When you're looking to purchase a new car or appliance, you have certain criteria you use to make a decision. Most people review brand ratings and customer feedback. They also solicit recommendations from family, friends, and co-workers. The same is true of benefit decisions. Consider these tips for buying employee dental and vision insurance.

1. Capitalize on consumerism – Employees are challenging traditional benefit plans. They are demanding more control of their health care options and want to customize coverage to their needs, making the one-size-fits-all benefit plans outdated. Employees expect plans that offer choices.

2. Recognize multigenerational workforce challenges – Today's multigenerational workforce has complex expectations. Senior employees want relevant details to help them compare all options. In contrast, younger employees tend to look for information only on the plans they prefer and do not want to be bothered with the rest.

3. Review demographics – Study consumer surveys to understand generational similarities and differences. Survey employees to understand the plan features they value most, coverage expectations, and benefit needs.

4. Acknowledge differences in decision factors – Many employers want benefits that help them take care of employees' health and personal needs, and to keep employees engaged with their work. Conversely, employees tend to purchase dental and vision coverage to take care of their families.

5. Know the trends – Review research articles and reports to recognize what's important to different employee groups when making benefits decisions. Gather information to answer these questions:

How do they prefer to receive information?

How much detail do they want when reviewing choices?