Six questions to put employees’ needs at the heart of benefit plans

Each year, companies invest in their employee benefit plans. But the question remains how much value these companies, let alone their employees, actually get out of them. Trustmark’s own research showed nearly 60 percent of eligible employees don’t participate in their benefit plan. In addition, the findings showed 53 percent of employees feel cultural barriers prevent them from fully engaging with a program.

Fortunately, you, as human resources and benefits professionals, are in a position to 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 developing a benefit plan that helps employers recruit and keep talent, improve overall employee health, and reduce stress. Read our white paper, Through Engagement to Action: A Wellbeing Roadmap.

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Christopher Paquette, Trustmark Senior Vice President and Chief Digital & Strategy Officer Featured in HR Daily Advisor
Our Senior Vice President and Chief Digital & Strategy Officer Christopher Paquette recently authored a HR Daily Advisor article where he shared six questions employers should ask to gain alignment on immediate and long-term employee needs so they can develop benefit plans that place employees at the heart of decision-making.  
These include:

1. What are the age, education level, and average salary of the majority of employees? Know who you serve; it’s the foundation of being employee-centric.
2. Where do most employees fall on the health spectrum, from healthy to chronically ill, as well as the spectrum of actively disengaged to engaged employees who are ready to take action? Have a clear understanding of where employees are coming from so you view employee health from a holistic, “whole-person” perspective that factors in multiple well-being dimensions: physical, financial, emotional, social, and environmental.
3. Are there specific physical or logistical challenges (lots of sitting or standing, manufacturing settings with strict production goals, etc.) that lead to health risks? Seek ways to address unique challenges with innovative digital tools and help employees engage in their health and wellness in a way that feels more like nurturing than “teaching.
4. Are you meeting employees where they are by providing a benefit plan that can be used when and where it’s convenient for them? Taking employees through engagement to action requires a combination of channels that establish a human and virtual connection.
5. How are you attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best talent, by leveraging the benefit plan? Distinguish your company from your competitors by ensuring your benefit plan is aligned with your employment brand (how a company markets and brands itself to attract and retain the best talent).
6. What is your benefit philosophy? Ask yourself—and your leadership team—this simple question. Beyond cost as an immediate consideration, to what level might strategies be introduced that make employees partners in the utilization of the benefit plan to both reduce costs over the long term and potentially deliver greater value?

Overcome barriers to employee engagement
You’ve overcome barriers to ensure your employees are working safely and productively. Now discover how to overcome the barriers to keep them engaged, through open enrollment and beyond.

Our white paper, Through Engagement to Action: A Wellbeing Roadmap, offers a structured approach to help even the most experienced human resources and benefits professionals ask the right questions, establish a benefits strategy, and determine tools and methodologies to influence employee behavior.

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