Employees still searching for connection, empowerment

When a MetLife benefits executive speaks, HR professionals listen. That’s why Meredith Ryan-Reid, MetLife’s senior v.p. for group benefits, drew a large and attentive audience for her presentation at the recent PlanSource Eclipse Annual Benefits and HR Conference.

Following her speech on the latest trends in enrollment and communications strategies, she dug deeper with BenefitsPro on highlights she shared. Much of her material was drawn from the recent annual MetLife benefits study, which clearly revealed an ongoing chasm “between what employees want and understand, and what employers are trying to deliver.”

Related: Are your benefits easing employee stress and building company culture?

Here are excerpts from our interview:

You said 90 percent of employees who feel empowered at work expect to be with the same employer in 12 months. That is a huge number. How do you define–and get to–empowerment? What sort of employer strategies have you seen that lead to employees feeling empowered?

Employees are looking to new workplace programs and voluntary benefits, like flex time and financial wellness tools, to feel more connected and empowered. We think these types of benefits help free employees from stresses of financial and other personal obligations, by empowering them with flexibility and tools to effectively manage them.

Sort of the same question about financial wellness: If employees expect employers to take at least some responsibility for it, what specifically can employers do to meet that expectation? Why do you think only 18 percent of employers now offer some sort of planning?

Less than half (43 percent) of employees believe their employer understands their personal financial pressures, which shows a missed opportunity for employers to build connection and trust with their workforce. Employers that are able to recognize these financial concerns among their employees—and offer them the tools to manage them more effectively—will be better positioned to foster connection and trust with their employees and ideally loyalty and productivity.

As the battle for top talent continues, what new insurance strategies have you seen employers adopt to attract and retain that talent?

Paid Family Leave is a growth area in workplace benefits, particularly as states begin to mandate that employers provide this to employees. As young professionals are now the largest segment of the U.S. workforce – and span ages around 22 to 36 – this group is increasingly interested in benefits that help with work-life balance, with a particular focus on Paid Family Leave and childcare benefits.

You talked about the shift toward the “gig economy” with more employees leaving the job to freelance. Is this trend a concern to employers? Should it be? If employers would prefer to retain those people, what can they do? Does offering remote working address this?

As the gig economy continues to grow, the ability of employers to provide their workers with the flexibility and freedom that gigs provide will be even more important. Offering a flexible schedule—which 71 percent of employees say is the most helpful factor in balancing work-home responsibilities—builds loyalty. And, 72 percent of employees say that having the option to work remotely is important to their work/life balance.

What motivated MetLife to include videos in your enrollment package?

Videos add a different way to engage with employees to educate with and communicate to them about the various benefits their employers offer. By incorporating videos, employers are able to discuss enrollment options with their workforce in a more human and engaging way.

If audience members had just two big takeaways from your presentation, what would you hope they would be?

Unemployment is at a record low, and top talent is in high demand. To attract and retain top talent, employers will need to create work experiences that foster connection in this era of automation. Employees want a say in how, when, and where they work—and they’ll reward employers that offer them that with hard work, performance, and loyalty.