In part 1, we began to look at the symptoms of disjointed employee benefits and what employees are actually looking to solve. Today, in part 2, we’ll explore actionable insights to make the employee experience feel more seamless.
Curate the choices
Expanding access to benefits is valuable, particularly for smaller employers that may not traditionally have access to a broad portfolio.
But more products do not automatically create a better experience.
An overcrowded digital marketplace can create as much confusion as a fragmented one. Employers and employees need curated options based on workforce needs, affordability and actual value.
The objective should not be to maximize the number of products presented. It should be to help each employer offer an appropriate benefits strategy, and help each employee understand which parts of that strategy may be relevant to them.
Clarify everyone’s role
A connected ecosystem requires more than technical integrations. It requires operational clarity.
Employers, brokers, carriers and technology partners should establish:
- Who owns the employee experience
- Who answers which questions
- Who handles errors and escalations
- How information moves between systems
- Who is responsible when data is wrong
- How employees transition from technology to human support
- How success will be measured
Employees should not be responsible for determining which vendor owns their problem.
The experience should feel coordinated even when several organizations are working behind the scenes.
Measure outcomes, not just enrollment
Enrollment and participation matter, but they do not tell the entire story.
A better benefits ecosystem should also measure:
- Whether employees understand their choices
- Whether they can find help
- Whether benefits are being used appropriately
- Whether employees are resolving claims and billing issues
- Whether HR receives fewer repetitive questions
- Whether employees are better prepared for financial risk
- Whether employers can attract and retain talent
- Whether the experience improves trust and satisfaction
- Whether the overall program creates measurable value
A product is not valuable merely because an employee enrolled in it. The real question is whether it helped when the employee needed it.
Attack the problem from every angle
There will not be one silver bullet.
Employers need clearer strategies and better communication.
Brokers need tools that help them move beyond product placement and provide year-round guidance.
Carriers need to simplify their products, processes and language.
Technology companies need to connect the experience without overwhelming the user.
Decision-support tools need to make recommendations understandable and transparent.
Advocacy partners need to help employees when self-service reaches its limit.
And all of us need to listen more carefully to what employees are actually trying to accomplish.
The future of benefits should not be another collection of products placed inside a new portal.
It should be an ecosystem that feels coordinated, understandable and useful to the person standing at the center of it.
That will require technology. It will require human support. It will require better partnerships. Most importantly, it will require the industry to stop solving its individual pieces in isolation and start designing the entire experience together.
