Benefits Packages: How to Stand Out From the Crowd This Open Enrollment Season

In a post published by Forbes earlier this month, Chief People Manager at Marathon Health and Forbes Council Member Debby Routt, details how the highly competitive labor market has prompted employers nationwide to revamp benefits packages.  

Routt argues that greater creativity and attention to detail should be implemented for companies looking to differentiate themselves from their competitors and to capture more value from the comprehensive benefits they’ve already introduced.

The Forbes piece also highlights several areas of improvement for employers looking to stand out this season, as well as other important takeaways that can shape thinking around benefits planning and plan optimization.  

Access to Updated Information and Data Are Key

Routt notes that one popular change in benefits packages nationwide is expanded behavioral health offerings, including employee assistance programs (EAPs); furthermore, she notes how tailoring that service to the needs of your employees can further increase the value. For example, whether child counseling is included as a part of the service could make a significant difference in the utilization and accompanying appreciation among employees.

However, the more important takeaway beyond the process of benefits tailoring itself may be the recognition that in order to customize your benefits to the needs of employees you want to attract and retain, a company must first identify and understand those needs before determining how they can best be met via an EAP or a similar offering.  

In addition to surveying your own employees and seeking out independent data regarding the type of employees you want to attract, one key option the article raises is to make sure you are working with an EAP that provides consistent reporting about your employees’ evolving needs. This two-way flow of information can ensure employee problems are proactively addressed before they become more serious.  

Quality Offerings vs. Checking a Box  

There is a wide range of comprehensiveness and quality offered among various EAPs. As such, employers must consider questions such as:

• Are there a predetermined number of sessions offered regardless of issue severity or employee need?  
• How many specialists are employed and will be available?
• Is there a waitlist and if so, how long?  

These are likely not questions most employees will volunteer the answers to unprompted, but they are critical in determining whether or not your EAP will be effective and utilized. So, if you’re an employer that is unwilling to pose hard questions, Routt argues that you may very well be inviting disappointment and resentment when expectations for your benefits fail to meet reality.

Leadership Sets the Tone  

While emphasizing the importance of flexibility, especially regarding PTO and otherwise unoccupied work hours, Routt points out that it’s not enough to set flexible policies, companies must also establish a culture that encourages the use of the benefits for the benefits to be appreciated.

Whether the issue is PTO or hybrid schedules, how can your leadership lead by example and set the precedent that employee benefits should be exercised without hesitation and without fear of reprisal?

The last topic Routt touches on involves the lack of professional development and poor management, especially management that has not yet effectively adapted to post-pandemic conditions. She argues that this can contribute to worker attrition, but the underlying message is again about the need for leadership to set the tone.

Professional development must be driven by employee desire and interest (as sought out and understood by management) coupled with management’s guidance toward resources and opportunities inside the company that can help employees both recognize and get started along a path toward reaching their stated goals.

In sum, as benefits parity grows in response to a highly competitive labor market, employee benefits present employers with a unique opportunity to outshine their competition while adding value to their present and future workforce.  

Looking for more exclusive content? Check out what’s new on the Mployer Advisor blog, or tune in the most recent episode of “This Week in Benefits.”

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