The influence of compassionate leadership on employee benefits

While employers are still concerned about the bottom line, their focus has broadened to include the overall health and well-being of employees and their families.

Health care and the world of employee benefits have been in a state of uncertainty for many years, since long before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect. From political controversy to social media backlash, the general public feels disconnected, disenfranchised, isolated, pessimistic and just plain discouraged. Elected officials in Washington have grown increasingly polarized, and it seems that for every step forward, we take three steps back. But through all the changes and obstacles, employers have continued to push for changes that reduce health care costs and make life better for their employees.

While employers are still concerned about the bottom line, their focus has broadened to include the overall health and well-being of employees and their families. And with good reason. Anxiety and depression have become leading causes of medical expense, while absenteeism and lost productivity are eroding the bottom line. Critical issues like suffering, obesity, and opioid abuse and dependency affect employees beyond the four walls of the workplace and find their way into the workplace through productivity loss and health issues. Consider this: Opioid dependency costs the United States economy $12.4 billion annually in lost productivity alone. Obesity abounds in and out of the workplace — nearly 40 percent of American adults are obese. And nearly 40 million Americans are caregivers for adult family members. Most, if not all, employers can personally relate to one or more of these issues.

As a result, brokers, their employer clients and HR professionals are looking at employee benefits through a new lens driven by the idea that a company’s bottom line and compassionate leadership are not mutually exclusive.

The cost/compassion conundrum

The Minnesota Health Action Group recently released the results of its 2018 Employer Benefits Survey, which provides insights into current and future trends for private and public sector businesses across the state. Although based on responses from companies that are headquartered in or have employees in Minnesota, the results mirror national trends.

The prevailing sentiment among survey respondents was that employers want to help employees and their families live their best lives while reducing costs. As a result, employers are integrating a number of new services and options into their benefits packages, including:

Mental health and well-being benefits and workplace policies are among the most common changes employers identified in the survey, with participants citing communications and education efforts to reduce mental health stigma. More specifically, 37 percent of employers said they took action to reduce mental health stigma through communication and education for employees in 2017, with 22 percent planning to do so in 2018. Communication and training for managers and executives went hand-in-hand with education for the broader employee population. Methods to improve access to mental health services included enhanced benefits and resources to help employees navigate care. These trends align with efforts nationally and worldwide, such as those in California, which has launched a statewide prevention initiative to reduce stigma through communication and education, or in Madison, Wisconsin, which has implemented a billboard campaign to reduce mental health stigma.

“Many employers are recognizing the need to make progress toward reducing stigma and improving access to mental health services,” said Paulette Daniel, manager of employee benefits, Emerson Automation Solutions Rosemount. “With mental health as a top concern for employers and employees, I am hopeful we will continue to see an acceleration of actions being taken to improve workplace mental health.”

On a parallel track with a more holistic focus on well-being is a continued focus on physical health challenges that influence employee health costs and workplace performance. Challenges like obesity and opioid use/pain management topped the list of concerns for employers, and as a result:

To keep pace with the changing workforce, it’s clear that organizations must be willing to innovate, be flexible, challenge the status quo or even break the mold to ensure benefits meet the needs and expectations of employees. Minnesota employers reported offering or considering an expanded array of voluntary benefits (64 percent of respondents), additional paid parental leave (more than 40 percent of respondents), and enhanced caregiver support (30 percent of respondents). Benefits such as these will become necessary to attract and retain top talent. 

Data and decision making

Data is power in health care, and especially when it comes to utilization of employee benefits. For brokers, employers and HR, there are endless ways to slice and dice data — from medical and pharmacy claims data to program participation, absenteeism, productivity, or engagement and satisfaction — and to then use that data to inform program design, cost management strategies, and employee communications.

When used strategically, data ultimately allows employers to meet employee needs with more effective benefits or programs. By integrating data from different sources (medical claims, absenteeism, etc.), employers can get a more complete picture of their unique workforce, which can help them determine what programs or benefits to offer. For example, where employers once relied on data about sick days versus vacation days to see when employees might have health issues, the conversion to paid time off (PTO) has eliminated this valuable data. However, employers can now look at short-term or long-term disability data along with claims to evaluate potential employee needs. The key is knowing what data sources are available and using those sources in a way that benefits employees and the business as a whole.

“The Action Group Survey findings inform our work throughout the year. In addition to enabling us to benchmark against other Minnesota employers, we mine the data to ensure our benefits are continually refined to attract and retain top talent,” said Jon Schloemer, director of compensation and benefits for Mills Fleet Farm.

Keeping an eye on marketplace changes

While employers are laser focused on their internal benefits programs and the health of their immediate communities, they’re not losing sight of consolidation among payers and providers and how it might impact their benefit offerings.

“With so many health care marketplace challenges upon us and an avalanche of new ones on the horizon, it’s never been more important for insurers, employers and other purchasers to come together and lend our collective voice to transforming the system into one that serves everyone fairly and affordably,” said Ken Horstman, senior director of total compensation, University of Minnesota.

Some of the rapidly unfolding developments that employers are watching include:

While these trends are on employers’ radar, benefits professionals remain focused on the levers they control, including offering new technologies and innovations that make employees’ lives easier and reduce the burden of health care costs. Ultimately, 95 percent of benefits professionals surveyed report being satisfied or highly satisfied with their career. They thrive in balancing the variety, complexity and challenge of today’s health care landscape with the opportunity to help employees be their “best selves.”

Deb Krause serves as vice president for the Minnesota Health Action Group, a coalition of health care purchasers dedicated to improving health care quality and access through collaboration, innovation, engagement and leadership. Prior to The Action Group, Deb held leadership positions at Mercer and UnitedHealth Group. She has been a volunteer leader with nonprofit organizations for 25 years and is the chair of the American Cancer Society’s Minnesota State/Dakota Area Leadership Board.

Recommended Stories