Group plans crucial to employee attraction, retention – especially with younger workers
This article was produced in partnership with RBC Insurance.
“Is my benefits plan competitive? Am I addressing employee expectations?”
These are the important questions employers and HR professionals should be asking themselves given the tight labour market, according to Julie Gaudry, Head of Group Benefits at RBC Insurance in Toronto.
That’s especially true for younger workers: A recent RBC Insurance survey found that nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of young Canadians aged 18 to 34, and 69 per cent of those 35-44 are more likely to leave their current job for one with better benefits.
And one of the key drivers could be the lower levels of overall well-being and mental health, says Gaudry.
The survey also found that 61 per cent of Canadians rate their overall well-being as excellent or good — down from 64 per cent in 2021. And when it comes to mental health, just 58 per cent rate theirs as excellent or good — versus 63 per cent in 2021.
Along with financial stresses and workload strains, pandemic-related stressors are part of the equation. “It’s not surprising that the benefits – and some of those ancillary support services that come with your group benefits plan – are of increasing importance to workers today,” says Gaudry.
The ROI of wellness programs
Even before the pandemic, wellness programs were always appreciated by employees, and workers with access to a group benefits package consistently rated their job satisfaction higher compared to those without.
“There's lots of research that's been done to show that programs that demonstrate care for employee health and well-being are a key driver of employee engagement, and influence how they feel about their employer.”
According to Gaudry, if an organization has a strong wellness culture, staff are more likely to rate their benefits plan as good or excellent compared to those without a clear wellness culture in place.
“People look to their benefits as insurance protection — in the event that they have a more serious health condition down the road — but I think people look at it as part of their compensation as well.”
Weighing the options
The RBC Insurance survey found that the top three desired features in a benefits plan are support for mental health (88 per cent), a health spending account (80 per cent) and options to add additional coverage (79 per cent) to better meet personal or financial objectives.
“They want support for mental health, but they also want the ability to personalize or customize their coverage through things like a wellness spending account or health spending account.”
“It’s about making sure you have a wide range of care options available, because each person has a unique set of physical or mental health needs,” says Gaudry. “And we want to make sure that we're able to support them regardless of where they may be on the health continuum.”
Even smaller employers are starting to look at some of the features that traditionally were only available to larger plan sponsors, such as health and wellness spending accounts or virtual tools.
“There's a lot of different ways to provide flexibility and convenience and address some of those barriers to access that don't necessarily come at a significant cost.”
Improving communications
To better understand employee needs and preferences, gathering information is essential. That can be done through external research or surveys or looking at aggregate claims experience with the group benefits provider or advisor to understand the top drivers.
“That can provide good insights around some of the challenges facing your workforce.”
Many wellness programs included in group benefits provide access to health risk assessment tools and mini or comprehensive surveys to capture confidential, aggregate information, but employee surveys are also effective.
“Bringing all that information together is important for an employer as they step back and look at the programs they provide and make sure it's meeting the needs of their employees.”
Of course, employee benefits are only valuable and appreciated if people know about them and use them. But the responsibility for effective messaging shouldn’t lie solely with HR and the employer.
“Does your group benefits provider make it easy for your employees to access that care when they need it and know that it's there? Is it easy to find on their mobile app or their online portal? Are they serving up recommendations, perhaps through a wellness program, to employees around things that they could use to improve their health or address a health challenge when they face one?”
Gaudry believes communication — especially frequent communication — in a variety of ways is important.
“Take the time to remind employees regularly about all the great things that they already have access to for their health and well-being.”
For more information about competitive group benefits, visit RBC Insurance’s Discover & Learn page.
