Don’t Take Your Foot Off the Gas

Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas. When it comes to your employee benefits strategy, maintaining a constant speed throughout the year is the best way to ensure your plan will meet its required objectives.

By taking an in-depth look of what happened in 2021, you can create a strategic plan for 2022 to focus on your 2023 year, protecting your investment by producing a well thought out, efficient benefits plan that works for your people and your business.

The workforce is constantly changing — new hires, company structure, political and economic landscapes can all affect your benefits strategy. Which is why reviewing your benefits plan frequently throughout the year is important.

Don’t set your plan on the shelf.

If you take your foot off the pedal, you could lose momentum and deviate from your goals.

Seizing opportunities and adapting your plan to account for these changes can be hard to accomplish after slowing down and waiting six months following renewals. By assessing your benefits plan consistently you can determine if your plan is meeting your employee’s needs and your company’s targets and if it isn’t, you have time to strategize ways to modify it.

There are several other common missteps when employers are considering their employee benefits plan which are:

• Delaying. Don’t wait too long to begin your benefits strategy, creating an effective benefits plan that supports your people while keeping costs low takes time.
• Not weighing the pros and cons fully. Cost-savings, tax advantages, legal compliance, and affordability are just a few aspects of your plan that need to be examined closely.
• Being afraid of change. Executing changes can feel overwhelming, but could be crucial in unlocking an efficient benefits program.
• Shortcutting the education process. Your people need to know how to navigate their benefits. Implementing benefits training and education sessions throughout the year will work towards a fully utilized plan.
• Evaluating benefits decisions in a silo. Your benefits should reflect your holistic business mission. They should adapt with the changing needs of your workforce. If you care about your employees, your benefits program can represent that.
• Not involving the whole leadership team in your benefits strategy. Just like other areas of business, team leaders need to be involved in company and project strategy for success, your benefits should be no different.

Your advisor should be able to help you avoid these mistakes. They are there to analyze your benefits plan, show you what the high value points of your plan to consider and provide options.

If they aren’t, we can help.

Our process involves the Healthcare spectrum. We establish your goals and begin the education process for what comes next — those high value items that will make your plan efficient, cost effective and more importantly what your people need.

The education process occurs during the first two quarters and helps determine and prepare for the decisions that come for Q3 and Q4.

We bring in the right partners, we talk about the pros and cons, we explain concepts and are transparent with our clients. We take an in-depth look at how your employees are navigating the healthcare system, how they are selecting high quality providers and if they are getting their prescription needs met.

Ask the right questions

We also take a look at how your plan is being rolled out and maintained. Is there enough information and support available for questions they may have? Also, is your administrator moving forward with new efficiencies? Are they looking to streamline processes and engage your employees?

These are all important questions and areas to address when looking at your employee benefits plan, afterall they are an essential part of your competitive compensation packages.

To get the most out for your employee benefits plan, you need to develop a strategy that will evaluate its effectiveness throughout the year. You need to maintain your momentum to reach your goals.

Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas for your employee benefits strategy. If you need help with this, don’t hesitate to reach out.