Benefits HRO and the Impact of Changing Benefits Trends

This week, we look into the world of benefits from the 10^th Annual MetLife Study of Benefits Trends. The long-running employee benefits research highlights the changes in trends due to the changes in the economy and their impact on the generations of employees.

Employer goals and objectives for benefits remain the same: control costs, attract and retain employees, and increase productivity. It is what employees, especially younger employees, value now that has been changing. And that may call for a change in strategies and approaches to maximize the dollars that employers spend on benefits.

Traditionally, younger employees were not very focused on long-term financial planning and retirement; now, 52% of those 21- to 30-year-olds are concerned about long-term financial security. Even though employees know that they must accept greater individual responsibility (63%) and are likely to face additional cost shifting in the future, nearly half (49%) of those surveyed say that because of the economy, they are looking to their employer to help them achieve financial protection through a range of employee benefits. The Generation Y percentage looking to the employer for help is even higher at 66%. Today’s employees of all ages are more aware than ever of the value of employer benefits, both traditional – like medical and dental – and voluntary benefits, where the employee may pay more or all of the cost. Take advantage of this awareness to increase communication, education, decision support tools, and even branding of the benefits you are providing.

Seventy percent of surveyed employers are planning to retain current benefit levels and only 10% may cut benefits, but 30% may need to continue cost shifting to employees. Few employers are planning to spend more overall on benefits, but employers are open to shifting priorities. For example, there are plans to increase the number of wellness programs and voluntary benefits offerings like long-term care, critical illness coverage, optional life coverage, and optional disability coverage.

Another reason why I wanted to bring this study to your attention is that it separates the employer data into progressive and standard. Progressive employers more attuned to changing employee needs – such as wanting more choices and life stage options – and likely to make adjustments to achieve cost control, attract and retain employees and increase productivity. This split is similar to other areas of HRO where one client wants the latest in transformation to optimize value and achieve business results and another wants improved technology and processes to lower costs and increase efficiency.

Employee benefits needs are growing, changing and challenged by uncertain economic conditions. All benefits HRO clients should expect to have a partner in adapting to changing conditions. Whether that means access to full-scale consulting for a revamp of benefits spend, policy, and offerings, or basic access to vendor research and client networking opportunities, what matters is the match of client expectations and the service provider’s ability to deliver.

Linda Merritt, Research Analyst, HRO, NelsonHall

Interested in reading the latest HRO news from NelsonHall? Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing amy.gurchensky@nelson-hall.com with “HRO Insight” as the subject.

HRO – A Healthy Option for Health and Welfare Administration

Health and welfare (H&W) benefits administration is a well-accepted foundation partner of the HRO services family. It is also the fastest growing part of benefits administration according to the last NelsonHall Targeting Benefits Administration market analysis. Amy Gurchensky, my NelsonHall HRO colleague, is underway with her research for the benefits 2012 report. (H&W HRO service providers, if you are not yet scheduled for your interview, please contact Amy. See contact information below.)

In the meantime, there are elements of H&W that we can explore now. Carol Harnett, HR Executive Online, has written several columns recently on H&W with the linking theme of flexibility and lifestyle. Her first article asks, “Should we give employees what they want?” In that piece, Harnett says that many employees are interested in a wider range of lifestyle benefits. Pet insurance, child care or elderly care subsidies, commuter benefits, and even onsite massages have value to one or another employee group. Access to products and services with special discounted pricing is valuable, if relevant and better than what is commonly available. There is even a new company, BetterWorks, which will help you find what they call “hyper-local” discounts for your employees.

From the employer perspective, consider the nature of the business as relevance will vary with the characteristics of the work and workforce. Occupational health and safety is a big H&W issue for manufacturing. Employees with long tenures will have a wider range of stage of life needs compared to a retail workforce that is largely young, part time with high turnover.

Many H&W programs can meet the needs of both parties, if packaged, serviced, and communicated well. I see a new level of packaging benefit programs together in the area of EAP and wellness, which together will help employees and employers manage productivity and healthcare costs. Ceridian recently launched its redesigned LifeWorks.com portal that combines EAP, work-life, and wellness.

HRO H&W service providers can be advisors to clients reassessing and revamping H&W offerings. In addition to strategic consulting services, vendors can also offer practical operational advice. Buyers, ask your providers what they see new and different. Ask what else they offer and if they have experience with new point solution vendors, or have preferred suppliers that may be helpful in your decisions making. Run new options by them to evaluate operational costs and issues and assess total cost. For example, consider when to provide payroll deduction services or stored value cards to access benefits compared to letting employees pay directly from both a tactical and operational cost perspective.

Every so often we need to reassess the point and purpose of employer benefits. Beyond any regulatory mandated benefits, organizations need to find a dynamic balance between what employees and their families want and what employers need to support retention, productivity, and manageable cost. In H&W, one size may not fit all, and yesterday’s programs may not meet today’s needs.

Linda Merritt, Research Analyst, HRO, NelsonHall

Interested in reading the latest HRO news from NelsonHall? Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing amy.gurchensky@nelson-hall.com with “HRO Insight” as the subject.

EAPs: A Key to Increasing Workplace Productivity

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 out of 20 Americans were clinically depressed in 2005-2006. Since that period, economic conditions worldwide have worsened, the unemployment level has reached all-time highs, and foreclosure rates have skyrocketed. Frankly, I’m a little bit frightened to check an updated statistic on depression.

You might be thinking that those individuals who have managed to maintain their jobs at this time would be grateful. But, the truth of the matter is that the glass is quite often viewed as half empty. There are many reasons why employees suffer from mental health issues. However, instead of just identifying the source of the problem, employers should focus on offering a solution that is known to improve mental health and therefore lead to increased productivity.

That solution is Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). In 2011, Morneau Shepell conducted a study on EAPs that had two interesting findings for HRO buyers and suppliers:

• Decreased productivity and absence costs employers ~$20,000 per year per employee
• EAP intervention resulted in a 34% reduction in costs related to lost productivity.

With HR departments outsourcing processes such as payroll to focus on more strategic activities while obtaining best-in-class practices, EAPs as an activity has long been a prime candidate for outsourcing as well. After all, many EAP issues are sensitive in nature and employees may hesitate to seek help if there’s a chance that their confidentiality could be breached.

Two HRO providers that include an EAP offering are Ceridian and Morneau Shepell. While both companies conduct business in North America, Ceridian’s primary market is the U.S., while Morneau Shepell’s is Canada. These two providers are dominating their respective target markets due to a lack of competition from other HRO service providers, not to mention having extensive EAP offerings.

For example, Morneau Shepell already offers an EAP app and most recently launched online access for its EAP clients through its workhealthlife.com website, which allows clients to:

• Confidentially request help on issues including health, family, work, financial, relationship, and legal support
• Learn more about suggested EAP support services
• Select the service and how it will be delivered.

Ceridian, on the other hand, provides services beyond common EAP offerings including aging parent counseling.

Outside North America, U.K. providers have also recognized the importance of wellness programs: Capita with its occupational health services offering and Vebnet with its health and well-being programs.

As an alternative to launching a full EAP offering, some HRO providers have implemented services to address hot topics including saving for retirement. Examples include:

• Mercer’s self-service and decision support tools including its RetireTalk and Financial Engines Income+
• Aon Hewitt’s recently launched advisory service for its defined contribution clients.

However, the secret to a productive workforce is offering services that address work, life, and health issues. While saving enough for retirement is one possible source of the problem, there are many others that can be addressed with a full EAP offering.

Amy L. Gurchensky, Research Analyst, HRO, NelsonHall

Interested in reading the latest HRO news from NelsonHall? Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing amy.gurchensky@nelson-hall.com with “HRO Insight” as the subject.

Healthcare on the Global Stage – What is HRO’s Role?

Health and welfare have been linked not just to healthcare and productivity costs, but to global economic development. In the HRO community, we tend to think of healthcare in terms of the impact on employer costs. Current U.S. healthcare reform reminds us it is an issue of national importance. We need to think even bigger.

According to a joint collaboration that began in 2009 by the World Heart Foundation, World Health Organization, and the World Economic Forum, employers are the best placed to encourage the healthy lifestyles that can positively impact chronic diseases, which are viewed as a global threat to human lives and continued economic growth and development.

Wellness is more than a “nice to do” program; it is an economic imperative, a competitive advantage, or a liability for employees, employers, and countries.

Whether the majority of healthcare expenses are borne by employers or the government, it is part of the total cost of doing business. In a study reported by HR Magazine, illnesses impacted by lifestyle cost the U.K. £17.7bn annually and could escalate to £33bn by 2025. And that is just the costs of three problems: obesity, alcohol abuse, and smoking!

Leading multinational companies are addressing health and welfare benefits from several perspectives: value-based care about employees, healthcare and benefits costs, productivity and the cost of absence, and talent attraction and retention.  Many aspects of benefit plans will continue to be shaped by local influences, but with an eye to overall equity across a global workforce.

The long view is sometimes needed to show wellness ROI. Lifestyle behaviors are not easy for many of us to change. For example, in the U.S. it has taken many years but there has been a significant reduction in smoking and smoking-related deaths.

Determining the optimum balance of centralization and decentralization and establishing a corresponding governance system is equally important as selecting the right delivery systems. HRO providers tracking client outcomes are in a great position to help build business cases for wellness and share best practices on what works and how to determine results. Clients, look for HRO vendors with a broad range of experience in change management that can help your organization move forward.

As a linchpin in the healthcare value chain, top tier benefits service providers can bring a powerful cross section of approaches including: research, consulting and design, investment financial advice and services, benefits administration, employee communications and decision support tools, emerging total absence management and employee advocacy services, third party vendor management, and analytics. HRO benefits leaders can also become influential advocates on the national and international stage impacting policy and regulations for millions.

Are you and your benefits vendor partner ready for the global healthcare stage?

Linda Merritt, Research Director, HRO, NelsonHall