Open enrollment revisited: What advisors and HR can do differently next time
Here are three tips to help you plan ahead for 2023.
You might be thinking about the benefits platform and how well it worked — or didn’t. Or wondering if employees understood their choices and made good decisions for them and their families. Or fretting over health care costs in these uncertain times.
These are certainly important things to consider as you look ahead to a new calendar year, but they shouldn’t be the only considerations on your list.
Let’s face it: The last few years have changed the role of HR at most organizations. And employee benefits are more complicated than ever. In times like these, it seems we all have more questions than answers. If employers want to attract and retain talented employees — while simultaneously maintaining a benefits package that can meet those employees’ wants and needs — then benefits pros need to be constantly thinking three steps ahead.
As a benefits advisor myself, I’ve spent the last 10+ years of my career working closely with HR and benefits leaders. Every time enrollment season comes along, without fail I see folks narrowly avoid (or, unfortunately, make) three key missteps. At a time of tight labor markets and expanding regulatory requirements, I’d urge even the most seasoned benefits veterans to keep their guard up. Otherwise, these missteps could end up costing the employer.
Here are three tips to help you plan ahead for 2023.
Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions.
Don’t get me wrong, HR and benefits professionals need the broker community to help provide plans that make sense for their organization. But as the benefits space continues growing and innovating, even the most seasoned broker may not be effective alone. Now more than ever, you need to ask some tough questions of brokers when evaluating their recommendations of benefits plans.
I think we all recognize that the vast majority of brokers have their clients’ best interests in mind; yet there are instances where brokers tend to follow the status quo, based on plans they’ve previously recommended. While these plans may have worked in the past, that doesn’t mean new and possibly better options aren’t available. Ask your broker to take a hard look at the plans they’re recommending, and push them to go out of their comfort zone. You want them to find the best plans (at the best costs), so don’t be afraid to ask some tough questions! .
As a broker myself, I welcome thoughtful and difficult questions from my clients. But I still see too many benefits decision-makers who overwhelmed by benefits choices, point solutions, and employee demands and simply take what their broker offers without digging deep for the right benefits package.
Leverage employee opinions to inform your plans.
Employees certainly want a say in what benefits they’re offered, but not all will be quick to express their preferences. Enter the employee survey. When developed and offered correctly, surveys are a great tool for informing a benefits strategy and building a foundation of support in your workforce. It’s especially important in the wake of the Great Resignation, as more workers have higher expectations for how employers support them.
Surveys don’t need to be complex, but they do need to be strategic and thoughtfully designed. When developing a survey, make sure you ask both quantitative and qualitative questions. This mix of hard data and employee sentiment will give you far more actionable information than either could alone.
One type of question that works well is a forced choice. For example, “In your health coverage, would you rather have a lower monthly premium or a lower deductible?”
Employee surveys should take the guesswork out of learning what employees actually want as well as how effective current benefits are in providing value. But if you want to build and keep employees’ trust, don’t ask a question if you’re unwilling to act on the answers and share the key findings afterward.
Make sure the broker/client relationship is always compliant
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 gives employers unprecedented transparency into their broker’s compensation, carrier commissions, and their services. In other words, this legislation was one of the first major efforts to unilaterally give employers a full view into their brokers’ real values and incentives. When employers know the level and sources of compensation from their brokers, they can make more informed decisions — including whether to continue working with their current broker.
That said, some brokers were already disclosing commissions before the CAA was enacted. Regardless of whether or not a broker was disclosing financial incentives before the legislation required them to, now is the time for advisors and their clients to sit down and review compliance checklist and action steps before the new plan year.
Brokers benefit, too, by building trust with their clients — and when they disclose up front, before being asked, they go a long way toward assuring clients that they are making trustworthy recommendations.
While passage of the law got a lot of attention in HR and benefits circles, not all employers are aware of their need to ask for information from brokers. Asking about commissions, services, and other tools of the broker trade gives employers a better ability to evaluate offers and manage the broker relationship going forward.
These three common missteps are easy to overlook in the day-to-day effort to stay on top of employee benefits. Let’s face it: Benefits administration is evolving fast. It’s important to step back at the end of another open enrollment season and think about those “aha” moments where you’d like to turn back the clock, and then use that information to your advantage for the coming year.
Kayly Hill is Director of Strategic Accounts at Nava Benefits, a modern benefits brokerage.