves Employee Productivity, Wellbeing, and Retention

Empyrean Acquires Employee Communications and Engagement Platform and Launches +YOU, a Holistic Solution That Improves Employee Productivity, Wellbeing, and Retention

Houston, TX. [Feb. 20, 2023] Empyrean, (www.goempyrean.com), a company committed to building better corporate cultures through benefits, today announced the acquisition of employee communication and engagement platform Enspire.

Through the acquisition, Empyrean adds an expanded people-centric dimension to its innovative benefits administration technology and compassionate support services. Called +YOU, the new solution integrates Enspire’s employee communication and engagement technology with Empyrean’s benefits administration platform to become a fully customizable and employer-branded people experience — a single front door to an employer’s suite of tools for employee productivity, wellness, communications, and benefits.

“The combined value of Empyrean and Enspire sets a new standard for the way organizations support and communicate benefits and other HR initiatives with their people,” said Rich Wolfe, CEO of Empyrean. “Our new +YOU solution advances our ability to create a better people experience throughout the entire employee lifecycle. Clients can put their brand and culture centerstage while eliminating the need for employees to search across disconnected carrier and wellness apps or the company intranet to find the resources they need. We bring it all together, all in one place.”

As part of Empyrean, Enspire will continue offering a stand-alone communication and engagement platform for employers.

“Enspire solves employee needs by integrating all employee communication and resources enterprise-wide into one custom-branded employee app,” said Amanda Wiles, Enspire CEO and Founder. “Improving employee experiences and productivity results in a positive company culture and impressive employee retention.”

Today, Empyrean clients leverage the company’s well-established and proprietary AI-enabled benefits technology. This technology provides employees with personalized benefits recommendations and guidance based on the individual’s own health data while offering visibility into likely future healthcare needs and associated costs. With Enspire’s technology, employers can offer their people a single connection point for all of their HR initiatives and take advantage of a simplified, self-service digital hub to easily deliver personalized employee notifications or targeted campaigns. The integration of technology from both companies will ultimately create more opportunities to connect people to the benefits they need, right when they need them, through a mobile application that they will want to use every day.

With Empyrean’s new +YOU solution, employers will also have access to advanced data analytics that track employee engagement, retention, satisfaction, and benefits utilization. Enspire’s approach to employee communications has helped companies reduce turnover by as much as 50%.

“We have been a customer of both Enspire and Empyrean, separately, for many years, and have seen a tremendous increase in benefits adoption and engagement from our highly dispersed workforce,” said Felicia May, Benefits Director at NexTier Oilfield Solutions. “We attribute that change to the power of having a single company app, empowered by Empyrean’s benefits administration capabilities. I can’t wait to see what’s to come now that these two innovative companies have joined forces.”

Benefits consultants and advisors deploying Empyrean’s new +YOU solution for their clients will see increased levels of benefits engagement, adoption, and utilization. Clients already using Empyrean’s benefits technology report two times the adoption rate of voluntary benefits offered. With the new capabilities, Empyrean expects that level of user engagement to escalate even further, making it an unrivaled strategic partner to HR organizations and companies looking to engage and retain employees.

Learn more about +YOU from Empyrean.

About Empyrean
We believe that everybody deserves a workplace culture that supports their total well-being through benefits. Since 2006, Empyrean has provided hundreds of employers of varying size, industry, and benefit plan complexity with the innovative technology and best-in-class service necessary to accelerate their benefits strategies and bring their benefits programs to life. Empyrean’s platform and services are designed to create connected employee benefit experiences that enrich lives, strengthen employer brands, and improve workplace cultures for over 5 million people. With our +YOU solution, clients can deliver a holistic employee experience to help HR and benefit leaders simplify the work technology stack for all of the HR initiatives designed to improve employee productivity, well-being, and retention. Visit us at goempyrean.com.

About Enspire
Enspire is a private employee communication and engagement platform that integrates all employee communication into one app custom built to reconnect your employee experiences with your brand. Enspire provides a digital communication platform, team of digital strategy experts, and an analytics engine for engagement intelligence proven to advance employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Visit us at enspire.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Tony Spangler
817-798-3371
tony@thestarrconspiracy.com

Why Your People Experience Matters More Today than Ever Before

Why Your People Experience Matters More Today than Ever Before

A Connected and Personalized People Experience Can Help You Overcome 2023’s Top Employer Challenges 

The past few years have presented challenge after challenge for employers, making it harder than ever for HR teams to support their people and reach their goals. Workforces are more dispersed than ever, turnover is high, engagement is low, and it continues to be a candidate’s job market.   

But regardless of these challenges, organizations committed to creating connected, personalized people experiences have been able to strengthen their employer brand, and with it, raise their levels of engagement, retention, and the overall well-being of their people.

What is a People Experience?

Organizations are made up of people; individuals working towards a common goal but each with their own unique perspectives, backgrounds, experiences, and motivators.  

The way your teams experience and connect to your company culture and benefit programs influence everything from engagement to retention to performance – each of which has a tremendous impact on HR and organizational success.    

A strong, strategically executed people experience and benefits strategy should be leveraged by HR and benefits leaders to advance all people-related goals. The key to leveraging benefits success to advance your broader HR goals is delivering these life-enriching benefits through a personalized, connected people experience.  

Today’s Top Employer Challenges  

Here are some of the top challenges employers are facing today that can be improved by offering a strong people and benefits experience.  

Talent Attraction

Even through today’s economic uncertainties and highly publicized layoffs, the January 2023 jobs report showed that the unemployment rate continues to hover around 3.4 percent.  

Even before they apply for a position, your potential new hires begin to engage with your employer brand. A strong candidate experience drives your ability to attract talent, and your Talent Acquisition teams need reliable tools to leverage your company culture and benefits programs to compete in today’s competitive market.  

Engagement & Retention

A recent study conducted by Monster.com found that a staggering 96 percent of U.S. workers will be looking for a new job in 2023. Forty percent of those surveyed say they need to find a higher-paying position due to inflation and rising costs of living.  

Employees often overlook the value of their total rewards package and other workplace benefits like a strong culture, flexible work arrangements, and opportunities for professional development and advancement.  

To engage and retain talent, it is critical that you deliver positive, personalized experiences that make each person within your organization feel valued and supported as the individuals they are – or your talent will look elsewhere without hesitation.  

It can be hard for people to recognize the value you bring as their employer. A rich benefits program has been traditionally a disconnected one, experienced through different carrier apps, your intranet, and even corporate email.  

A connected and centralized people experience brings together all that you offer as an employer – better demonstrating to your teams just how you’re supporting them in both work and in life in a way that is tailored to their unique situation, lifestyle, and life stage.  

Increased Benefit Expectations 

Today’s consumers have nearly unlimited choices when it comes to purchasing items they need and want.  

Benefits and healthcare are no different, putting employers and the entire health system under more pressure than ever to transform the consumer experience and provide transparent, easy-to-navigate health and wellness experiences.  

A positive benefits experience not only drives well-being for your people, but also demonstrates the value of the benefits you offer as their employer. Connecting benefits into one experience empowers your team to choose and use the best benefits for them while optimizing their value.  

Benefit Education Gaps   

Even as people demand more from their benefits programs, benefits education gaps persist. According to a recent Aflac study, nearly 3 in 5 employees spend less than 30 minutes researching their benefits, with 24% of those surveyed reporting spending less than five minutes.  

Your employees need year-round guidance on choosing and using the best benefits available for their unique situations and circumstances. Creating personalized messages and experiences guides your people towards better benefit enrollment, adoption, and utilization decisions, improving the wellbeing of both your people and their loved ones.  

Centralizing benefit experiences and communication points also increases levels of benefit engagement while offering more opportunities to educate your people about how to find and use the best resources available to them in ways that improve overall benefits and workplace satisfaction.  

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging 

The positive influence of diverse and inclusive workplaces on organizational success has been well documented. Diverse and inclusive workplaces are tied to:  

  • Higher revenue growth 
  • Greater readiness to innovate  
  • Increased ability to recruit a diverse talent pool  
  • 5.4 times higher rates of employee retention  

No matter how rich your benefits program is, you may be delivering it in an inequitable, non-inclusive way. Your people need to understand how the benefits you offer specifically support them today in their current situation while setting them up for success tomorrow.  

Unless benefits are delivered in a way that feels personalized for each member of your population at any life stage or circumstance, no one will feel like they belong.  

Dispersed Workforces 

Whether you have an in-office, hybrid, or remote-first workplace, or if you have a high population of front-line and deskless workers, today’s workforce is more geographically dispersed than ever before.  

Employers that are strategic and thoughtful about how to engage workforces scattered across different locations by creating one centralized, accessible communication channel will find the most success in connecting their people to their culture.  

Lack of Financial Security Impacting Employees  

U.S. workplaces lose an estimated $500 billion dollars each year due to lost productivity tied to personal financial stressors plaguing their employees.  

Due to the rising cost of consumer goods, more than a third of all American workers report that they made a difficult healthcare decision in the past year, including having to choose between paying for a prescription or medical treatment and other household bills.  

More than 84 percent of employers report increased retention as a result of their financial wellness benefit offerings. As your people navigate rising expenses and other financial insecurity, they are relying on you to help them make informed and educated financial wellness decisions that are right for them today and in the future. Employees value this type of support and guidance, and a connected people experience can help them optimize the financial wellness programs you offer.  

Are you ready to change the way you think about your people experience?

If you’re ready to change the way you think about your people experience, we can help.  

+YOU is a single entry point that connects your people to your company culture and all the benefits and resources you’ve invested in to support them – from one centralized place.  

Learn how NexTier leveraged +YOU to connect its dispersed, deskless workforce amidst 41% headcount growth.

Online Benefits Maturity Assessment

Online Benefits Maturity Assessment

Get the personalized insights you need to become a more strategic benefits leader with our online, interactive Benefits Maturity Assessment. 

Why Having a Rich Benefits Program Isn’t Enough to Attract & Retain Today’s Talent

Why Having a Rich Benefits Program Isn’t Enough to Attract & Retain Today’s Talent

CHROs, benefits leaders, and members of the C-suite continue to recognize the strong influence their employee benefits program has over their ability to attract and retain their top talent.

Unfortunately, a rich, well-designed benefits program is not enough to drive the strong employer brands and workplace cultures that make an organization an employer of choice – organizations also need a strong benefits communication and engagement strategy that helps their people better choose and use the best benefits available to them, at the individual level.

Benefits are the Second Leading Driver Pushing Your Employees to Seek New Employment

While voluntary quits have eased slightly at 3.9 million voluntary resignations in early 2023, employers report that 40% of workers consider leaving a job for better benefits, according to a recent Forbes Advisory survey.

Data collected in a PwC study also supports this trend, demonstrating that employees looking for new roles cited better benefits as the second leading driver for seeking a new position, ahead of desires for increased flexibility or career advancements. Fifty-seven percent of employees say they are at least somewhat likely to accept a position with slightly lower pay in exchange for a more robust benefits package.

Unfortunately, the ability to attract and retain workers depends on an organization’s ability to communicate the value of its benefits offering in relation to the needs of each individual, creating personalized benefit experiences that align with their current healthcare needs, financial wellness, life stage, lifestyle, or circumstance.

Positive Benefit Experiences Drive Strong Workplace Cultures & Employer Brands

Employers who neglect to take the necessary steps to inform both future and existing employees about their benefits demonstrate both a lack of employee support and an uncaring company culture, no matter how generous their employee benefit plan design may
be.

This is absolutely detrimental to an organization’s people experience, as data shows that employees of all generations present in today’s workforce rank “organizations that care about employee well-being” as a top three criteria when evaluating and selecting an employer.

“Without a big picture understanding, employees will be unable to truly understand the value of your benefits offering. This understanding is especially critical as employees continue to make employment decisions based on the benefits program they believe they are getting,” says Angel Seufert, Executive Vice President, Human Resources at Empyrean.

The ongoing volume of voluntary quits has made it clear that employers who do not meet the evolving demands of employees can expect to see high levels of turnover, making it critical that employers take the time to inform both future and existing employees about the value of their benefits offering.

HR Teams Must Work Together to Attract and Retain Talent 

Seufert also says that talent acquisition teams, HR, and benefits leaders must work together to create cohesive and thoughtful communication campaigns that positively demonstrate the value of your benefits program throughout the candidate and employee lifecycle.

“Gone are the days when benefits and HR teams could work in a silo,” Seufert adds. “HR and benefits leaders need to work together to listen and understand exactly what your unique employee populations are looking for, whether that be through exit surveys, engagement and stay surveys, or through a benefit utilization analysis.”

HR teams will need to create a positive journey throughout the employee lifecycle, starting with candidate experience and communications. And to combat attrition, HR teams will need to align to ensure they understand what their employees’ benefits needs truly are.

“Employers need to hone in on which benefits will both retain current talent as well as attract new desirable talent,” says Empyrean Strategic Account Advisor, Scott Mesteller.

Even when the job market eventually shifts to favor employers, it can be expected that top talent will continue to prioritize employment with organizations that demonstrate they value employees through commitments to positive employee experiences and total well-being. One of the most tangible ways for employers to express their commitment, values, and dedication to positive workplace cultures will continue to be through employee benefits.

Check out more Empyrean Insights to learn how to drive positive people and benefit experiences at your organization.

Empyrean’s 2022 Benefit Trends Report

Empyrean’s 2022 Benefit Trends Report

As we enter the third year of pandemic-era life, it is clear that the way American workers view their employers, benefit programs, and overall workplaces has changed, creating both a significant and lasting impact on the HR and benefits space.

Our 2022 Benefit Trends Report uncovers the year’s top five trends influencing the state of employee benefits, sharing both quantitative data and expert insights that demonstrate how the many reactionary shifts, once thought to be temporary, in all likelihood may be permanent as the workplace continues to be forever reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are some of the key insights and takeaways from our full report.

1. Total Wellbeing is the New Normal

Benefit election data and employee behavior show that today’s employees have come to both expect and demand a broader range of supplemental benefit offerings from their employer, making an increased focus on total employee wellness a significant benefit trend again this year.

Enrollment data collected from the over 4.6 million participants accessing their benefits through the Empyrean platform shows that employees continue to gravitate towards supplemental offerings, selecting benefits that align with the changes they have experienced in their own lives. Some notable shifts include:

  • Shifts away from office-centric benefit enrollments, including a 16.58% decrease in commuter benefit participation
  • Enrollments that reflect remote and hybrid work arrangements
  • 56.37% increase in pet care benefit enrollments

As our report explains in further detail, Empyrean’s experts forecast that employers will continue to trend towards taking a more holistic approach to their benefit offerings due to employee and market pressure to do so.

2. Improved Consumer Education is Driving Adoption, Employee Vulnerability is Accelerating the Trend

Since the introduction of the HDHP, employers have leaned on supplemental benefits as a way to round out traditional programs, and plan sponsors have spent significant resources educating their employees on why enrollment in these supplemental programs can be advantageous.

Data suggests that this education has started to take hold. Whether employees are looking for a better work-life balance, financial planning support, or new ways to cope with stress, the adoption of voluntary benefits is improving.

Some of the enrollment increases discussed in our report include:

  • Hospital Indemnity (9.8% increase)
  • Accident Benefit (6.95% increase)
  • Critical Illness (5.85% increase)

After two years of pandemic life, it may come as no surprise that more employees are enrolling in benefits that insure for catastrophic events, perhaps recognizing their own physical and financial vulnerabilities during the public health crisis.

Download our full report to learn more about both continued and emerging trends related to mental health and employee burnout, and predictions that employees will continue to lean towards benefits that round out their traditional medical benefit programs.

3. Increased Focus on Using Benefits to Attract & Retain Talent

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record 47.4 million U.S. employees voluntarily left their jobs in 2021, making the need for improved attraction and retention through benefits an emerging trend in 2022.

The volume of quits this year has made it clear that employers who do not meet the evolving demands of employees can expect to see high levels of turnover. The Great Resignation has had a tremendous impact on health and welfare benefits, increasing the need for employers to rethink their benefits strategy and better demonstrate the value of their benefits program to both future and existing employees.

As described in our report, we predict that as the war for talent continues, HR teams will need to work together to better understand what their employees’ benefits needs actually are, and create a positive journey throughout the employee lifecycle, starting with the candidate experience and communications.

Traditional, supplemental, and non-monetary benefits will play a starring role in an employer’s ability to differentiate themselves against the rest of the market. Delivery of a positive employee experience, from candidacy through termination, will be a key driver in an employer’s ability to attract and retain talent.

4. Increased Need to Deliver & Communicate a Positive Benefits Experience 

While employers are working hard to develop a strong benefits strategy that combats attrition and contributes to positive company cultures, equal effort must be made to ensure employees have positive experiences when enrolling in and utilizing these benefits, as research has shown employees will leave an organization for a role offering a more competitive benefits package.

The problem for many employers, however, is demonstrating that their benefits program is in fact valuable.

In a 2021 Voya consumer survey, one-third of respondents reported that they did not fully understand any of the employee benefits they enrolled in during their most recent open enrollment period. Despite materials and support available during open enrollment and throughout the year, many employees lack a full understanding of their benefit coverage and how to make cost-effective selections that are sized appropriately for their unique needs.

Providing employees with meaningful, year-round benefits education continues to be a major challenge for employers. Only 19 percent of organizations report that they believe their employees have a high-level understanding of their benefit options and elections, and 88 percent of employers from the same study say their main employee communications goal is to help participants better understand and utilize their benefit offerings.

More and more employers are relying on decision support technology to help employees navigate employer-sponsored health and wellness benefit offerings through an individualized lens, enabling better education, selection, and utilization outcomes.

As described in our report, going forward we expect technology to play an even bigger role in the employee benefits experience, with employers leveraging predictive analytics and real-life claims data to drive benefits engagement. These platforms provide enrollment recommendation intelligence tied directly to the claims data of the individual enrollee, creating entirely customized forecasts based on real-life prior events.

Since the enrollment recommendations are tailored specifically for the employee, it is clear that the employer is not trying to drive them towards a lower cost plan that will save company dollars. Instead, the employer is able to demonstrate their commitment to providing the employee with benefit programs that meet the employee where they are in support of their total health and wellness.

5. Continued Developments Surrounding Benefits Regulatory Compliance

Employer-sponsored benefit plans have been historically subject to a significant and ever-changing list of regulatory compliance standards, however, the sheer volume and complexity of legislation governing the employment law space has been a continued trend since the start of the pandemic – and one that can be expected for years to come.

Our report outlines some of the most critical new and shifting regulations employers need to know, including trends that go beyond compliance standards to ensure positive employee experiences.

Looking Forward

It is critical that employers and benefit leaders take a step back from the “survival” modes employed since 2020 to understand the future of benefits and how to shift go-forward benefits strategies for both organizational and employee success.

Benefit leaders can conclude that the majority of benefits-related changes made by organizations in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic are here to stay. Employer-sponsored health and welfare programs have been forever redefined to focus on mental and financial wellness benefits that support the whole employee in all facets of life, both inside and outside of work.

This year, employers have the opportunity to think differently about their benefit strategies to drive healthy and happy workplace cultures. As more businesses recognize the connections between benefits, employee experience, and positive organizational outcomes, leaders will continue to level up their benefits offering to build culture through benefits.

For additional data and insights tied to this year’s benefit trends, download your copy of Empyrean’s 2022 Benefit Trends Report today.

How Decision Support Technology Can Fuel a Better Employee Experience

How Decision Support Technology Can Fuel a Better Employee Experience

Read our Decision Support Guide to learn about the top 5 factors to consider when evaluating recommendation engine platforms. Understand how predictive analytics can help employees understand future risks and costs, and what to look out for when comparing platforms to ensure you get the best fit for your needs.

New Empyrean Research: 5 Benefits Trends to Watch in 2021

New Empyrean Research: 5 Benefits Trends to Watch in 2021

The pandemic has changed the workplace forever, creating seismic shifts in the way employees measure and interact with their benefit programs and offerings.

Employers have been forced to view benefits and their resulting employee impact through a new lens, requiring organizations to adopt new strategies and approaches to support their employees’ evolving physical, mental, and financial health needs. Benefits like remote work stipends, expanded mental health and financial wellness resources, and virtual decision support have become essential components of a comprehensive employee benefits program.

Empyrean’s latest research report, “The Top 5 Benefits Trends for 2021,” summarizes the results from our annual client survey and provides fresh insights to help your organization build a forward-thinking employee benefits strategy. We have outlined some of the key highlights below, but to view the full report, you can download your copy here.

1.   COVID-19 has made a clear and lasting impact on employee benefit expectations and offerings

Throughout the pandemic, employee benefits took center stage as one of the most critical and impactful ways to support what quickly became overtaxed and overstressed workforces. Results from our client survey reveal that once COVID-19 hit, employers quickly took action to provide enhanced benefits to support their employee populations. For many, this came in the form of special benefits enrollment periods or additional contributions to employee health savings accounts (HSAs).

As the pandemic continued, many employers have gone a step further, providing employees with additional resources and tools to support total wellness. Telehealth benefits have grown in popularity, and mental health counseling, doctor visits, and physical therapy conducted via video chat technology have become more commonplace, improving accessibility to providers and reducing the time needed to access this type of support.

As our report explains in further detail, virtual benefits are poised to become a more prominent fixture in plans moving forward, and employees are expected to continue to expect (and demand) these types of programs.

2.   Employers are leaning on voluntary benefits to support total employee wellness

While medical and retirement benefits provide a solid foundation for employees and their families, voluntary benefits address a broader range of physical, mental, and financial wellness needs.

Whether employees are looking for a better work-life balance, financial planning support, or new ways to cope with the stress of working from home, voluntary benefits can round out traditional benefit programs and support the whole employee. Some of the available voluntary benefits discussed in our report include:

  • Expanded mental health benefits, including employee assistance programs (EAPs)
  • Personalized tools to support financial planning and savings
  • Workplace programs designed to offer greater flexibility

Supplemental benefits can help ensure that the holistic needs of diverse employee populations can be met.

3.    Integrated benefits technology and predictive analytics will be relied upon to efficiently manage rising benefit costs

One of the perennial employee benefit challenges faced by HR, total rewards, and benefit leaders is balancing rising costs with the need to offer comprehensive and competitive benefits to not only support employees, but to attract and retain talent. By taking advantage of new advancements in benefits management technology and predictive analytics, employers can better understand benefit costs and anticipate future expenditures with greater accuracy.

As described in our report, benefits technology delivers dynamic reporting to support the budgeting process, as well as analytics to track key benefit metrics for your organization. As a result, you can take a more proactive approach to benefits spending, selection, and overall decision-making.

4.   Decision support tools will be more frequently used to educate, advise, and engage employees

In a 2021 Voya consumer survey, one-third of respondents reported that they did not fully understand any of the employee benefits they enrolled in during their most recent open enrollment period. Despite materials and support available during open enrollment and throughout the year, many employees lack a full understanding of their benefit coverage and how to make cost-effective selections that are sized appropriately for their unique needs.

In an effort to better educate employees about their benefit options, benefits decision support technology has grown in popularity. As explained in our report, decision support utilizes AI and data analysis to generate recommendations tailored to each unique employee, enabling employees to better select (and then utilize) right-sized coverage for both themselves and their families.

5.   Increased employer focus on continued benefits regulatory compliance developments

The past year has seen no shortage of new regulations affecting employer benefit programs and offerings. And while Empyrean’s experts say that compliance shifts are nothing new, the sheer number and complexity of new compliance changes and regulatory rollouts have employers paying attention.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major driver of new legislation in the employee benefits space, as most recently seen with the American Rescue Plan Act and the 100 percent paid COBRA subsidy provision.

The continued pandemic and the anticipated actions of a new White House administration are expected to result in more legislative change. As highlighted in our report, employers anticipate the need to lean on benefit administration partners to navigate the evolving regulatory compliance landscape of 2021 and beyond.

What else is in store for 2021?

This year’s research report highlights the indelible mark the pandemic has had on employee benefit offerings and go-forward strategies. With a stronger understanding of this year’s benefit trends, your organization can stay informed about the many options available to assist you in meeting your employees’ evolving needs and expectations.

For additional data and insights tied to this year’s benefit trends, download your copy of the 2021 Benefit Trends Report today.

The Future of Work and Benefits after COVID-19, Part 2

The Future of Work and Benefits after COVID-19, Part 2

By Rich Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer and Steve Campbell, Chief Human Resources Officer

In part two of our series, we take a closer look at how perspectives on the typical office environment and employee wellness will shift after COVID-19.

For part one of this post series, please click here.

Reimagining of the Traditional Office

From restaurants to retail environments, COVID-19 has demanded a serious reconsideration of how we structure our everyday lives and spaces, and the office environment is no exception. As companies consider welcoming workers back to their facilities, they must also be prepared to make changes in accordance with the latest health and safety standards.

For example, open-plan offices have gained popularity over the years, and as many as 70% of offices now utilize this layout.1 Without barriers like cubicle walls, however, open workspaces can make infection control more difficult to manage. Converting an existing workspace away from an open design can be a challenge, but adding privacy features like walls or partitions may actually pay off in terms of increased productivity.2

“Hoteling” is another approach to space utilization that we are likely to see more of in the post-COVID-19 workspace. With hoteling, employees are not assigned a permanent desk. Instead, they are free to utilize any available workstation to suit their needs and schedule. The hoteling concept allows facility managers to make the most of their space without the need to increase their office footprint (provided the proper sanitizing measures are in place).

One particularly important task when planning your office reopening is determining which employees actually need to be in the office, and which employees can continue working remotely. As companies leverage staggered office schedules and more employees opt to permanently work from home, the hotel desk concept may be a good fit for businesses looking to manage facility costs alongside financial impacts and opportunities.

RELATED: Learn how to reach employees working outside of the traditional office without adding to your workload.

Renewed Focus on Holistic Employee Wellbeing

Along with health concerns, COVID-19 has also caused significant financial stress for many people and their families. In the past, however, financial wellness initiatives have often been harder to define than other aspects of employee benefit programs – especially as employers navigate the wide range of program options and employee needs regarding their financial health.

Moving forward, we can expect financial wellness to become a key area of focus for proactive benefit teams looking to ease anxieties brought about by the economic effects of the pandemic. Companies may look to offer more comprehensive programs, resources, and decision support tools that offer clear guidance to help employees reach their unique savings and budgeting goals.

READ MORE: Discover practical solutions to help address the financial challenges facing your workforce.

Additionally, although your workforce may enjoy a greater sense of flexibility while working remotely, there is also a heightened opportunity for employee burnout as a result of such changes. Today, employees are having to mentally shift their concept of work-life balance all the while working from home.

Without the defined boundaries of the office environment or their daily commute, employees may find it hard to fully “unplug” after their work day is over. With many employees expected to remain remote after the pandemic passes, addressing the risks of employee burnout is an important task that HR teams must be ready to tackle sooner rather than later.

Employees’ mental health will remain an important priority as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to disrupt everyday life. Building awareness of your mental health resources and benefits – such as wellness programs and employee assistance programs (EAP) – will be a particularly crucial task to help support your employees through this transition.

Your benefits administration provider should be aligned with your benefits strategy throughout this unique period (including accommodating any additional focus on employees’ financial, mental, and overall wellbeing) and be ready to communicate and adjust to any changes as necessary to best support your employees.

HR leaders remain at the forefront of helping guide employees through this uniquely challenging period. For expert tips to help manage the latest demands on your business and communication strategy, check out Empyrean’s COVID-19 Communication Guide here.  And for the latest insights into employee benefits, download your copy of the 2020 Benefit Trends Report from Empyrean.

Looking toward the future, it is clear that reliable partnerships and the right technology will become even more critical for every company’s continued success. As you develop and evolve your own COVID-19 strategy, be sure to evaluate the preparedness level of your partners as well. Doing so now will help ensure that both your business and workforce are ready to tackle whatever comes next – no matter what.

References

  1. Agovino, Theresa. “Fine-Tuning the Open Office.” Society for Human Resource Management. Alexandria, VA. June 2019.
  2. Wertz, Jia. “Open-Plan Work Spaces Lower Productivity and Employee Morale.” Forbes. Jersey City, NJ. June 2019.
The Future of Work and Benefits after COVID-19, Part 1

The Future of Work and Benefits after COVID-19, Part 1

By Rich Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer and Steve Campbell, Chief Human Resources Officer

In this first post of this two-part series, we examine several ways in which COVID-19 has changed how and where work gets done, and explore how these effects may shape the future of work in a post-pandemic world.

In just a short time, COVID-19 has had a profound and long-lasting impact on the way people and organizations everywhere approach their work. While there is much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, there are also valuable opportunities for organizations to evaluate the status quo, optimize their operations, and stay adaptive.

A major factor driving these opportunities has been the switch to remote work – as well as the need for secure and mobile-ready technology to support this move. Here, we look at how these changes will affect the way employers approach the concept of work going forward.

Increased Demand for Remote Work and Job Flexibility

Remote work capabilities are a defining factor among companies that were best prepared to handle the sudden emergence of COVID-19. Today, the ability to work from home is no longer just an employee perk; it is fast becoming an employee expectation, and has also proven to be an essential element of a strong business continuity plan.

Prior to the pandemic, there had been a 91% increase in the number of employees working remotely since 2009.1 Now, an estimated 66% of employees are working from home 2 – and both employers and employees are beginning to recognize the benefits of working outside of the traditional office space.

Working from home saves employees time and money by eliminating the costs associated with a typical work day, including the daily commute. Companies with a large remote employee population can also save on facility expenses, as well as widen access to top talent outside of a company’s immediate vicinity.

While working from home was certainly gaining popularity before the current pandemic, COVID-19 has pushed employers to embrace remote work at a pace that some HR leaders did not expect for at least another decade. Today, both employees and employers are recognizing that working in the usual office setting may not be necessary or even as productive as once thought.

Some organizations have struggled to overcome concerns about productivity and professionalism while allowing employees to work outside of the office. These concerns are understandable, but employees can actually be more productive when working from home under the right conditions.3

For many people, the flexibility afforded by working from home will be difficult to relinquish after this pandemic has passed. Moving forward, business leaders can expect job flexibility and remote work capabilities to remain a significant draw for talent – especially now that employees have experienced the benefits of remote work for themselves.

RELATED: How to reach your mobile workforce with engaging benefits messaging without adding more to your plate

Secure and Mobile Technology for Business Continuity

The organizations that have seen the most success during the COVID-19 pandemic were those that maintained a modern mobility strategy as a key focus of their technology infrastructure. Social distancing measures and lockdowns have made it difficult (and in some cases, unsafe) for employees to travel and work in the office as usual. Now it is crucial that employees have access to the secure technology solutions necessary to ensure productivity, collaboration, and data security across their entire team – regardless of location.

Unfortunately, not all businesses were prepared for such a sudden shift in their daily operations. For instance, a key aspect of a strong mobility strategy is 100% laptop deployment – paired with access to a secure virtual private network (VPN).

One important limitation on mobility is that traditional offices have typically relied on static desktop computers for employee use. While laptop computers often require a larger investment than desktop machines, they also ensure that employees have the hardware and software necessary to work while away from the office. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we can expect companies to focus more heavily on optimizing their technology infrastructure to support more robust mobility strategies and business continuity plans, including the switch to mobile hardware.

While organizations adjust to sudden changes in operations, this is also an important time to evaluate the preparedness of your key vendors. It is imperative that your essential business providers – such as your benefits enrollment and administration partner  – were properly prepared prior to the emergence COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure you and your employees continued to experience uninterrupted, high-quality benefits service.

READ MORE: Discover the three essential aspects of a benefits administration platform and find the best partner for your business

As working from home becomes increasingly mainstream, HR teams must focus on building a strong communications strategy, developing a remote-friendly culture, and assembling the right vendors to support employees’ needs across a widely dispersed workforce. How are your partners prepared to help you make the necessary shifts to meet these changes head on?

For more insights into how employee benefits will evolve due to COVID-19, download the 2020 Benefit Trends Report from Empyrean here – and be sure to check back for part two of this post coming soon.

References

  1. Reynolds, Brie Weiler. “159% Increase in Remote Work Since 2005: FlexJobs & Global Workplace Analytics Report.” FlexJobs Corporation. Boulder, CO. July 2019.
  2. “Working from Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic: The State of Remote Work.” Clutch Co, LLC. Washington, D.C. April 2019.
  3. Choudhury, P., Larson, B., and Foroughi, C. “Is it Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere?” Harvard Business Review. Boston, MA. August 2019.
5 Tips for Year-Round Employee Benefits Engagement

5 Tips for Year-Round Employee Benefits Engagement

Annual Enrollment (AE) season is here for many employers, but how well prepared are you to engage employees once Open Enrollment season is all wrapped up?

For some employees, AE (or OE) can be the only time of year when they are engaged with their benefits – and disengaged employees can take a serious toll on the success of your benefits strategy.

As a Human resources leader, how can you cut through the noise to ensure your employees are actively engaging with your benefits every day – and making smarter decisions for themselves in the process?

Empyrean’s latest At-A-Glance Guide takes you through five crucial tips to foster year-round employee benefits engagement. These tips will help you gain more from your benefits strategy after enrollment is over – and your employees will get more from their benefits, too.

1 | Aim to Excite, Not Overwhelm

67% of employees are uncomfortable when reading about their benefits, and 75% of employees don’t fully understand how their benefits work to begin with.1 This means employees need regular nudges throughout the year to gain the confidence to fully absorb (and get excited about) the information you provide.

However, employees can feel overwhelmed when presented with too much information all at once. And if participants are tuned out, the effectiveness of your engagement efforts will be diminished.

Try distilling your benefits-related messages down into bite-sized bits of information. Instead of sending out one long email highlighting all of your benefit plans and programs, break messages up benefit-by-benefit.

2 | Plan Out Your Communications Calendar

You’re likely sending out the bulk of your benefits-related communications around Annual Enrollment – but it shouldn’t be concentrated in just that one month. What is your communication strategy during the other eleven months of the year?

Make your engagement goals easier to achieve by creating a dedicated benefits content and communications calendar. Make sure you include all pertinent offerings, programs, and tools and technology platforms, so employees stay aware of everything available to them throughout the year. If you miss out on a benefit, chances are employees will too.

A communications calendar will help you stay consistent, keep your messaging fresh and varied, and strengthen the connection between your benefits and events that are already on employees’ minds throughout the year. Download the full guide now for an example content calendar with ideas you can use year-round.

3 | Think Outside the Inbox

While emails are certainly a valid way to get your benefit communications out to employees, be sure to consider alternate channels as well. To better understand the type of communications certain employees might best respond to, take a moment to consider the various benefits-eligible populations within your overall workforce.

While emails will reach the typical desk-job employee, they might miss others that work elsewhere. Mobile-based communications, like text messages, may be better suited for employees that primarily work away from a computer (such as shift workers, retail workers, and those who are frequently on a job site).

4 | Leverage Your Resources

Take advantage of the resources and tools available to you through your partners, vendors, and carriers to help enrich the employee experience and boost your communication efforts. In addition, explore if your benefits administration technology partner offers solutions to make daily engagement much easier to achieve and maintain.

For example, Empyrean Pilot+ leverages real-time claims data, consumer behavior, and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide employees with personalized and plan-specific guidance. Recommendations span providers, prescriptions, spending accounts, voluntary benefits, and more. Participants also get financial updates and cost predictions that add transparency to health care planning and financial wellness, and can also receive alerts for claims filing and appealing charges.

Taking advantage of the resources available to your workforce, including data-driven digital engagement tools, will supercharge your engagement efforts while enabling employees to make smarter care and cost decisions all year round.

5 | Avoid Surprises

With 92% of employees choosing the same benefits year after year,2 any change to your benefits offering might come as a shock to unsuspecting employees down the road. A strong communication strategy will help your workforce avoid unwelcome surprises, support a better understanding of your benefits program, and increase employee satisfaction.

Getting your employees to engage with their benefits (and stay engaged) is not an impossible task – it is just one that requires a strong framework and the right resources to accomplish.

Download Empyrean’s newest At-A-Glance Guide and learn how to engage your workforce and gain more from your benefits strategy all year long. 

As you read, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.

References

  1. “2017 Alfac WorkForces Report: Employee Overview.” Aflac, Inc. Columbus, GA. February 2017.
  2. “2017 Aflac WorkForces Report Reveals Employees are Uninspired about Researching Benefits.” Aflac, Inc. Columbus, GA. July 2017.
Financial Wellness Success: How You Can Help Employees Take Control of their Health and Wealth

Financial Wellness Success: How You Can Help Employees Take Control of their Health and Wealth

Finances are a major source of employee stress, and can negatively impact your employees’ productivity, health, and happiness. With so much riding on financial wellbeing, financial wellness is gaining popularity in the realm of employee benefits. How can you help employees address their health and wealth, while ensuring a valuable return on your investment?

Empyrean’s new At-A-Glance Guide takes a look at the latest trends and factors impacting employees’ financial wellness and success.  Download your copy for an in-depth look at the financial challenges facing today’s diverse workforce, and discover practical solutions that help you care for employees’ wallets and wellbeing – and optimize your benefits strategy in the process.

You may be wondering why employees need a financial wellness program in the first place. The reality is that money concerns don’t just affect employees’ bank accounts: financial stress can a have huge impact on employees’ productivity, job satisfaction, and even their healthcare claim costs.

59% of employees say that finances are their main source of stress: money issues are cited as more stressful than work-, relationship-, or health-related stressors combined.1 Employees across all generations rank personal finances as their main reason for stress, demonstrating a need for financial wellness support across all your workforce’s demographics and generational profiles.

While it may be true that money can’t buy happiness or love (according to The Beatles), finances play a huge role in ensuring employees and their families have the baseline resources and care they need. Given the importance of finances on everyday life, money concerns can cause significant issues for both employees and employers alike.

How do you define financial wellness? The majority of employees say financial wellness means being stress-free and stable when it comes to their finances.1 Unfortunately, there is a large disconnect between employees’ financial goals and their reality.

A whopping 38% of employees feel less than financially well,2 and 49% are struggling just to make ends meet each month. Meanwhile, only 37% of employees believe their pay has kept up with the rising cost of living.1

35% of employees report that finances have been a distraction at work, and nearly half of those employees admit to spending three hours or more each week thinking about their finances or managing issues related to their finances.1

More than one-fifth of employees say financial concerns have affected their productivity at work. In addition, nearly a third of employees say financial worries have impacted their at-home relationships and their health, which can cause additional problems (and may even lead to rising claim costs) down the line.1

The right financial wellness program can deliver big benefits for your company, including higher employee satisfaction and lower stress rates, better performance, lower healthcare costs, and greater employee retention.2 A financial wellness program may help you attract and retain talent: Of employees that experience financial stress, 78% say they would be attracted to another company that cares more about their financial well-being.1 However, as little as 2% of employers have officially implemented a financial wellness program as part of their benefits package.2

Although nearly all employees can benefit from the right financial wellness program, your approach should provide personalized guidance to each employee to help them reach their specific goals. However, benefit teams can become easily overwhelmed when trying to design and implement a program that addresses all the variables involved in reaching financial security, especially among each generation.

The complex variety of finance-related planning, decisions, and maintenance – along with differing levels of financial education and comprehension – can leave employees confused and benefit teams struggling to find a frustration-free solution. The right financial wellness support will address a host of cost concerns and savings goals (including healthcare, education, retirement, and more) instead of focusing on piecemeal issues alone.

For example, human resources professionals might find it nearly impossible to consider employee benefits and finances without immediately thinking about health coverage. For employees outside of your HR department, however, this connection may not be apparent. Despite being the most costly benefit for both companies and participants, just 7% of employees consider healthcare an important element of their financial success.2 This figure is highly troubling, and has major consequences for both employees and employers – especially as consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) remain a prevalent coverage option.

A smart and integrated recommendation engine within your benefits enrollment experience can help employees discover the most relevant and cost-effective care for their needs. When combined with other financial wellness tools, this decision support technology can empower employees to make more confident coverage choices, without spending hours translating insurance jargon or sifting through tedious plan documents. This technology should also apply to year-round plan utilization, providing valuable information to help employees better utilize their coverage, provider choices, voluntary benefits, and savings account options.

Benefits selection and utilization are just one aspect of financial wellbeing, however. When it comes to truly mastering their finances, employees need a financial wellness action plan. Employees require relevant and achievable step-by-step guidance that helps them meet their individual priorities – whether it’s building an emergency fund, paying down debt, saving for a car or house, or growing their child’s college fund. This kind of insight must take into account the entire scope of an employee’s financial picture, including accounts, debts, budget concerns, benefit policies, investments, and more.

The easiest and most effective way to provide this level of financial guidance is through your benefits administration platformAn integrated financial wellness and benefits experience provides easy access to these resources, encourages sustained benefits engagement, and provides invaluable data and insights into the needs of your workforce – which you can then leverage to enrich and optimize your benefits strategy.

Incorporating financial wellness within your larger benefits experience encourages employees to connect these key concepts together. By combining powerful technology, alongside smarter coverage and financial decision-support, you can provide the tools employees need to feel confident in their finances and more focused at work and beyond. Plus, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the matters that are affecting and motivating your workforce – and your strategy, team, and business will reap tangible rewards in the process.

Employees want and need financial wellness support: 86% of employees say they are likely to participate in such a program if offered by their employer.2 Incorporating financial support into your benefit experience and strategy will help destigmatize money-related stress, fuel positive business outcomes, and make financial wellness a more achievable goal for your workforce.

For a comprehensive look at what financial wellness and enterprise benefits administration software can do for your business, download Empyrean’s latest At-A-Glance Guide. You’ll learn valuable solutions to gain a more productive organization, a stronger strategy, and happy employees.

As always, we’d love to get your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.

 

References

  1. “PwC’s 8th Annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey.” PwC US. New York, NY. June 2019.
  2. “2018 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Workplace Benefits Report.” Bank of America Corporation. Charlotte, NC. August 2018.
Introducing Pilot+: Use Healthcare Data to Revolutionize Your Employees’ Benefit Journey

Introducing Pilot+: Use Healthcare Data to Revolutionize Your Employees’ Benefit Journey

By Jim Priebe, Executive Vice President, Product

We live in a data-driven world that allows for high personalization in the consumer experience, from retail to airfare. So, it’s no surprise that your employees want their benefits to offer a similar experience. If you think that level of personalization is far off into the future, I’m thrilled to tell you that the future is here.

How does your benefits administration platform support your employees’ needs? Statistics show that 44% of employees say that in a perfect world, benefits selection would be more like Amazon. Empyrean’s enhanced recommendation engine, Pilot℠, delivers fast and intuitive support that provides the consumer-centric benefits shopping experience employees crave – built on more than a decade of proprietary data and research.

With Pilot­­­­­­+, we’ve expanded these capabilities even further.

Pilot+ features all the packaged benefits recommendations of Pilot, plus personalized guidance and engagement that blends health plan education, claims analysis, and targeted benefits communication. Pilot+ makes it easy for employees to not only understand their benefits, but also utilize them more effectively and cost-efficiently, year round.

Pilot+ strengthens your benefits program and strategy by intelligently automating processes:

  • Pilot helps make the most of short employee attention spans by packaging benefit recommendations into “best match” bundles, including voluntary options when available. Pilot+ adds personalized claims analysis and engagement to this process, so employees can leverage a year’s worth of information to help them select the best plan for the upcoming year.
  • Pilot’s machine-learning technology offers employees more refined and personalized recommendations over time. Ongoing claims information drives the adaptability of Pilot+, which analyzes each health care interaction provide employees with updates and actionable tips on how to best use their plan.
  • Pilot’s recommendation survey tells employees why questions are asked, so they can better understand their needs, and know how their benefit recommendations will meet those needs. Pilot+ takes education even further, by demonstrating how an employee’s chosen health plan performs according to their specific claims data, plan deductible, and spending account information – including health savings accounts (HSAs). With Pilot+, employees feel confident gaining the information they need, right when they need it, so they can leave unpleasant plan surprises behind.
  • Pilot has been rigorously tested to ensure an intuitive and inviting experience for users during the enrollment process. Pilot+ highly engages employees beyond benefits selection, offering personalized alerts and year-round communication.

Pilot+ connects employees to their benefits right when it matters most. Pilot+ automatically delivers personalized and prescriptive recommendations that are relevant to employees’ immediate needs:

During benefits enrollment. “You’ve kept your medical plan from year to year, which may be a safe option. But you have been overpaying in premiums and not going to the doctor that often. Switching to another plan could save you $1,500.”

After an accident. “Your bill from a recent leg injury just posted. You have enough to cover it through your HSA. And you can save $1,200 on your bill by filing for reimbursement using your accident coverage!”

And before a procedure or service. “Yikes! We’re sorry to see your recent claim for a concussion. If your doctor recommended a follow up MRI, you can save $200 at one of these nearby imaging facilities.”

The results? Pilot+ saves employees a median of $1,500 per year. Employees are engaged, and Pilot+ becomes their health and wealth champion.  And Pilot+ could save you up to 7% on your organization’s annual health care expenditures, all while freeing up your human resources team to focus on your priorities.

The future of benefits engagement is here. Learn more about how Pilot+ leverages claims data to engage employees at annual enrollment and beyond.

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