Employees have access to more employer-provided benefits and services than ever before. From typical health insurance and 401(k)s to wellness and employee assistance programs, employers are increasingly using their benefits and human resources services as a powerful tool for employee recruitment, retention and corporate engagement.

While brokers and their clients are constantly reviewing and updating their benefits offerings to best serve their employees, those same employees are often unaware of those benefits, much less how to make them a part of their daily lives or find them when they need them. This poses a critical issue for employers, as it inhibits their ability to realize the greatest return on their investment — both from a financial and corporate culture standpoint.

Consider wellness programs as an example. For years, employers and brokers have focused their attention on programs designed to help employees improve their health and well-being. While these initiatives have made a difference in some employees' lives, too often they fall well short of their intended goals.  

One of the primary drivers behind this underutilization of benefits is that employees make such decisions with family members, but the families themselves have little to no access to learn about and use all of the various services and benefits available to them. Employees and their families are much less likely to use a program if they have to visit one website to access wellness challenges for employees (that generally exclude family members), but then have to go to another to utilize chronic condition management programs. Such disjointed effort and friction not only limits the employer's return on their benefits investments, it also means employees are not realizing the true value of their own total compensation offered by their employers.  

A new approach to the management of HR benefits and services is emerging, one that prioritizes employee access and utilization: HR dashboards. This technology centralizes benefits and services within one location for employees (and, when applicable, their family members) to access quickly and easily. While much of today's HR ecosystem tends to be siloed amongst various platforms and providers, dashboards create a single point of access for all benefits and services.

Furthermore, employers are utilizing HR dashboards to incorporate every aspect of the HR benefits and services ecosystem, essentially leveraging the dashboard as a “one-stop-shop” for all things HR within their workplace. It is both informational and transactional. From employee orientation, open enrollment, record management,  employee handbooks, training, compliance and content distribution to newsletters and announcements, if the dashboard is properly promoted by leadership and offers practical, useful services for staff, it has been proven to engage employees with their benefits, as well as their corporate culture.  

It is also important to consider the dashboard's location and point of access, especially within a multi-generational workforce. Younger employees in particular will look to engage with their HR services and benefits where they spend the majority of their time — on their mobile/smart phones or device.  This also means employers must deploy it as a native mobile app for iOS and Android environments.

More experienced or senior employees may use their mobile devices as well, or they may prefer a web-based dashboard accessible via their computers and tablets. Neither approach is better or more effective than the other, but both are needed to help employers maximize benefits utilization by engaging each segment of employee population within their preferred channel.

An HR dashboard should also be an extension of the employer's brand and culture. The dashboard, delivered as a branded app and/or web-service, should feature the employer's logo and use their company colors to convey the company's values and mission. This will keep the employer top-of-mind whenever employees access the platform and use its services, further fostering a strong corporate culture throughout the organization.

Even with a properly branded HR dashboard however, it is still necessary for employers to craft a thoughtful execution strategy. Just as employees should be educated on their overall benefits, they will also require education, encouragement and a compelling reason to use the dashboard each day. Whether this education comes in the form of blogs, bulletin board posts, newsletters, or announcements, employers will want to ensure everyone from the C-Suite down to production or line managers are using the dashboard, delivering useful content and services and promoting its benefits to employees.

From a recruitment and retention standpoint, employees are increasingly seeking employers that offer robust benefits packages, and a branded modern app with centralized HR dashboard can help employers distinguish themselves in a crowded field. Likewise, by providing direct access to the benefits for the employees' families, employers underscore their commitment to their well-being.

When it comes to driving benefits utilization, it often is all about ease-of-use and a frictionless process. Ultimately, it is the quality of services offered that is critical to long-term success and employee retention, but that cannot be fully appreciated if it is not readily accessible to employees in the first place. Those employers that go a step further to provide easy access to services will be better positioned to cultivate a more engaged, loyal workforce.  

Dinesh Sheth is founder and CEO of Green Circle Health, the provider of the GCH Platform, a patented web- and mobile-based service for employers to maximize benefits utilization, reduce healthcare costs and better engage and communicate with employees and their families. For more information, visit www.greencirclehealth.com and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.