Listening First: Why Employee Feedback Should Guide Your Benefits Plan

When running a business, putting together an attractive benefits package isn’t always easy. Finding affordable offerings that provide the right amount of value can be challenging, especially since all employees are different and don’t value the benefits options equally.

While relying on industry benchmarks or other business listings to gauge which benefits are the most optimal choices can be effective, other methods can lead to even better results. One of these is to ask your employees directly what type of benefits they’d prefer.

It may sound simple, but many businesses overlook the importance of valuing their employees’ opinions when selecting benefits coverage options. However, making them an essential part of the selection process can ensure you’re getting the best ROI from your investments while keeping your teams satisfied in how they’re compensated and supported by the organization.

The Advantages of Employee-Driven Benefits

Depending on the size of your business, it may not be possible to meet everyone’s needs for employee benefits. However, by taking the time to gather employee feedback, you can at the very least take advantage of a range of benefits. This includes:

Determining Employee Priorities

Gathering employee feedback on benefits coverage options is a crucial way to understand the types of priorities that matter most to your staff. 

Whether it’s focusing on more healthcare coverage, retirement savings, or increased vacation time and flexible scheduling, gathering insights directly from your team ensures you’re investing in areas that are likely to resonate more.

Making Every Dollar Count

Deciding to offer your employees a comprehensive benefits package can require a significant investment on behalf of the business. This is why it’s essential to ensure that you’re allocating business resources effectively and that employees will genuinely see value in the offerings they receive.

Building a Culture of Trust

Gathering input from employees is useful for more than just creating an optimal benefits package. It shows your employees that their opinions really matter and that the business is willing to take them into consideration when making decisions.

This helps build more trust in the organization and can create a more positive working environment. 

Boosting Morale and Reducing Turnover

Employee benefits can play an important role in your ability to reduce staff turnover. When employees feel like all their needs are being met, both financially and personally, they’re much less likely to seek employment elsewhere.

Gathering Feedback That Counts

To benefit from your employees’ thoughts and ideas regarding benefits options, it’s essential to collect their feedback in various ways. This can be done either throughout the year or shortly after your ACA reporting deadlines are completed. Some practical strategies for doing this include:

Anonymous Surveys and Pulse Checks

One of the most common ways to collect helpful feedback from employees is by creating anonymous pulse survey checks. Surveys are a great way to encourage more employees to contribute their ideas anonymously and help give the business honest opinions about different topics, including benefits coverage.

While sending out pulse surveys regularly is important, it’s equally critical that you act on the information being provided. This shows that your employees’ time is valuable to the business and that you’re not simply giving them busy work to do without any real action.

Employee Roundtables and Focus Groups

Although gathering anonymous feedback can be helpful, in many businesses it can be more productive to collect the information using employee roundtable discussions or focus groups. 

The benefit of this format is that it creates more engaging dialogue between the business and its employees, allowing both perspectives to be seen and heard by both parties. The business can outline certain budget restrictions or coverage limitations that need to be factored in, while employees can express what their “wants” are versus their actual “needs.”

One-on-One Conversations and Exit Interviews

While it’s never easy to see an employee go, their exit interview can give you a valuable opportunity. People are often at their most candid during this final conversation, making this a good time to gather honest feedback about how they viewed their benefits.

This is your opportunity to receive practical suggestions on how to enhance your offerings from individuals who may have otherwise been hesitant to share their opinions.

Turning Insights into Action

Once you’ve gathered all relevant feedback from your employees, it’s important to make the most of the data you have on hand. You can now leverage those insights to develop a more effective benefits plan for your team, while fostering a stronger company culture in the process. Here are a few ways to get started:

• Look for Patterns in the Data – Once you have all the feedback, the first thing you’ll want to do is look for apparent patterns that show up in the data. For example, try to identify comments or concerns that are repeated across different individuals or departments. Typically, this means that these areas may benefit from an adjustment or further discussion with the team.
  
• Balancing Ambition with Feasibility – After you’ve collected a short list of changes you might be interested in making, it’s important to make sure that you balance the business’s wants with what’s financially doable. Consider the value that potential benefits offerings bring to your employees and the practicality of incorporating those changes into the company budget. In some cases, you may be able to exchange one benefit for another without much deviation from budgets. Still, larger premium increases may mean you need to consider specific changes, at least for the time being.
  
• Pilot Before You Commit – If you’re planning significant changes, it’s often smart to test the waters before diving in. Rolling out a small-scale pilot program allows you to gauge employee reactions and work out any kinks in your offerings. This approach helps ensure your new plan is a welcome improvement, not an unexpected challenge for employees.

Making Feedback Part of the Benefit Lifecycle

When you consistently listen and adapt to your employees’ needs, you do more than improve your offerings. You send a powerful message that your employees are valued, helping to create a healthy company culture that enhances retention and provides your business with room to grow.