Why You Need An Employee Benefits Mission Statement
Why you need an employee benefits mission statement. From new and updated regulations to changes in company demographics, keeping your healthcare program running smoothly year after year can be challenging. With a mission-driven benefit program, you can avoid losing track of your program goals and consistently deliver a benefits program that is efficient, organized and provides the most value to employees.
To make this happen, consultants and employers need to work together. Many employers need help with the complexity of health insurance, constant decision-making, changing regulations and the pressure of annual renewals. Without knowledgeable guidance and a defined strategy, benefits can become diluted with out-of-date, and underutilized an out-of-touch program.
When this happens employers, and their consultants, need to take a step back and evaluate the goals of the benefits program. The best way to accomplish that is to look at the mission statement of your organization and ask yourself if your mission is being represented in your benefits.
YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS MISSION STATEMENT
Your consultant is an expert in health insurance (and should be an expert in the healthcare system) and you are an expert in your company. A benefit mission statement is a way to combine these essential elements and keep your health insurance program on track, ensuring your benefits program will continue to perform as intended and not drift when new ideas and trends present themselves.
This becomes especially important in the constantly changing health insurance and healthcare industry. Some areas that can change the trajectory of your plan are:
- Rising healthcare costs. Doctor visits, prescription costs and medical procedures continue to increase in cost. Not only for employees but for the business. Managing rising costs can be challenging and requires constant monitoring and planning to maintain.
- ACA compliance. New regulations and/or amendments to guidelines, as well as company development, can affect your benefits program. Over time, changes made to accommodate compliance can begin to alter the way your benefits program works.
- Trends and technology. New and exciting developments in healthcare are constantly evolving. Knowing what system, software or program best represents your company’s culture will have the most success.
- Employee healthcare needs. Whether your employees require additional access to mental health options or more information about the quality of their healthcare provider, delivering a plan that supports your unique workforce is essential. Employee surveys and data analysis should be done throughout the year to ensure optimal utilization.
- Business partnerships. As your organization adds benefit partners such as a new pharmacy benefit manager, reviewing the benefits mission statement becomes an important tool. Often, when someone new comes into the relationship, there is little clarity to guide new parties. Having a benefits mission statement creates an opportunity for everyone involved to better understand the roadmap.
Proactive management is essential for your benefits program's long-term success. Now is the time for consultants to review past performance, discover areas of the program that could use improvement and design future strategies based on your employee benefit mission statement. Before your plan gets off track.
AVOID DERAILING YOUR BENEFITS
Discover what you want to accomplish with your benefits and make a point to work towards that goal continuously. The book I co-authored, Life and Death Decisions in the C-suite explains just how important the choices you make are. Your benefits are part of your company and a way to “substantially lower your costs while enhancing the quality of life for your employees and their families.” Whether that means initiating additional access to mental health providers, setting up a mobile app for easy healthcare access or customizing your plan design to meet your workforce’s needs.
Every decision you make for your benefits program affects your people and their families. Use your benefit mission statement as a compass that guides your benefits program. If you need help developing a mission-based benefits program, or would like to learn more, let’s chat.
