Essential Takeaways
- Employees who feel genuinely cared for through their benefits tend to show greater loyalty, making flexible offerings a valuable tool for retention.
- Modern benefits packages must acknowledge workforce diversity by offering genuine choices rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
- Flexible work arrangements are essential but create new needs related to ergonomics, digital access, isolation, and mental health support.
- Customization attracts varying talent by giving employees the power to personalize their benefits to suit their individual life circumstances and challenges.
- Strategic employee benefits consulting firms’ design requires listening to employees, segmenting your workforce, and partnering with consultants who know how to balance cost management with long-term talent goals.
There has been a fundamental change in how employees view work over the last few years, reshaping what people across all industries expect from their employers. At the same time, skills shortages are leading to stiffer competition for talent, especially in digital and technical roles, while remote work is making geographic limitations a thing of the past. All of this has led to the need for a serious reimagining of how employee benefits are approached.
The data tells a very compelling story. The Health on Demand Survey shows that 44% of employees who feel genuinely cared for by their employer report greater loyalty. In contrast, just 19% of those who receive poor support feel the same connection. This gap represents a real retention risk and plenty of opportunity.
What Flexible Benefits Actually Mean
Flexibility in benefits design goes beyond offering employees a few extra perks. It means creating a genuine choice that acknowledges your business’s workforce isn’t monolithic. A 25-year-old software developer and a 45-year-old operations manager with two kids will experience different challenges, so they need other forms of support.
When you partner with experienced employee benefits consulting firms, you can gain access to proven strategies that balance breadth with cost management. Not every employee needs every benefit, but everyone should be able to find options that matter to their situation.
Why Flexible Work and Virtual Healthcare Are Essential
Flexible working arrangements have recently emerged as the clear frontrunner in what employees value, with many reporting they value flexibility in when and where they work.
However, it is important not to overlook the fact that flexible work creates new needs. For example, employees who work from home may struggle with the ergonomic challenges involved in setting up a proper workstation. They will also need digital access to benefits. In addition, the isolation of working this way may impact their mental health. Your benefits package needs to evolve to consider these realities.
Virtual healthcare access has also shifted in recent years from a novelty to an absolute necessity. Many employees are seeking benefits that include video consultations with doctors and digital tools to manage their health conditions. This shift toward virtual care offers a cost-effective way to expand access while meeting employees where they actually are. Mental health support is also highly appreciated as employees struggle to deal with work-related stress.
Customization Can Help Your Offering Stand Out
Modern employees want the ability to customize their benefits to suit their personal needs. This should not come as much of a surprise when you consider the diversity of life stages, family situations, financial pressures, and health concerns seen across any workforce.
Customization works particularly well for businesses seeking to attract varied talent, as lower-income workers and women often feel the least cared for by employers. Offering benefits personalized to individual circumstances can help close that perception gap and broaden your talent pool.
Working with employee benefits consulting firms gives you access to benchmarking data and analytics that reveal what matters most to various demographics. You can then design tiers or options that appeal directly to those needs without overextending your budget.
How to Build a Benefits Strategy That Suits Your Workforce
Developing an effective flexible benefits program requires doing more than just adding random perks. The first step is listening to what your employees actually want. Anonymous surveys and focus groups can identify priorities you might not have considered.
Then, it is helpful to look at your benefits through the lens of your employee segments. What do your caregivers need? What about your remote workers? How do the needs of early-career employees differ from those approaching retirement? Map your offerings to these groups.
Cost management also matters. Rising inflation and healthcare costs mean you can’t just throw money at the problem. Instead, strategic benefits design uses data to identify which offerings are most likely to deliver the highest return on investment in terms of attraction, retention, and engagement.
You must also consider your business’s three- to five-year talent needs. If you’re planning to expand into new markets or build new capabilities, your benefits package should support these goals. For example, digital talent often expects cutting-edge benefits that match their tech-forward expectations.
Working With Benefits Consultants for Long-Term Success
Employee benefits consulting firms design flexible plans that actually work requires the right expertise across complicated subjects such as regulatory compliance, vendor management, cost modeling, and strategic planning. It’s complex work that only adds to the other things competing for your attention.
At Business Benefits Group, our team has nearly three decades of experience helping organizations conquer these challenges. We understand how to balance employee satisfaction with cost containment, communicate benefits effectively, and build programs that can easily evolve with your workforce.
If your benefits package hasn’t kept pace with what today’s talent expects, now is the time for a reassessment. Contact our team to learn how a more flexible, strategic benefits approach can strengthen your ability to attract and retain the people who drive your success.