Tips to Help Your Employees Maximize Voluntary Benefits

As hiring and keeping qualified employees becomes increasingly difficult, companies can build and retain their labor forces by offering comprehensive voluntary benefits that assist with their retention efforts.

Voluntary benefits often aren't fully utilized, either because they don't meet employees' needs or because employees don’t understand the program's potential value. Here are a few tips to help your employees maximize their voluntary benefits, along with information about how The VB Shop can help you optimize the utility of your benefits programs.

Continue to Offer New Options for Voluntary Benefits Programs

Companies frequently make one mistake: indefinitely offering the same voluntary benefits and programs. Instead, regularly offer employees new benefit programs better suited to their evolving needs.

Employees also need to know such voluntary benefits programs exist and what they provide to be comfortable signing up for them. Voluntary benefit programs are more likely to retain employees when they offer benefits that employees want and value.

For example, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees saw firsthand how an extended illness could quickly ravage someone’s finances and their ability to handle personal and household responsibilities. A critical illness policy with an infectious disease rider that offers a cash payout directly to the employee is likely to be a welcome addition to your voluntary benefits offerings.

Permit Employees to Customize Their Voluntary Benefits

Employees have diverse needs, and companies that don’t meet these needs have lower retention rates. Opt for benefits programs that can be personalized to each employee’s unique needs.

Ensure that you supply educational materials to introduce customization options to your employees. A campaign that informs employees about customized benefits programs is especially valuable for ensuring employees learn about the true potential of their voluntary benefits.

Utilize a Variety of Methods to Promote Voluntary Benefits to Employees

Employees can’t use voluntary benefits programs that they aren't aware of. Or, even if they're aware of a program, they're less likely to use it or appreciate the benefits if they don’t fully understand how it works.

Use numerous methods to market benefits programs to your employees, like internal emails and webpages, social media, and your company’s employee value proposition (EVP). Confirm that resources (like a well-written FAQ page or a knowledgeable HR employee) are readily available to assist employees with additional questions or concerns.

How The Voluntary Benefits Shop Can Help

The Voluntary Benefits Shop can develop a successful marketing plan to introduce or reintroduce voluntary benefit options to your employees effectively. We work with benefits brokers and employers, and HR professionals. Our services include:

• Reviewing benefit products to provide suitable recommendations

• Introducing new voluntary benefits programs

• Negotiating premiums on your behalf with insurance carriers

• Implementing benefit education programs and enrollment solutions catered to each client’s needs

• Providing support to our clients and their employees even after enrollment is over

Ready to leverage your voluntary benefits to assist with employee retention? Connect with The VB Shop today!