The average company offers upwards of 14 benefits to its employees.
Whether that’s healthcare insurance for humans (or pets), 401ks, EAPs, or caregiving coordination, the market is flooded with options.
But, how can you cut through the noise to choose what’s best for your team? What’s most cost-effective, and what will be the best return on your investment?
The “Balancing Act” recently sat down with Hassan Azar, a veteran HR leader who’s helmed benefits at major companies, including Mondalez International, Kraft, Ford, and Jones, Lang, LaSalle.
Balancing Act:
How have benefits evolved since you first got involved in this space?
Hassan Azar:
“20 years ago when we started really managing benefits, there were few bells and whistles. We offered what I call a ‘Wellness Light Program,’ and started getting a little bit more involved in what the 401k design looks like; we helped people save for the future and plan their retirement. And then over the following 10 to 15 years, we started adding more programs partially because they were available and started to pop up. So suppliers and vendors started creating programs. But we wanted to bring in programs that would help the company so help them save money, help attract talent, help retain people, and help improve productivity…So really, I’d say over the past 20 years, companies are taking the time to really look at their benefits so they are really ‘employee-centric.’”
Balancing Act:
How can you cut through the noise when choosing benefits for your employees?
Hassan Azar:
“Putting employees at the center of all these benefit decisions is important. Think about the the daily life stresses that employees bring to work every day, I think that’s important. So there’s a lot of great, great things that help people get healthier, save for retirement, handle disability, handle dental issues, and on and on. But there’s so much more to an employee’s life that needs to be paid attention to and really brought to focus.”
Balancing Act:
Healthcare costs have gone up exponentially in the last few years. What’s your advice about choosing benefits that are cost-effective and will provide return on investment?
Hassan Azar:
“Improving healthcare should be focused on better outcomes, in terms of health, better experience for the patient, and then better cost for the system. And I actually use that same equation and lens when I’m looking at any program for benefits. Am I going to bring in something that’s going to bring in a better outcome for my employees? Am I going to give them a better experience? And am I going to help with costs for the company, either a concrete cost or productivity or increase engagement or something? And so, these are the three aims I have for bringing in a program, I think it’s just a useful question to always ask yourself: is this a solution we have? Is it actually driving all three of these? It’s a good time to sit back and say: ‘Okay, if I look at all my benefits as a portfolio of services, where am I spending money, and what’s actually driving value for employees, and most importantly, and then the company as a whole? So I know, with the recession around the corner, possibly a lot of benefit leaders are under stress right now, because they’re being asked to either hold back on adding new benefits or justify programs that they put in in the past. You definitely want to protect all the investments you’ve made, but think about what was the right investment for your company.”
Balancing Act:
How can benefits leaders use data to keep themselves honest about what’s working and what isn’t?
Hassan Azar:
“You can’t guess on how your programs are working. But one of the things I always stress is dig deeper. Your vendors are going to once a month or quarter or year, throw a binder at you saying here’s what’s going on with your program. And they will show you what they want to show you, which might be missing some key elements. So, step back and look at what’s working overall with all our benefit programs, where our programs heading and, what are some of the solutions you’ve implemented that employees may have touched once and have never gone back to and either run some focus groups or survey your employees.
“Don’t track registrations because it doesn’t matter how many people sign up for program. It’s how many people are using a program consistently, and then stick with it. And you also want to know when people drop out of a program. I would track that, too. Track what impact the benefit had on their lives? Did they change behavior? Are they more engaged in preventive health care after using the program? “
Balancing Act:
How can choosing the right benefits lead to more happy and productive employees?
Hassan Azar:
“There’s definitely an opportunity to really add programs to help employees with their day-to-day lives. You want your co-workers to show up to work really focused on what their tasks are, and not worrying about all the issues that they have left behind at home.”
Listen to Hassan’s full interview:
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