Trends in Employee Benefits

HR leaders are hitting the brakes on employee surveys. 🛑 Why? Because we're finally realizing a hard truth: asking for feedback without the intent or resources to act on it is worse than not asking at all. So what's the '2025 Listening Strategy' shaping up to be? Here's what I'm hearing on the ground: 🎯 Targeted surveys: Limited, focused, and actionable 🔎 Anonymous reporting: Real-time feedback on serious concerns 👂 Listening tours: 1:1 conversations to uncover silent struggles In a nutshell: It's no longer about how much you ask and how much data you can collect, but how much you're prepared to do. ♻ Ask for feedback. Take action. Build trust. Repeat. What's your take on this shift? Is your company still survey-happy, or are you seeing this change too?

Some 2025 predictions! Employer focused for starters. Increased cost and deterioration of the delivery system is driving more intensive interest in improving healthcare for the 160M Americans who get insurance through their employer. Here are a few priorities, given a new Administration and broader health system trends.   1. Wellness will remain top of mind. High-cost, complex conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease not only drive employers’ health care spend, but hamper employee productivity and well-being. Employers care deeply about this and deploy a variety of strategies to improve wellness across their populations. Employers increasingly see improved access to primary care (Mosaic Health), more affordable health plan options (Centivo) and enhanced care navigation (Personify Health) as the foundational elements to employee wellness. Potentially a nice shared agenda with the new Administration?   2. More employers will use narrow networks to counter rising costs. Next year, health insurance premiums are expected to increase 7% (yet again) – creating a severe burden for employers of all sizes. Against that same backdrop, we’re seeing that many of our health delivery systems are deteriorating or becoming more fragmented. As a result, employers are increasingly prioritizing quality networks focused on driving a better patient experience. We see this in our work with both Centivo and Kaiser Permanente.   3. Data is key to improving quality. Employers increasingly want greater value from their health care and recognize that they can only demand more if they understand what ROI they’re receiving for their health care spend. A broader, more comprehensive data set helps employers drive improved health care performance and quality. Merative, Embold and Personify Health are all key to this shift.   4. Quality cannot be addressed without a focus on equity. Employers increasingly understand that quality improvement depends on identifying vulnerable populations and addressing both social and clinical interventions for vulnerable populations. Our work on social determinants with Cigna Healthcare and Aetna, a CVS Health Company shows benefits from improving nutrition and addressing other needs, especially when coordinated with medical care. We're also looking to more on women's health and for populations with high clinical need.   5. Increased demand for solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage costs. Offering quality, robust health coverage enables SMBs to be competitive, but they are seeking more support when it comes to cost management. We expect growth in alternative insurance designs, like ICHRAs, which are attractive to SMBs due to their ability to keep costs predictable while eliminating the operational burden of plan administration. SMBs are also looking to integrated telehealth offerings and local wellness clinics. Share your thoughts, and what am I missing here?

Y'all it's 2023, but some of these employers' benefits packages are still living in 1993. Healthcare and retirement are standard now in most industries. And lots of employers are offering way more. Some of the cool perks/benefits I've seen: 🏫student loan reimbursements - these are big expenses for so many, and it's cool to see some companies offering to help foot the bill. Personally, I think this should be a MUST for any company that has a degree requirement since you're basically requiring folks to take on debt to work at your company. 🤗time off to volunteer AND funds annually to donate to the cause of your choice - Gen Z in particular has shown a preference for values-driven work places so this is a great perk that really resonates with 👩💻remote AND 3 no-meetings days a week so you can really have time to get your work done 🏣flexible hybrid - they want you in office sometimes, but you can choose when based on your team's schedule, and they trust you to figure out your own hours and when you need to work from home ⛷travel/vacation stipends - a few companies offer a stipend to put towards a vacation to encourage folks to not just take time off but fully disconnect 🏥gender-affirming care - I saw an employer who specifically names that they will cover all costs associated including surgeries - given that insurance doesn't always cover these treatments, this is huge, and likely speaks to broader inclusivity 💵sabbaticals or bonuses for long-tenures - often, staying in a workplace can mean fewer raises, so an employer that offers meaningful financial rewards in exchange for tenure is a win for me (but make sure that you're also getting raises!) 🐣family-forming benefits - for many folks, the process of bringing children into the world may not be straight-forward so I love seeing workplaces that offer benefits that help make a family attainable for all employees 👶childcare benefits - and once those babies show up, we love a workplace that offers perks like backup care or childcare stipends - childcare is hard to find and increasingly unaffordable to the point that many people (particularly women) are pushed out of the workforce. ⚽️global soccer tournaments - kinda specific but I saw one company that flies interested employees out to play in a soccer tournament in a cool location every year...fun way to get a free vacation annually! 💇♀️lifestyle budgets - some employers give folks money to use flexibly - gym, haircuts, books - whatever is gonna make you a happier and more whole person at work! And it's to every employer's benefit to offer perks like these. Employees that feel taken care of are going to be more focused, more productive, and more loyal than those who are wondering how they're going to make ends meet each month. So employers: get with the times and figure how you can add a few of these into the mix. And jobseekers: ask about perks and benefits in your search - a lot of these can mean more money in your pocket!

Health insurance premiums are rising 7%, and the expectation is that employers will be increasingly open to novel approaches to controlling costs. This is an opportunity for physicians and healthcare innovators to collaborate with employers to build mutually beneficial solutions. Smart docs (and other clinicians) will stay ahead of the curve and differentiate themselves by embracing direct contracting, value-based arrangements, and transparency in outcomes and pricing. At the same time, many of the hassles of dealing with commercial payors can be reduced (prior auths, denials, complicated RCM, and other admin burdens). Such arrangements need not be the purview of ivory tower Centers of Excellence only. Success in these programs requires support and infrastructure that may not currently exist for many practices looking to enter such arrangements. Enter health tech and digital health companies. Setting up systems and processes to collect and report data (including PROMS), enhancing patient communication and engagement, and extending the office/hospital/ASC visit to the home are all critical components of succeeding in direct contract/value-focused arrangements. Sure, there are plenty of conveners and care navigation companies out there. But lowering the barrier of entry for high quality community docs and giving them the tools to succeed in these programs is a big opportunity. We also have plenty of companies (especially in MSK) looking to drive value through avoidance of low quality, low value interventions and serve as a layer between employees and traditional HC. IMO, that won't be enough going forward. Employers don't want fragmented point solutions that lose track of the patient when they fall outside the capabilities of an offering. The ability to interface with brick-and-mortar healthcare and support the entire patient journey provides much better ROI. The government, for its part, should learn from what innovative employers and healthcare providers are doing. Instead of more CMMI programs with spurious outcomes and failed bundled payment schemes, CMS should explore its own version of direct contracting -- in collaboration with high value healthcare providers. (The last part is key). There's no reason these arrangements only have to be available to people who get insurance through their employer. The need is as big or bigger in the Medicare population. Instead of doubling down on Medicare Advantage (and its questionable value prop to both patients and docs), CMS should be watching closely what forward thinkers are doing here. #medicine #healthcare #valuebasedcare #vbc #directcontracting #health #healthcareinnovation

Gallup’s new State of the Global Workplace: 2024 Report finds that globally, one in five employees say they felt lonely a lot of the previous day. Social isolation and chronic loneliness have devastating effects on physical and mental health. The risk of mortality among people who lack community and social ties is two times greater than that of people who have many social contacts. These differences are independent of physical health, socioeconomic status and health practices. In general, loneliness levels are lower among working adults than the global average, indicating that being part of a work community is beneficial to people’s social wellbeing.   Notably, fully remote employees report significantly higher levels of loneliness (25%) than those who work fully on-site (16%), showing that time together working in-person helps people feel more connected. Learn more about employees’ experiences in 2023 by downloading the report.  https://lnkd.in/eaUkK8YZ

It doesn't matter how amazing your benefits package if your team doesn't use it. I've learned that what I value might not be the same as what my team values. As I shared on Episode 136 of "Build to Enough," at Little Fish, I've implemented unique benefits that make my employees feel valued while also recognizing that they are human. For example, I offer "Sick and Sad Days"—time off that isn't counted against anyone if they're sick or just can't do it that day. I wanted to ensure they have room to take time off when they aren't at their best. We also close for five weeks out of the year: one week during spring break for tax season, one week at the end of summer, and two weeks at the end of the year. These breaks are automatically built in and fully paid for everyone. We offer flexible work hours with some overlapping core hours, but they can work at a time that suits them best. Plus, we have an annual all-expenses-paid company retreat, a 401k match, and internet reimbursement. Now, I didn't start with all of this. Bit by bit, I figured out what made the most sense for the business and what the team actually wanted. If you're looking to develop a benefits package that truly supports your team, here are some steps to consider: 1. Assess your team's wants and needs - Ask them what they value and what perks would make a difference in their lives. 2. Prioritize core benefits - Focus on essentials like PTO, health benefits, and retirement plans, but don't forget to explore other perks. 3. Research your options - There are many health and retirement plans available for small teams. Do your homework to see what will work best for your team (and your budget 😉 ). 4. Consider supplemental benefits - Look for inexpensive perks that have a significant impact, like flexible hours or remote work options. 5. Maximize your budget - Allocate a specific amount for benefits and make the most of it. Seek group buying opportunities and tiered benefits to offer more without overspending. 6. Review and adjust regularly - Benefits aren't a set-it-and-forget-it deal. As your team evolves, so should your benefits package. Creating a benefits offering that truly supports your team not only helps retain your current employees but also makes your company a place where people want to work.

We surveyed 500 #10KSB small business owners on the challenges of childcare for their businesses. Here’s what they had to say: 48% of small business owners cited childcare availability and affordability affecting hiring and keeping talent. 52% of small business owners have made adjustments to their business operations or policies to accommodate employees child care needs. 57% of small business owners with children in childcare reported spending $1,000 or more per month and cited detrimental effects to productivity, revenue, and business hours. Meet Megan Metzger, a 10,000 Small Businesses alum, and domestic staffing agency owner from North Carolina. From guiding over 400 agencies on starting and scaling their businesses, her insights help illuminate solutions to small business childcare needs. Megan's Tips for Small Businesses Offering Childcare Benefits: Cost Sharing: Share the cost of childcare services with employees, whether it's a nanny agency or daycare. Childcare Benefit "Bank": Create a benefit structure where the employer provides a set number of covered days (or hours) each year for childcare, which can be distributed among employees. Local Childcare Agencies: Partner with a local childcare agency. They're well-acquainted with the community's unique needs and can provide flexible benefit arrangements while avoiding hefty fees. #Childcare #SmallBusiness #WorkplaceWellness https://lnkd.in/en4Q7KM6

All is not well in fully-remote OR fully in-office work. While new Gallup research reveals that fully remote workers are more engaged than even hybrid workers (and fully on-site workers are the least engaged - a slap in the face of RTO), they aren't thriving the most - hybrid workers are. It's perhaps no surprise (to all but some CEO's and managers) that fully on-site workers are thriving the least. Interestingly, hybrid workers experience the most stress (just a hair more than fully remote), and disturbingly, fully remote workers are more likely to experience anger, sadness, and loneliness - by a decent margin. Gallup believes that physical distance can create mental distance and that work becomes "just work" without deeper connections with coworkers that can be more easily formed from spending time together in person. They also think that it's the autonomy that comes with remote work which can create stress and lead to the negative emotions mentioned above. I think these are very interesting findings, and I would like to believe that most companies would take the time to reflect on them and take appropriate action. Here's what I think companies can do: 1. Address the emotional well-being of remote workers with regular check-ins, mental health resources, and virtual social activities to combat isolation. 2. Optimize hybrid work environments by creating create clear boundaries between work and home life, help their workers manage workloads effectively, and ensure hybrid workers aren't overcompensating with longer hours. 3. Explore the advantages of remote work, seek to understand what drives the higher engagement and apply these lessons across all work arrangements. 4. Given that each work arrangement faces different challenges, develop tailored well-being strategies for each work type. A one-size-fits-all approach isn't the way to go. 5. Ensure that remote workers have career development opportunities, opportunities to develop meaningful social connections, and achieve work-life balance to close the thriving gap. 6. For companies that are (or are considering moving to) fully in-office work, reconsider hybrid and/or remote work for the clear benefits. I know - wishful thinking, especially for #6. Here's the full Gallup report: https://lnkd.in/ezQB4K5q #WellBeing #EmployeeEngagement #WorkLifeBalance #FutureOfWork #RTO

I think about Jeff Bezos's "start with the press release and work backward" approach. Here is a future headline I would like to see: "Surveys are no longer the primary tool for gathering insights." To get there, surveys will have had to evolve into precision instruments used strategically to fill gaps in data. Let's call this the "Adaptive Survey." With adaptive surveys, organizations can target key moments in the customer or employee journey where existing data falls short. Instead of overwhelming consumers and employees with endless, and meaningless, questions, surveys step in only when context is missing or deeper understanding is required. Imagine leveraging your operational data to identify a drop in engagement and deploying an adaptive survey to better understand and pinpoint the "why" behind it. Or, using transactional data to detect unusual purchasing behavior and triggering a quick, personalized survey to uncover motivations. Here's how I hope adaptive surveys will reshape insight/VoC strategies: Targeted Deployment: Adaptive surveys appear at critical decision points or after unique behaviors, ensuring relevance and avoiding redundancy. Data-First Insights: Existing operational, transactional, and behavioral data provide the foundation for understanding experiences. Surveys now act as supplements, not the main course of the meal. Contextual Relevance: Real-time customization ensures questions are tailored to the gaps identified by existing data, enhancing both response quality and user experience. Strategic Focus: Surveys are used to validate hypotheses, explore unexpected behaviors, or uncover latent needs...not to rehash what’s already known. Surveys don't have to be the blunt instrument they are today. They can be a surgical tool for extracting insights that existing data can’t reach. What are your thoughts? #surveys #customerexperience #ai #adaptiveAI #customerfeedback #innovation #technology

A recent WSJ article featured the company Red Rooster Coffee, which successfully mitigated its high staff turnover by offering subsidized on-site child care. It’s an incredible benefit for employees, but I believe it likely bolstered their bottom line as well. Let’s break this down. In the case of Red Rooster Coffee, they could turn part of their building into a child care facility. While they certainly had costs to make their building pass muster as a child care facility, these are fixed and one-time expenses. Subsidizing 70% of the care costs for employees may too seem substantial. However, when considering the savings from reduced recruitment and training expenses due to reduced turnover, reduced salaries they can pay thanks to this benefit, coupled with the potential for increased profits from expanded or improved operating hours (like opening early in the morning for higher revenue), it might not be a net negative anymore. Finally, they also opened their child care center to the public at normal rates. This strategy is not just community-serving but financially astute; it generates additional revenue that can offset the costs of subsidies for employees. For many other businesses, the operational costs and differing regulatory hurdles per state make this equation much trickier. The thing is, it’s not all or nothing. This is where innovative (and lower cost) solutions like Winnie's offering come into play, providing businesses with a cost-effective way to support their employees' child care needs. It’s just good business! https://lnkd.in/gw5YwCKi