Making Open Enrollment Easier for Your Employees

Making Open Enrollment Easier for Your Employees

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Open enrollment has officially begun. Chances are, you’re a little overwhelmed and your employees are a little confused — but the news isn’t all bad. Making open enrollment easier (and hopefully a bit more fun) for your employees means finding a way to engage your team in meaningful conversations about their needs and show them all the exciting benefits you have to offer.

Try getting creative to juice the “fun” part of the month!

  • Host a benefits fair in the last afternoon or early evening and encourage your employees to bring their significant others so they can get their questions answered and make important benefits decisions togther.
  • Create posters and flyers, and then hang them around the office.
  • Don’t just post information on your company’s website; bring your message into the physical work environment.
  • Incorporate your important and popular benefits, like health insurance and  retirement options into presentation but spend time on new or unique perks you offer, such as flex time, free snacks, wellness (or financial wellness!) programs, pet-friendly spaces and student loan repayment plans.

Open enrollment is also a good time to see how your employees are utilizing and responding to the benefits they already use. Take a look at which benefits  are doing well and which are underutilized Pay attention to your employees’  suggestions, and consider refining their feedback for the future.

Here are some other suggestions that can help you make open enrollment easier and more fun.

Which benefits do your millennial employees really want? Millennials have been entrenched in the  workforce for quite a while now, but many employers can’t figure out how to convince them to stick around longer than a year or so.  Here’s what Vlad Gyster, Founder and CEO of Airbo and Janet McNichol, HR Director of ASHA, had to say.

Your employees don’t feel financially secure about their retirement. A recent study by Northwestern Mutual found that 58 percent of U.S. adults cited health care as their chief retirement concern, which is a 13 percent increase from the previous year. Learn more.

Many millennials don’t understand how to build a budget. That’s a big problem, especially since people in this generation are frequently saddled with thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Regardless of age, studies show most workers want help from their employers learning about money. Here are some financial questions your young employees might ask.

News on 401ks! As tax reform winds its way through Congress, 401k are said to be targeted for significant changes. One proposal reduces the amount of money an employee can stash away in a 401k plan tax-free from $18,000 per year ($24,000 if you’re over the age of 50) to less than $3,000. Best Money Moves believes that maximizing a 401k, which is a benefit most employers are already providing, is one of the best things employees can do to stabilize their finances and reduce financial stress around retirement. We’ll keep you updated on the latest discussions around 401k plans in the upcoming tax reform bill.  

How can a digital and holistic wellness program help you improve the lives of your team members? When employees have 24/7 access to tools and information right in the palm of their hands and employers are getting real-time data, everyone wins.  See the other ways digital wellness solutions are changing things for the better.

Why is financial wellness more important than ever? According to Bill Chetney, founder of GRP Advisor Alliance, it’s because 64 percent of workers couldn’t even cover a $1,000 emergency without going into debt. Learn how financial advisors are joining this important conversation.

Your employees want help coping with stress. More than 75 percent of workers in a recent Harris Poll online survey said they consider resiliency programs valuable, but only 25 percent of workers said their employers offer them. Could a stress reduction program work for your people?  

People aren’t spending enough time considering their benefits. In fact, according to a recent Prudential study, 23 percent of employees spend less than 30 minutes thinking about the perks offered by their employers. Here are five ways to change that.

Are your employees fighting anxiety? Often overlooked, anxiety can have a major effect on your employees’ stress levels, negatively impacting productivity, health care costs and employee retention. Here’s how you can help.

Are you using the latest HR Tech? Technology is always changing, but some trends were everywhere at the annual HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas. Check out the top 10 HR tech trends.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Upgrade Your HR Tech and Switch to the Cloud

Upgrade Your HR Tech and Switch to the Cloud

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Why should you shift your HR tech to the cloud? Because it could make your life easier.

Cloud-based platforms offer HR (and often employees) much more flexibility, so it’s no wonder that 40 percent of the 300 companies recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers have already switched. But for the 60 percent that haven’t quite taken the plunge, PwC consultants had some advice.

For starters, the firm said in its report, companies need to consider whether cloud providers can meet their individual needs. Software functionality is important, but at the end of the day individual organizations must allow their unique practices and policies to take center stage when choosing a vendor. Security is also a concern for HR departments, which handle sensitive employee data like addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. What else does PwC recommend? Take a look at this slideshow.

Why are your millennial employees so stressed? Only 20 percent of them are satisfied with their financial health, according to financial services technology company Fiserv’s Expectations and Experiences Survey. Read more from Fiserv’s senior vice president of marketing and strategy innovation.

The right employee benefits will make your people want to stick around. In fact, according to Glassdoor, four out of five people would prefer having great benefits to getting a pay raise. See why employees prefer perks to cash incentives.

Your employees are not saving enough for retirement. Could a financial wellness program help them dial back their stress and create the future they want? Only if the program helps address the pain points of each individual. Learn how to get started.

What’s the best way to attract and keep millennial employees? One survey found that 85 percent of millennials, both in the workforce and in school, are more willing to work and stay with a company that has a student loan assistance program in place. See the data here.

Physical fitness and good nutrition aren’t the only things keeping your employees healthy. In a PwC survey of working Americans, 45 percent said dealing with their finances is stressful. Here are four reasons people need financial wellness in the workplace.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell which HR trends are meaningful. While some advancements can dramatically improve workplace processes, others can seem like unnecessary disruptions. How can you tell which trends will stand the test of time? Here’s what the pros say.

Your employees are thinking about their money at work. According to the American Psychological Association, 46 percent of people admit to spending two to three working hours per week on personal financial matters. See what you can do to help your workers focus.

Employees want more than a competitive salary. Understanding which benefits to offer your team could mean the difference between keeping them for the long haul and losing them to a competitor. Content marketing agency Fractl’s recent employee benefits survey asked participants to rank 17 perks from most to least important. Check out the top four.

Many Baby Boomers are struggling with rising healthcare costs. That means more older employees are working well into what could have been their retirement years. What does that mean for employers? It’s time to be proactive.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Why Your Employee Retention Problem is a Professional Development Problem

Why Your Employee Retention Problem is a Professional Development Problem

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Struggling with employee retention? Boost your professional development programs.

Eighty-seven percent of millennials think it’s important to have opportunities for professional development at their jobs. In fact, a lack of growth opportunities at work is one of the key reasons that employees leave for greener pastures.

More and more organizations are offering career-growth benefits that are tailored to their employees. According to SHRM, 43 percent offer executive or leadership coaching, 22 percent offer formal mentoring programs and 16 percent offer career counseling.

Employees at all levels can benefit from training programs that help build skills, from public speaking exercises to continuing education courses designed specifically for your company. Here’s why helping employees succeed is good for morale and your bottom line.

 

Next week, Best Money Moves will compete to win top prize as the Next Great HR Tech Company. Our Founder and CEO, Ilyce Glink, will be up on the main stage at the the HR Tech conference, talking about financial wellness and why Best Money Moves is the most innovative choice when it comes to financial wellness solutions.  

If you’re going to be at HR Tech, please stop by our booth (it’s 3749) to say hello!

 

We’re thrilled to welcome another company to the Best Money Moves family! As of last week, YWCA Chicago’s employees are taking the first steps toward identifying and dialing down their financial stress. Welcome!

What’s in store for employee benefits in 2018? Younger employees are changing the landscape, and financial security continues to be a big concern. See what other trends you can expect next year.

How will you connect employees to the right benefits during open enrollment? Persona-based decision support tools can help craft tailored messages to better communicate about voluntary benefits. Learn more.

For the first time in history, five generations will be working together. Accommodating a wide range of people with different needs will be a challenge for HR departments. Understand these key differences.

Your employees are worrying about money. According to a new survey from Mercer, 16 percent of employees spend more than 20 working hours each month worrying about their finances. Learn what you can do to help.

Your employees have student debt, and it’s impacting their financial wellness and personal health more than you might imagine. What can you do about it?

Are remote employees worth the distance? With 43 percent of Americans reporting they work remotely, it’s a trend that seems to be sticking around. These experts weigh in on the business benefits companies are seeing.

In the “War for Talent,” identity theft insurance is a benefit on the rise. HR pros not only see it as a way to help protect their employees, but to boost recruitment, retention and engagement at work. Should you consider ID theft insurance?

Why don’t millennials have life insurance? Half of millennials simply haven’t been approached about it, according to a LIMRA survey. Here’s how to get millennials on board.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Want to Attract Top Talent? Offer Parental Leave

Want to Attract Top Talent? Offer Parental Leave

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

How old-fashioned is your parental leave policy?

Let’s start with what you call it. “Maternity” coverage is a last-century term. The preferred term is either “parental leave” or “family leave.” And while 86 percent of employees in the U.S. don’t have access to paid parental leave, companies are starting to understand that generous parental and family leave policies can boost reputation, attract new employees and increase both employee productivity and retention.

Young workers, in particular, place a lot of value on both paid parental leave and workplace flexibility around parenting issues. And not just the female portion of your workforce. Since 78 percent of millennials are part of a two-career couple, policies that honor both partners’ professional and parental needs are vital.

Implementing leave policies that don’t recognize the needs of modern workers can get in the way of your company’s recruitment goals.

Seventy percent of American workers aren’t engaged with their jobs. Trendy benefits won’t solve a deeper problem with morale. Here’s what will.

Three out of four Americans support raising the federal minimum wage. Higher wages are known to improve customer service, increase productivity and reduce employee turnover.

Only 20 percent of millennials are satisfied with their financial health. That’s significantly lower than the overall population. Here’s why.

Is your financial wellness program too focused on retirement? Short term financial goals are a top concern, especially among young employees.

Do you need a break? A generous vacation policy can have a positive impact on your workplace. See the report.

Communication is key. In fact, managers with poor communication skills are the number one reason employees leave. Listen better.

Understanding your workforce demographic is vital to recruiting and retaining great talent. Craft a benefits package that appeals to your multigenerational employees.

Eighty percent of older women can’t pass this retirement quiz. That’s especially troubling since women tend to live longer and accumulate higher healthcare costs.

A good company culture can mean the difference between employees sticking around and moving on to greener pastures. So be careful: not every trendy benefit is a good cultural fit.

 

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

These Employee Benefits Boost Happiness and Retention

These Employee Benefits Boost Happiness and Retention

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Are the employee benefits you offer helping workers beat the summertime blues?

Benefits that promote a positive work-life balance are proven to boost mood, engagement, productivity and employee retention.

Employees value employers who help them create space in their lives for family, fun and relaxation. Excluding salary, a good work-life balance is the top consideration for millennial job-seekers, according to Deloitte’s 2016 millennial survey.

Not all perks make sense for all workplaces. Listen to your employees and learn which employee benefits would make their lives easier this summer.  While some companies offer summer-specific rewards, others benefit from extra work-from-home flexibility or childcare assistance for stressed parents.

Build your employee benefits package around your employees’ well-being.

Twenty-five percent of millennials would love to quit their jobs. One hiring manager knew the typical office perks weren’t working. Here’s what she did.

More Americans are living paycheck to paycheck than ever before. Luckily, there are strategies companies can use to help relieve employee financial stress.

Identity theft and fraud are becoming more common – and more stressful. Your employees would certainly appreciate your understanding if they’re facing these issues, but they can also use your help. Provide the right resources.

It’s time to listen to your team. Conversations with employees take time, but hiring new people takes even more. Ask these three questions.

Not all press is good press. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 71 percent of workers would not apply to a business with bad publicity. Boost  your image.

Part-time workers lack employee benefits and it’s making them vulnerable. Providing access to voluntary benefits programs could help relieve financial stress. Learn more.

Are your employees retiring? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts over-65s will be the fastest-growing workplace demographic, and that presents a challenge for businesses. Where this leaves employers.

Job seekers have more options than they used to, which is why attracting quality workers goes beyond offering competitive salaries and standard benefits packages. Recruit top talent.

Give credit where credit is due. Want to keep your employees happy? Don’t take credit for their work.

 

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.