In the age of Big Data, businesses are increasingly taking advantage of modern technology to let data drive their approaches to benefits optimization. Thorough employee benefits benchmark analysis enables organizations to make more informed decisions about their benefits offerings.
This information can help them develop a package that is cost-effective and attractive to current and potential employees.
Getting More Value Out Of Your Employee Benefits Package
In the past, benefits planning was often a question of following industry standards, occasionally with some of the business owner or HR manager’s instincts thrown in for good measure. However, thanks to advanced analytics, there is no need for guesswork.
Organizations can now identify detailed usage patterns across all employee demographics that interest them and accurately predict their future costs. In addition, the ability to measure the return on investment you are getting from a specific offering can help you further refine your offering.
What Is In An Employee Benefits Analysis?
What goes into carrying out an effective advanced benefits analysis? Let’s take a look at the important components.
Predictive Modeling
Successful advanced benefits analytics often use predictive modeling. This entails using historical data and machine learning algorithms to forecast future trends in the cost and utilization of your benefits. As a result, you can anticipate any upcoming changes in your healthcare costs with greater accuracy than ever.
Many companies who use this approach report being able to project the enrollment rates for different programs and singling out areas where they may experience cost overruns before jeopardizing the bottom line. This type of insight is always welcome and beneficial when a business is trying to plan for a demographic shift in its workforce.
Assessing the Financial Impacts of Benefit Decisions
Many benefit decisions are complicated by the difficulty involved in predicting how it will affect the company’s finances. However, with advanced benefits analytics, it is easy for businesses to carry out sophisticated cost-benefit analyses, showing them the financial implications of various benefits decisions.
Another way this can be useful is by helping an organization understand and prepare for the financial implications of any upcoming regulatory changes. This makes it easier to maintain compliance without losing money.
Developing Employee Population Health Profiles
One factor that businesses overlook is the accuracy of employee population health profiles. This can set the stage for a mismatch between benefits offerings and employee needs.
However, with modern analytics tools, businesses can get a deeper insight into the prevailing health conditions within their workforce, allowing them to develop targeted preventive care initiatives and track the effectiveness of their wellness programs more accurately.
They can even optimize their healthcare provider networks in a way that better aligns with the specific needs of their workforce.
Analyzing Employee Engagement
Employee engagement analysis can give your business important insights into how your workforce interacts with their benefits. For example, you can keep track of which benefits your employees are actually using as well as essential factors such as how they access information about the benefits you offer them and which issues they encounter when using their benefits.
You can use this information to improve your benefits communication strategies and make enrollment easier so employees can make the most of everything you offer them.
Competitive Analysis
You can benchmark your benefits packages against the industry standards and competitors’ offerings via competitive analysis. Analyzing market data is a great way to establish that your offering will help you stand out when it comes to recruitment and retention in a way that aligns with your budget. Healthcare plan designs, contribution levels, and outside-of-the-box benefits offerings are just some categories you may wish to compare using competitive analysis.
Real-Time Utilization and Feedback Analytics
Another beneficial category of advanced analytics is real-time utilization tracking and feedback analytics, which can give you immediate insight into how your employees use and access their benefits. This allows you to monitor benefits usage patterns while they are happening and quickly adjust them as needed instead of waiting to assess everything during the annual enrollment period.
For example, suppose these analytics show that your employees encounter long wait times for appointments with in-network mental health providers. In that case, consider expanding your provider network or adding other methods, such as teletherapy.
You can use analytical approaches to create a stronger benefits package in many ways. There is no need to stick with what you’ve always done or rely on gut feelings. Instead, you can make data-driven decisions that balance employee satisfaction and cost management, ensuring better outcomes for your workforce and your organization.
Optimize Your Employee Benefits Strategy With Business Benefits Group
Are you ready to take your organization’s benefits strategy to the next level with help from advanced analytics? At Business Benefits Group, our team of experienced benefits consultants provides a complete suite of employee benefits benchmark analysis services.
From analyzing your current benefits program to developing data-driven optimization plans and implementing advanced analytics tools and processes, we can help you improve employee retention and recruitment. Contact us today to get started!