Unlocking the true value of employee benefits hinges on understanding how employees engage with them.
Effective communication by employers plays a pivotal role in achieving this.
It’s encouraging to see the increasing take up of services offering clinician appointments within employee benefits packages.
This positive trend bodes well for employers seeking to enhance workplace health, happiness and productivity through improved employee engagement.
But there’s more employers can do to drive awareness and access to these services. It all begins with enhancing the user experience, making these services more discoverable and user-friendly.
To fully maximise the potential of employee benefits and supporting technology, employers must prioritise user experience (UX), because how employees experience benefits significantly affects overall engagement.
In today’s digital workplaces, UX plays a crucial role in shaping benefits and employee engagement strategies.
Embrace user feedback
With employee benefits, your users are under your roof (even if not literally for remote workers). This large pool of internal customers can rate how your benefits technology platforms function, helping identify what works well, areas to improve and any problems to address.
As well as direct feedback, internal customers can provide valuable indirect feedback.
Even if it’s simply an employee realising that a certain benefit was available, that awareness is still valuable. Technology can also play a role in identifying pain points.
When combined with people feedback, these insights should be used to continuously enhance the UX.
Collecting these insights helps employers stay ahead and remain responsive to shifting employee expectations and technological advancements
Prioritise personalisation
When it comes to benefits, one size doesn’t fit all. Today’s workforce now contains five generations — more than ever. This makes modern workplaces home to multiple life stages, with differing needs in terms of health, finances, lifestyle, etc.
In response, forward-thinking employers are embracing personalisation.
This might include mental health support with qualified professionals who tailor sessions to each employee’s needs.
Or it might mean personal training or nutrition guidance built around an individual employee’s goals.
This can apply to multiple benefits, from navigating the cost of living, juggling childcare and/or eldercare, to financial guidance about retirement or paying off debts.
In all cases, personalisation ensures each employee receives relevant content and services, delivering an experience which empowers them to make informed choices.
Another example is interactive wellbeing assessments. These enable individuals to manage their health and take ownership of their wellbeing.
Keep it simple
Benefits platforms should be straightforward, minimising jargon and any unnecessary steps.
A clean, user-friendly interface and navigation encourages active engagement. Benefits information must be accessible and available to everyone in the best way for them.
The future is streamlined
Streamlining services under one roof is increasingly important for successful digital benefits delivery. Health and wellbeing apps such as Help@hand from Unum consolidate physical, mental, financial and social support onto a single platform.
Employees therefore don’t need to juggle multiple apps and separate pathways to seek support.
Having easily accessible benefits in one place ensures a more holistic and coordinated approach, including cross-referring to other services. For employers, this simplifies onboarding and reduces administration and makes it easy to communicate to employees.
It also offers real-time usage insights, identifying trends so employers can better align their wellbeing strategy, services and resources with what their employees actually need.
By incorporating preventative health measures and leveraging UX insights, employers can align their benefits, technology and engagement strategies with employees’ constantly evolving needs.
This gives employees the ability to make informed decisions that align with their health and wellbeing requirements, boosting workplace health, happiness, and productivity.
Unum is exhibiting at the REBA Wellbeing Congress 2024 on 20 June.
