There are a series of important factors in establishing and maintaining an effective group health strategy.
These include employee contribution strategies, competitive bidding and vendor management, healthcare benchmarking, and effective communication to enhance acquisition of new talent, retention, and ROI.
Let's explore these to assess how they improve the efficacy of healthcare benefits for all parties involved.
Employee contributions are an often overlooked, but critical piece of strategic benefits planning.
After all plan design parameters are set, a company must develop a contribution strategy that matches its objectives.
Contribution strategies can accomplish many things, like motivating employee behavior and providing incentives towards better health.
Furthermore, contributions can strategically influence the selection of the plan options.
Having the right vendor is one of the single most visible aspects of your benefits plan.
If claims are not paid promptly and correctly, employees will know it, and eventually it will take its toll - thus the importance of selecting the right vendor.
Developing bid specifications and evaluation criteria for employee benefit plans, and managing the selection process carefully, will result in finding the right group benefits vendor.
This translates into a high standard of performance, ensuring that the all services are delivered as promised.
Another critical aspect of recruiting and retaining employees is knowledge of how a plan compares to the marketplace.
Competitive healthcare benchmarking enables companies to see just that.
Utilizing a variety of surveys and other public data from benefits libraries, companies can compare key components of various healthcare plans - deductibles, copays, employee contributions, and more.
This provides insight into how a plan stacks up in the marketplace as part of the strategic planning process.
Beyond benchmarking and other techniques for designing successful group health plans, effective communication is crucial.
Employees and prospective employees must understand and have a comprehensive understanding of the specific strengths of a benefits package for it to be effective in attracting and retaining them.
The importance of this cannot be overstated.
This means communicating changes upon arrival of a new benefits plan as well as addressing issues arising throughout the year.
Employees need a communications program that is clear, concise, and relevant to their needs and interests.
Hiring managers and HR executives should think of their benefits package in terms of a value proposition, complete with an elevator pitch to highlight the superior attributes of the plan.
Plan documents can be very confusing and complex.
Simplify this information and put it in laymen's terms to greatly increasing the odds that employees will understand their options and make informed decisions.
Providing nothing more than insurance carrier booklets may be detrimental to a program - a missed opportunity to better communicate the advantages and the features that help control costs.
Effective communication is fundamental to seeing a return on investment and retaining top talent.
Experienced designers and writers can help to create visually appealing, easy-to-read benefits communication materials that adhere to your corporate branding standards.
Components of a well-orchestrated group benefits program can include employee benefit enrollment guides, FAQs, postcards, posters, personalized benefit statements, newsletters, and more.
To ensure a company gets the most out of its group health initiative, applying these numerous but crucial principles is imperative and well worth the time invested.
These include employee contribution strategies, competitive bidding and vendor management, healthcare benchmarking, and effective communication to enhance acquisition of new talent, retention, and ROI.
Let's explore these to assess how they improve the efficacy of healthcare benefits for all parties involved.
Employee contributions are an often overlooked, but critical piece of strategic benefits planning.
After all plan design parameters are set, a company must develop a contribution strategy that matches its objectives.
Contribution strategies can accomplish many things, like motivating employee behavior and providing incentives towards better health.
Furthermore, contributions can strategically influence the selection of the plan options.
Having the right vendor is one of the single most visible aspects of your benefits plan.
If claims are not paid promptly and correctly, employees will know it, and eventually it will take its toll - thus the importance of selecting the right vendor.
Developing bid specifications and evaluation criteria for employee benefit plans, and managing the selection process carefully, will result in finding the right group benefits vendor.
This translates into a high standard of performance, ensuring that the all services are delivered as promised.
Another critical aspect of recruiting and retaining employees is knowledge of how a plan compares to the marketplace.
Competitive healthcare benchmarking enables companies to see just that.
Utilizing a variety of surveys and other public data from benefits libraries, companies can compare key components of various healthcare plans - deductibles, copays, employee contributions, and more.
This provides insight into how a plan stacks up in the marketplace as part of the strategic planning process.
Beyond benchmarking and other techniques for designing successful group health plans, effective communication is crucial.
Employees and prospective employees must understand and have a comprehensive understanding of the specific strengths of a benefits package for it to be effective in attracting and retaining them.
The importance of this cannot be overstated.
This means communicating changes upon arrival of a new benefits plan as well as addressing issues arising throughout the year.
Employees need a communications program that is clear, concise, and relevant to their needs and interests.
Hiring managers and HR executives should think of their benefits package in terms of a value proposition, complete with an elevator pitch to highlight the superior attributes of the plan.
Plan documents can be very confusing and complex.
Simplify this information and put it in laymen's terms to greatly increasing the odds that employees will understand their options and make informed decisions.
Providing nothing more than insurance carrier booklets may be detrimental to a program - a missed opportunity to better communicate the advantages and the features that help control costs.
Effective communication is fundamental to seeing a return on investment and retaining top talent.
Experienced designers and writers can help to create visually appealing, easy-to-read benefits communication materials that adhere to your corporate branding standards.
Components of a well-orchestrated group benefits program can include employee benefit enrollment guides, FAQs, postcards, posters, personalized benefit statements, newsletters, and more.
To ensure a company gets the most out of its group health initiative, applying these numerous but crucial principles is imperative and well worth the time invested.
SHARE
