Four steps to put employees’ needs at the heart of benefit plans

Employers might be overlooking a key perspective when developing benefit plans – that of their employees. And it’s costing them dearly – in high claims and low participation, lost productivity, and missed recruitment, retention, and growth opportunities.

Fortunately, you, as brokers and employee benefit decision makers, can help and, with open enrollment upon us, there’s no time like the present. It comes down to putting employees’ needs at the heart of benefit plans.

Read our white paper, Through Engagement to Action: A Wellbeing Roadmap
At Trustmark we developed a roadmap for building a benefit plan from the employee’s perspective to drive engagement, and ultimately, action. Learn what that looks like.

 
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A Q&A with Christopher Paquette, Trustmark Senior Vice President and Chief Digital & Strategy Officer
Our Senior Vice President and Chief Digital & Strategy Officer Christopher Paquette recently shared his thoughts on employee engagement during a recent BenefitsPro Q&A.  The conversation includes the following four steps to put employees’ needs at the heart of benefit plans:

Step One: Identify engagement barriers and determine how to overcome them.
These include both “behavioral” barriers that stem from an employee’s feelings and beliefs as well as “environmental” barriers that stem from structural aspects ingrained in an organization.

Step Two: Develop a coherent strategy.
Rather than viewing benefit plans as a series of offerings, define a coherent strategy – a path that engages employees and fosters efficient action regardless of where they fall on the health spectrum – from healthy to chronically ill, as well as the spectrum from actively disengaged to those engaged employees who are ready to take action.

Step Three: Have consultative discussions with your clients.
Position yourself as your client’s strategic partner. Christopher outlines a series of questions to ask to set both you and your client up for success.

Step four: Ensure your metrics tell a story.
Take a holistic approach when reviewing data to demonstrate how putting employees’ needs at the heart of benefit plans is good for employee well-being and employer bottom line.

Take a deep dive into employee engagement
Our white paper, Through Engagement to Action: A Wellbeing Roadmap includes a deeper dive into what Christopher shared in the BenefitsPro Q&A. Discover how to partner with your clients to get and keep employees engaged so they take actions that lead to sustainable, healthier and financially sound behaviors.

 
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