It’s time for your benefits renewal, so as a business owner or HR executive, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Panic? Stress? Sleepless nights?
Despite the well-known costs and challenges of providing employee benefits, few companies have an ongoing strategy for monitoring these plans. According to an Aflac WorkForces Report, 77 percent of employees spend 60 minutes or less preparing for and selecting benefits, and 46 percent spend 30 minutes or less. These are some astonishing numbers, especially since employee benefits are typically the second largest line-item expense for employers.
Depending on the situation, your emotions probably run the gamut. And if you do feel this way, we hope to help by offering a few tips on how you can avoid the stress of a renewal. The bottom line is, your renewal should not invoke any of those emotions. Yet, time and time again, we work with employers who dread the ‘R’ word.
So what can you do NOW to help with your upcoming renewal? Stop looking at renewal as a dreaded deadline, and start looking at it as an ongoing, year-round strategy. Although it is ideal to have a team of experts who work side-by-side with you throughout the year, we understand sometimes that is not always an option.
As a business owner or an HR executive, you can start today by ensuring your entire team is on the same page when it comes to your renewal strategy. Don’t have a renewal strategy? You can easily create one by looking at your previous renewal periods. What worked? What didn’t? How was your participation? How many questions does your HR team get asked about benefits? What questions are they? If you had an ideal situation for what benefits you want to offer employees, what would they be?
These are just a few suggestions, but it’s a place to start. If you want more tips on creating a successful renewal, click here for our latest guide, or contact us directly – we are always just a phone call or email away from changing sleepless nights to restful ones.
