Tag: Benefits Beat

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Unintended Costs of the Modern Workplace

A lot of conversation focuses on helping people manage the day-to-day stress that comes with modern life and the modern workplace.

Whether it is looking at financial well-being (or the lack thereof), the stress of constant change, and the greater demands placed on an always-on workforce, we know there’s a problem. Diagnosing the root cause can be difficult, and that’s why I was so struck by my friend Aaron Hurst’s summary of the six unintended consequences of the modern workplace. He presented it at Purpose 2030, his company Imperative’s annual conference that focuses on aligning people and organizations around purpose and connection. (Full disclosure: I’m on Imperative’s board.)

One of the most important insights from their recent research is that creating deeper connections among people is a vital element to the success of organizations. I left their event inspired about how to build those connections on our team and thinking a lot about the idea that a leader’s job now includes creating an environment that supports deep and meaningful connections among colleagues, whether they are sitting side by side in an office or working in various locations around the world.

But that’s hard to do if we don’t examine why work has become a place that often creates the opposite of connection — loneliness and isolation. Looking at some of the unintended consequences we’ve created gives us a path for starting to solve them.

Productivity and communication tools like Slack can increase efficiency and collaboration, promoting quicker decision-making and information sharing. But the volume of communications can be a challenge.

Also in Benefits Beat: Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable

As quantity increases, stress can too, and many interactions feel transactional rather than personal. For benefits teams, these new tools can be a daunting new feedback channel to manage as well. Several of our clients use them to promote benefits in creative ways, but keeping up with employees’ dialog and questions can become a full-time job.

Questions to consider: How do we support conversations that are meaningful? And how can benefits teams with limited resources embrace new tools?

Remote work is an amazing thing. It has expanded the possibilities for the way we work and with whom. For our team, it has been a vital tool for us to bring on key talent, and I think supporting remote work is beneficial in countless ways. But, with less room for casual and face-to-face interaction, authentic connection among employees can be lost.

Questions to consider: How can we enable a sense of belonging and connection with those working remotely? How can benefits create ways for people who work remotely to feel connected and supported by their organizations?

Diversity and inclusion are key goals for most of us. The connection to benefits and the ways we build support programs for various employee groups is a hot topic.

But fully embracing a diverse and inclusive environment creates unique new challenges that require a lot of intentional new behaviors. This side of D&I is not always fully acknowledged or discussed.

As Aaron Hurst says, “The workforce is growing more diverse in every way. It is building a more inclusive society and economy as well as bringing new perspectives to work that drive innovation. When we work with people who are similar to us, the norms of communication and interaction are pretty clear, and it is easier to feel psychologically safe. When we have a diverse workforce, the old models of communication and collaboration are no longer adequate.”

Questions to consider: What does a workplace look like that can fully address the psychology of diversity? How do benefits and other programs build connections and support full inclusion?

Many modern corporations have adopted open-plan designs, hoping it will increase collaboration and productivity. In reality, workers often find that removing physical walls can decrease the quality of connection with those we work with and make focused work more challenging.

Also in Benefits Beat: A New Look at Caregiving

Questions to consider: How can we retain the benefits of open spaces while also restoring more intentional connection? Can benefits like mindfulness training or well-being challenges help individuals and teams get better connected inside and outside of the office walls?

The negative side effects of engagement as a main measurement tool and the challenges of shrinking tenure are also among the unintended consequences Aaron covered. What are the other unintended consequences of your modern workplace? And how are you going to use this year to solve them?

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Personalization Versus Ease of Use

I recently had coffee with a benefits leader who is implementing a new technology platform for her organization’s employees and spouses. Her scenario is much like that of many of our clients: She works for a big organization with employees all over the United States and in many locations around the world. The company’s benefits and HR programs are complex — and getting more so as it seeks to meet the needs of different employee segments and an increasingly diverse population. Data is used for everything in the organization, and HR is catching up to the rest of the enterprise.

Their goal is to provide a better experience for employees, driven by data. Her team is looking at consolidating all benefits information from existing channels (including the intranet, external sites, vendor sites, email newsletters and more) into a personalized portal.

But she has a lingering concern: As we look to offer employees a highly personalized experience, do we unintentionally make it harder to access benefits information?

This is a critical question. Ease of access and ease of use need to be the highest priority if we are going to get the right people to use their benefits at the right time. It’s also an often-overlooked question when pursuing personalization. And it becomes even more important to consider when you’re using personalization and engagement to drive health strategy. Personalization is among large employers’ top health care initiatives for 2020, according to the National Business Group on Health’s latest survey. Some 26 percent of respondents said they plan to “implement an engagement platform that aggregates point solutions and pushes personalized communications to employees.”

That initiative follows employers’ top three strategies, which are largely focused on changing the health care experience: implementing virtual care solutions, a more focused strategy on high-cost claims, and expanding centers of excellence to include additional conditions.

So, why are personalized tools getting so much attention? Personalized portals and apps are good at doing several important things. They can serve up data-driven content, send just-in-time notifications, and help identify missed opportunities in a very relevant way. They can also deliver recommendations, which helps create the “Amazon” experience so many plan sponsors are looking for.

Amid all this incredible promise, it’s important to remember that these tools can deliver customized content only if and when people use them. By their nature, personalized tools have more access barriers, because all that personal information needs to be protected. It is easy to underestimate the amount of effort it takes to get people to engage frequently with even the most cutting-edge and appealing platforms.  You must have a compelling reason to check anything out. You must have an even better reason to go back.

If you’re asking someone to download an app, authenticate with personal information, keep that app up to date, allow notifications, and go back to it frequently, is that actually easy? Each one of those action steps is a specific user behavior that has to be promoted and encouraged.

Think about when you log in to a website and have forgotten your password. Are you always motivated to track it down? Or do you file that for “do later” and move on to something else? We all have a lot of to-do’s and a lot of distractions — especially on our phones.

When you’re considering a personalized app or platform, you need to take into account the ease of access and the amount of resources you’ll need to drive ongoing use.

Of course, we have clever ways to encourage engagement. And this is where we can really use HR’s unique advantages.

First, we can make something so enticing that you can’t resist going there often. The best example of this that I’ve seen recently is a large retailer that puts their employee discount in their benefits engagement app. The only way they can use their discount is to have the app on their phones. You can bet all their employees are using that app.

You can also make the app so critical to an individual’s day-to-day job that using the platform becomes a de facto job requirement. Some large companies have built their HR apps to include core functions like scheduling and time tracking. If you have to use the app every day you work, it’s an ideal channel for serving up key benefits and HR reminders.

There is tremendous promise with personalization. But that promise can only be fulfilled if people have a good experience with personalized tools and use them frequently. It is our job to use all the tools we have to make that desirable — and most importantly, easy.

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Trust — The Biggest Workplace Benefit?

Employers are a trusted source of information. Trust could even be the most important unnoticed benefit in any workplace. For years I have strongly believed that trust is a key ingredient to any successful workplace, and two recent studies confirm it in ways that surprised even me. 

First, the Edelman Trust Barometer has followed trust around the world for 19 years. The 2019 survey included more than 33,000 people around the globe, and it shows some significant changes from previous years. The summary report says “Trust has changed profoundly in the past year — people have shifted their trust to the relationships within their control, most notably their employers.”

Around the world, 75 percent of people say they trust “my employer” to do what is right. Compare that with the percentage who say the same about NGOs (57 percent), business (56 percent), and the media (47 percent). But that’s not the most interesting finding.

People want leadership from their employers, too. Seventy-one percent of employees say it is “critically important for my CEO to respond to challenging times.” The general population agrees — 76 percent say they want CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose it.

Edelman’s final conclusion? Employee trust is incredibly valuable to the organization. “Employees who have trust in their employer are far more likely to engage in beneficial actions on their behalf — they will advocate for the organization (a 39-point trust advantage), are more engaged (33 points), and remain far more loyal (38 points) and committed (31 points) than their more skeptical counterparts.”

Also read: Building Trust Through Storytelling

That conclusion mirrors MetLife’s 2019 “U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study.” This survey, in its 17th year, follows workplace and benefits trends. This year MetLife concludes: “Our research reveals that trust — primarily in an employer’s leadership and their commitment to employees’ success — is the most significant driver of employee happiness at work.”

Why does employees’ happiness matter to the business? The survey shows happy employees are more satisfied with their job, and are loyal, engaged, productive, impactful and successful.

Trust and happiness seem like abstract concepts, but building them is entirely within our control. MetLife identifies these five drivers of happiness at work:

  • Employee trust in their company’s leadership.
  • Employers’ commitment to employees and their success.
  • Culture where employees are encouraged to share ideas and individual opinions.
  • Workplace where co-workers feel like family or friends.
  • Benefits customized to meet employee needs.

People trust their employers more than they trust nearly any other organization or entity. Trust is also the biggest driver of happiness at work, and when they trust you, employees are more committed to your success and will work harder. Let’s use this moment to do great things!

  • Every organization should be taking specific steps to foster even more trust. This could mean:
  • Making your leadership more accessible and transparent.
  • Taking a more vocal stand on current issues and events, including their impact on your local communities.
  • Showing how your organization is committed to employees and their success and taking specific action to give them more of a voice.
  • Fostering a greater sense of community and connection at work.
  • Helping your people unite around your organization’s mission.
  • Focusing on helping individuals to understand their sense of purpose and how they fit in your organization.
  • Showing your commitment to your employees’ health and financial security by making it easier for them to understand and take advantage of their benefits.

And if you can, do it all. The results will be great for your people and your organization.

Also in Benefits Beat: 

Communicating Your Benefits Vision to Your Executive Team

How HR Benefits By Getting Political

Benefits Offerings Shouldn’t Be a Puzzle to Assemble

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Personal Lessons in Communicating Change

At the start of the year, I took a personal crash course in navigating organizational change. Despite consulting on issues around change management for most of my career, I learned it’s a different animal when you’re right in the middle of it yourself. Going through a big change reinforced a lot of what I know — and it gave me some new insights.

The source of all this change? My company, Benz Communications, joined forces with The Segal Group on Jan. 1. By absolutely all measures, this was — and is — an awesome step for our team, our business and our clients.

Segal is an 80-year-old privately held employee benefits and HR consulting firm that works with an amazing group of clients around the country. Our communications team doubled from 30 to 60 people, and we are so proud to be part of an organization with Segal’s history, values, people and clients. One of my favorite comments from a member of my team was “I feel like I just got an even better job — along with 30 of my best friends.”

Still, all the good stuff doesn’t mean change isn’t hard.

One of the things I learned is that it takes people a while to digest information when they are caught off guard. Fortunately, we were able to share our news in person with the Benz team during our annual end-of-year celebration in November.

But they were expecting to enjoy the time with colleagues and rejoice in all the great work we created during the year; no one was expecting me to announce a huge organizational change like this. That kind of surprise, no matter how good the news is, creates anxiety.

Also in Benefits Beat: Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable

One of my team members said, “I know your lips were moving, but I didn’t absorb a thing you said.” It highlights an important lesson for corporate communicators, reinforcing why you have to give people time to absorb information and why you need to say things many times and in multiple ways.

It was also a reminder that leaders and employees experience change in entirely different ways. When I talk to clients about this, I tell them to remember that leaders have more context, more insight, more control and more notice.

It takes people a while to digest information when they are caught off guard. No matter how good the news is, surprise creates anxiety.

Those factors make it hard to put themselves in employees’ shoes. Even so, I was surprised by how big a blind spot I had in predicting my team’s concerns. Fortunately, people felt comfortable telling me exactly what they and their colleagues needed (it helps to have several communications consultants among them!). But over and over, I was disappointed in myself for not being able to anticipate their concerns on my own.

One example: Benefits changes are hard — even for a team of benefits experts. We didn’t have much time to move the Benz team onto Segal’s systems and benefits.

It’s hard getting up to speed on new programs, understanding how they compare to the old ones and making decisions — especially when you have so many other questions and concerns bubbling around. And present discomfort obscures long-term gain.

Our benefits package at Segal is far richer than what we had as a small business — we have a 401(k) match and a pension plan! But when your prescription ID card doesn’t arrive and you’re at the pharmacy with a sick kiddo, you’re not thinking about your pension plan.

And that was a big lesson for me. In times of change, not only do you need to communicate more, but you also need to thoughtfully engineer the small stuff.

Also in Benefits Beat: Employers Should Be Bold With Their Benefits

Go above and beyond to make sure there are no kinks in the systems or information flow. I recently caught up with a longtime friend and client who works for a large global corporation. She is immersed in M&A all year, because their business strategy relies so much on acquiring new companies. She said they have perfected almost everything about acquiring new companies — except delivering medical plan ID cards. That’s still a huge pain point for new employees and the one thing that continues to be a disconnect. It’s the small stuff.

I hope these personal anecdotes will help you navigate your next big change. While they are the lessons learned, we did plenty of things the right way, too.

Most importantly, we started from a place of trust and transparency, built from an employee-centered culture. And we joined an organization that shares our core values and also prioritizes doing the right thing for employees. Those are the best things any organization can have to help navigate the inevitable changes ahead.

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Employers: Be Bold With Your Benefits

It is an exciting time for employee benefit professionals.

Just a few years ago, we were consumed with legislative challenges and daunting health and retirement issues. Those issues haven’t gone away, of course, but there’s a newfound optimism around the strategic and creative opportunities benefits bring. Several factors are pushing benefits to the forefront of talent strategies and the employee experience.

First, we have an incredibly diverse workforce that needs benefits to solve real problems. It’s marked by a vast range in age — employees from Gen Z (those in their early 20s) to baby boomers (some working well into their 70s) and everyone in between. It also encompasses every definition of family and lifestyle. And it challenges the very definition of “work,” which is evolving as more and more people build careers around part-time and contract roles or take long breaks from full-time employment.

Second, we’re seeing an exciting shift in how we’re designing and talking about benefits. The focus is moving away from traditional benefits like health insurance and retirement plans and toward a more holistic approach to taking care of employees and their families. This change is driven by the understanding that benefits and HR programs can drive greater business results when they’re considered more broadly, with attention to their impact on the mind, body, finances and even sense of purpose.

Third, there’s tremendous innovation in our space as employers and employees demand new programs and new technology (and as venture capitalists have figured out that employee benefits are ripe for disruption). HR technology is starting to keep pace with consumer technology, which means we can now deliver sophisticated benefits to meet those broad needs and create solutions for those very challenging issues we’re still tackling.

On top of all that, people care about their benefits. A lot. For 87 percent of employees surveyed for MetLife’s 15th annual “Employee Benefit Trends” study, having insurance/benefits provides peace of mind for the unexpected. In fact, 83 percent of employees would be willing to take a small pay cut (on average, 3.6 percent) to have a better choice of benefits from their employers.

Finally, consider this: Low unemployment is driving massive competition for talent. Benefits are positioned to be a huge strategic differentiator and a competitive weapon for employers across industries.

The takeaway here is that benefits should be a huge focal point for companies of all sizes. We should be shouting from the rooftops about how amazing benefits are and the tremendous role they play in people’s lives.

And we shouldn’t be shy about the considerable investment employers make in these programs. A significant portion of total compensation goes to benefits, and that percentage is only set to grow.

So, how can you educate employees and position this investment in benefits in a positive light? How do you elevate the significance of benefits in your organization?

One example from this past fall’s annual enrollment stands out. Our client Hitachi Vantara, a tech company recently formed by three industry leaders (Hitachi Data Systems, Hitachi Insight Group and Pentaho) and a leader in cloud-based data solutions.

Hitachi Vantara has made a huge commitment to employee benefits, especially around getting employees engaged in programs and managing costs. Its message during annual enrollment this past fall? “Health care costs are rising. Yours aren’t. For the seventh year in a row, you won’t see an increase in what you pay for your medical plan. Which means your paycheck contributions continue to be significantly less than those at most other companies.”

The company teamed that messaging with a campaign that focused on getting employees to use the programs that are often overlooked, like tuition assistance, virtual doctor visits and fitness reimbursements. And it did so with a bold and definitive point of view on why benefits matter and what they mean to employees.

Susan Ramirez, Hitachi Vantara’s senior director of total rewards, Americas, explains: “Since it really was a ‘good news’ message for our benefits in 2019, we wanted to be sure to share that message with employees. Taking a bold approach not only captured our employees’ attention, it also emphasized that Hitachi Vantara truly cares about them.”

As 2019 unfolds I challenge you to be bold with your benefits. What will you do to make your benefits stand out? And how will you let employees know that you value them by taking care of them?

Read more Benefits Beat!: How HR Benefits By Getting Political

Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable