As employers, a large part of your budget relates to staffing, but are you maximizing employee benefits? We typically have benefit meetings once a year to talk about the next year’s benefits and ask people to enroll. But do they know and/or remember what they’re paying for?
I’ve learned that people tend to not think about or realize what benefits they have unless/until they need them. Even then, they may not think about asking if something is covered. Employers often pay a lot of money to offer these benefits, but are we making sure employees are taking full advantage of them?
For instance, many insurances have some sort of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that may offer counseling, financial assistance, and other types of help. I’ve seen some offer limited legal advice, help with aging parents, help with catastrophic and/or chronic conditions, and discounts in gym memberships. Does your insurance offer any of that and do you make sure your staff knows about it?
Have you talked to your broker or insurance representative about underutilized benefits? Maybe they have something valuable to offer you or your staff that you didn’t know or forgot about. Talking with them during open enrollment often isn’t the best time to discuss these items as there are too many factors involved at the time (price changes, plan design changes, educating staff on basics, getting everyone enrolled).
Now is a good time to have those conversations and remind staff that they have these benefits available. We’re often pleased to find out something is available when we’re looking at options, but if we don’t use the feature right away, it’s easy to forget it’s there.
Look for the “hidden” gems in your benefits and remind staff that they’re available. Make sure you’re fully utilizing the coverage you and your staff are paying for!
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