A smart benefits strategy can boost productivity, improve retention, and give your business a competitive edge.
Hiring, retention, and hybrid work aren’t the only challenges keeping business leaders up at night. Rising healthcare costs and complex benefits decisions have emerged as major hurdles, not just for employers but also for employees struggling to navigate and afford them.
➡️ ➡️ READ MORE: Are Your Benefits Keeping Up?
Still, forward-thinking companies are transforming these challenges into opportunities. How? By viewing employee benefits as a strategic investment rather than an operational expense, employers can unlock measurable returns in terms of retention, productivity, and employee satisfaction.
Healthcare costs continue to rise. According to the Milliman Medical Index, the annual cost of healthcare for a typical family of four now tops $35,000, with a 6.7% increase this year alone. While employers still shoulder the bulk of the expense, more costs are shifting to employees, and it's taking a toll.
Nearly half of employees report that financial stress impacts their ability to focus. The ripple effect? Reduced productivity, burnout, delayed care, and low morale.
📊ROI Insight: Employers that view benefits as part of a holistic well-being strategy, rather than a compliance task, see stronger culture, less absenteeism, and more engaged teams.
Offering a generous benefits package is great, but if your employees don’t understand it, it’s money wasted.
When it comes to benefits, employees want more education. In fact, 73% of employees surveyed said they want a program that's easier to understand, and a quarter feel underinformed. When people don’t understand their options, they skip preventive care, ignore support programs, and flood HR with questions.
📊ROI Insight: Streamlined, jargon-free communication and digital tools that deliver personalized, timely information can boost benefits utilization, lower costs, and lighten the HR load.
Modern platforms evaluate usage data to recommend benefits tailored to an employee's life stage, health goals, and preferences. This also allows employers to negotiate smarter provider terms and bundling services.
📊ROI Insight: Personalization drives engagement. Engagement drives retention. Retention reduces turnover. And that’s money in the bank.
The solution? Year-round engagement. That means workshops tailored to specific life stages, empowered managers, and interactive tools such as cost calculators and side-by-side plan comparisons.
📊ROI Insight: When employees understand their benefits, they make smarter healthcare choices and reduce costs for themselves and your business.
Benefits are no longer a back-office task. They’re a core part of business strategy.
🔸Flexibility-first offerings from HSAs to voluntary benefits that provide real-time value
🔸Proactive support using data to tailor communications and gather feedback
🔸Tech with empathy simplifying access while keeping the human connection front and center
In a world of overwhelming choices, employees crave simplicity. The companies that deliver that experience will win the talent race.
➡️ ➡️ READ MORE: Your HR Checklist for Q3 is HERE!
📊ROI Insight: Benefits that evolve with your workforce build loyalty, trust, and a reputation as a great place to work.
Your business needs a benefits strategy that delivers results: healthier employees, lower turnover, and smarter spending.
Considering a change in your benefits strategy? Start by listening. A quick employee survey can uncover gaps and priorities. Then, look for user-friendly tools to simplify the experience. And remember, benefits aren’t just a once-a-year conversation. Keep the dialogue going.
Ultimately, your people are your greatest asset. When employees feel supported and secure, they perform at their best. And that’s a win-win for everyone.
🎯The most powerful way to stand out isn’t the size of your benefits package, it’s how well you connect people to it. As open enrollment approaches, now is a good time to benchmark your offerings to find out where you stand against the competition. Our webinar, the Benefits Benchmark Report, provides valuable insights based on one of the most comprehensive benefits studies in the country.
You Will Learn:
🔸How national and regional trends are reshaping employee expectations🎥 Watch Now! Benchmarking Employee Benefits: Using Benchmark Data to Drive Smarter Decisions
With expert bundling skills and a passion for workplace wellness, I’ll help you build a strategy that’s superpowered for savings and tailored for talent. So, are you ready to be the hero your team needs? Let’s transform your benefits from confusing to crystal clear, from underused to unstoppable!
💥 Contact Big Benny and the Propel HR team today
🌐 Learn more at ThePropellers.com
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About Propel HR. Propel HR is an IRS-certified PEO and trusted partner to small and mid-sized businesses for more than 25 years. We simplify HR by managing payroll, benefits, and compliance, helping companies save time, reduce costs, and stay competitive. Visit propelhr.com to learn more or call (800) 446-6567.