3 Ways Technology is Transforming Benefits
This article focuses on exciting ways in which technology is transforming how employers administer and deliver benefits. It’s no longer a one-size-fits-all benefits marketplace and to retain top talent, leading companies are using technology to improve benefits via personalization, flexibility and empowerment, writes Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange.
Today’s workplace is constantly evolving — and technology is helping to usher in advances in just about every area of work. When it comes to employee benefits, technological advances are changing how employers provide benefits and educate employees about the variety of choices available to them. Advancements in technology also make benefits and HR managers’ work more data-driven, which helps employers develop employee benefits packages that cater to each workforce and help retain top talent in return. Leading companies are using technology to improve the benefits landscape in three key ways: personalization, flexibility, and empowerment.
Personalizing benefits improve engagement
Technology enables employers to create more customized benefits programs that better appeal to each employee’s specific needs. Personalization also allows employers to better educate employees about the many benefits choices available. The result is often increased employee participation in important benefits such as HSA plans. Signing up for a new health plan can be overwhelming to many employees. However, when employers personalize the process via an online portal with a series of questions to help identify needs and then provide recommendations that specifically fit those needs, the process is streamlined and the employee walks away feeling better about their choices. For instance, if an employee enrolls in a high deductible health plan (HDHP), the online portal can be configured to send the employee a personalized email with information about HSA plans. Once the employee understands the financial benefits of an HSA plan, they more often than not will enroll in the plan to save money. Personalization is opening up doors for new levels of engagement in employee benefits and companies invested in providing a better employee experience will reap the benefits.
Learn more:
Employee Engagement vs. Job Satisfaction: Key Differences and Metrics
Flexible benefits help employees choose what matters most to them
Technology also enables employers to offer flexible benefits designed to fit the needs of each employee at any given time. Flexible benefits are just that…flexible, meaning employees get to choose how to use their earned benefits. For example, if an employee has an unexpected emergency and doesn’t have enough in savings to cover it, employers can transfer the value of their unused paid time off (PTO) to a specific need — instead of resorting to taking out payday loans or draining their 401(k) plans. In this way, technology allows employees to have the flexibility to use their earned benefits for what matters most to them at any given time. Not all employers offer flexible benefits yet but the shift is gaining momentum as employers become more concerned about the overall wellbeing of their employees and the bottom-line benefits associated with engaging employees in this way. Studies have shown that when employees are free from financial stress, their job performance improves. Companies that offer flexible benefits will undoubtedly see an increase in employee job satisfaction, productivity, and even creativity.
Empowering employees to take charge of benefits decisions creates better outcomes
Technology is also empowering employees to take charge of their benefits decisions — increasingly important both as the workforce turns to gig workers and as the working middle class in America continue to overwhelmingly live paycheck to paycheck. Virtual healthcare is an area that is empowering employees to take more control over their healthcare needs and costs. Instead of making a doctor’s appointment whenever a health issue arises, employees can use their employer’s or healthcare provider’s telemedicine solution to ask a doctor for guidance. Employees also feel empowered when they have options such as the ability to redirect their hard-earned PTO to priorities that matter most to them — such as paying down school loan debt, funding their 401(k) retirement plans or going on a vacation.
Technology enables employers and employees to change the benefits landscape for good. Today, employers and employees have the ability to work together to define which benefits work best for each individual employee. It’s no longer a one-size-fits-all benefits marketplace. Technology has pushed us to reconsider and redefine how benefits — the #2 job consideration factor — can better serve employees and employers alike. Transforming how we administer and deliver benefits will impact our ability to effectively engage talent in 2020.
Learn more: The Value of Comprehensive Benefits for Small Businesses
