Offering employees top-notch benefits while maintaining a reasonable budget can be a challenge for growing businesses. Although the path to cost-efficient, excellent benefits can be daunting, the good news is that businesses today have a wide range of options. In fact, in pursuing a more budget-friendly approach to benefits, businesses like yours can simultaneously improve employees’ understanding of their options while eliminating unnecessary costs.
By emphasizing clear communication, employee education and the automation of enrollment processes, your business can streamline benefits and reduce employee benefits expenses. Check out the following suggestions that are sure to help your business implement more economical and valuable benefits plans in no time.
Build a Communication Plan
The first step in delivering valuable — yet budget-friendly — benefits to employees is to prioritize communication. Communicating clearly and frequently with your team makes it easier for employees to understand what their options are. Start by preparing your very own communication plan. Well before the enrollment period begins, take stock of all of the information that employees will need to make informed decisions about their benefits.
Organize this information in a way that will be easily digestible for employees. Make sure that the information is delivered in a variety of formats, both digitally (emails, online newsletters, employee portals) and physically (flyers, seminars, Q&A sessions). Avoid bogging employees down with too much information too quickly. Rather, take your time to deliver materials and address employees’ individual questions and concerns over several weeks.
Highlight the Value of Proposed Benefits
One of the biggest challenges to employee benefits is that employees aren’t always aware of their options. For this reason, it is crucial to help your team understand what each plan offers, as well as which options make sense for them. After implementing your communication plan, the next step is to highlight the value of various benefits plans.
Offering one-on-one consultations is a highly effective way to help new — or even long-time — employees choose their ideal plan for the next enrollment period. Not only will this step help employees gain a better understanding of what is available to them, but it will also reduce overall expenses. When employees choose plans that meet their specific needs rather than potentially more costly, extravagant plans, your business will spend less on benefits overall.
Automate Enrollment Processes
Yet another way to provide employees with a streamlined, cost-effective benefits experience is to automate key parts of the open enrollment process. With dozens or even hundreds of employees looking for their perfect plan, HR professionals can gain significant time and resources by utilizing an automated enrollment platform. Switching to an automated enrollment tool is advantageous for businesses and employees alike.
Research shows that automated platforms dramatically reduce the margin of human error that can otherwise delay enrollment and benefits. What is more, an automated platform can store a vast selection of resources for employees who are uncertain about their plans. With an automated enrollment tool in place, HR professionals can considerably lower their administrative tasks, and employees will gain access to prompt, efficient benefits resources.
Partner With an Experienced Broker
Last but not least, one of the most important steps in building a cost-efficient, high-quality benefits plan is to partner with a knowledgeable, experienced broker. When you join forces with the right broker, you’ll be able to implement a thorough communication plan that unlocks the value of benefits for your employees.
By improving employees’ understanding of their benefits, they are more likely to stay up-to-date on their various options. Furthermore, a skilled broker will help your team leaders craft an enrollment strategy that saves you valuable time, money and manpower.
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