In my ongoing quest to “Performance Enhance your Benefits”, today’s topic sheds light on a topic that intersects employee well-being with your bottom line: “Maximizing Employee Health Benefits ROI.”
Why It Matters: Your investment in employee health benefits is not just an expense—it’s a powerful tool that, when optimized, can yield returns that extend far beyond the health and happiness of your team. Let’s take a look at how you can ensure your health benefits package becomes a strategic asset for both your employees AND your company.
Your Blueprint for Success:
- Transparent Communication: Start by fostering open communication about the value of your health benefits. Ensure your employees understand the comprehensive nature of the package beyond the standard offerings. This starts with you as the employer stating WHY you make the plan available and showing the investment that you make
- Engaging Wellness Programs: Inject excitement into routine health initiatives. Consider organizing team challenges, wellness workshops, or fitness events to boost engagement and make well-being a shared journey.
- Preventive Care Initiatives: Prioritize preventive care measures to reduce long-term healthcare expenses. Encourage regular check-ups, screenings, and wellness check-ins to identify potential health issues early on. You can implement programs such as a third-party vendor telemedicine program where employees can begin their process
- Employee Education Initiatives: Invest in educational resources to empower your workforce with knowledge on cost-conscious healthcare choices. Regular workshops and communication channels can bridge the gap and lead to more informed decisions. This starts every open enrollment with group and/or individual meetings. Depending on your company you can then have a combination of both one-on-one enrollment or self service through an online benefits portal. Knowing what is being offered, what it will cost them (plus your investment), and how to use the plan will pay greater dividends down the road
- Transparent Pricing:Establish a culture of transparency around healthcare costs. Ensure employees are aware of the pricing structure, co-pays, and potential out-of-pocket expenses, fostering trust and informed decision-making. This can come with additional employee education on what the costs of utilizing services will. If an employee needs to use the plan, they can shop to find the best place for both treatment and cost. It can also be through the company plan type: level or self funded health plan
Discussion Points:
- Understanding the True Value: Example: Consider Sarah, a manufacturing business owner. By transparently communicating the comprehensive nature of health benefits and WHY the plan is being offered PLUS the company investment per employee, the employees have a greater sense of appreciation for what Sarah is paying for each employee
- Tips for Encouraging Employee Engagement: Example: John, a construction company president, implemented engaging wellness programs, transforming routine check-ups into team-building events. The result? An energized workforce actively participating in health initiatives.
- How Preventive Care Leads to Long-Term Savings: Example: Implementing preventive care measures reduced absenteeism due to health issues in a plumbing business. Fewer sick days translate directly to increased productivity and cost savings over time. Our behaviors today lead to outcomes in the future. Those behaviors, good or bad, will dictate whether our health outcomes will lead to a more positive result
- Employee Education on Cost-Conscious Choices: Example: In the heating & air industry, educating employees about in-network providers and generic medications led to a noticeable reduction in healthcare expenses, demonstrating the financial impact of informed choices. One of the biggest drivers of healthcare costs is with prescription medications. By increasing communication on the plan formulary and which tier of drugs to get, you can eventually reduce spending.
- Ensuring Transparent Communication on Benefits: Example: A successful electrical business prioritized transparent communication on health plan details. This not only built trust among employees but also empowered them to make well-informed decisions regarding their healthcare. By implementing human to human communication, along with online enrollment portals, employees can make more educated decisions on plan selection. Through the technology implementation, employees have the ability to review information on their schedule to decide what is best for them
Your commitment to maximizing Employee Health Benefits ROI is an investment in a thriving, motivated workforce and a financially resilient company. By following the blueprint outlined above, you can build a benefits package that not only supports the health of your employees but also contributes significantly to your business success.