How Benefit Leaders Can Help Employees Be in Control of Their Health and Care

As healthcare costs rise and employee needs become increasingly complex, it’s up to HR to empower employees to take control of their health and care while effectively managing the company's benefits to create a healthy, thriving workplace.?

The healthcare landscape has become increasingly intricate, with more options, providers, point solutions, and technologies than ever before. Although advancements in the industry are good, they can be overwhelming for employees to navigate, eventually leading to less-informed decisions about health and wellness and underutilization of available benefits. And just as navigating these options is difficult for employees, managing and communicating these benefits has become more challenging, too.

It’s essential to change the way that employee health and benefits are approached in the workplace. Luckily, leveraging advancements in technology can help organizations create a more unified, accessible, easy-to-use, and personalized health benefits experience that keeps employees informed and reduces costs. Let’s explore how companies can make this happen.

4 Challenges Benefits Leaders Face

Comprehensive health and benefits options are key to a thriving workforce – but they’re only effective when employees know how to use them. To help employees navigate their health and care, leaders must tackle four challenges:??

1. Lack of Health Literacy: Some employees may struggle with understanding their health, making it difficult to utilize their benefits effectively. Technical jargon, complex policy documents, and intricate healthcare systems can be intimidating and confusing. This lack of understanding can lead employees to underutilize their benefits and increase healthcare costs.?
2. Diverse Workforce Needs: Modern workforces are becoming increasingly diverse, with employees spanning different age groups, cultural backgrounds, and health needs. Creating a benefits program that meets these needs while ensuring equal access and understanding for all employees is a complex task. For example, younger employees might prioritize mental health services and fitness programs, while older employees may be more concerned with comprehensive medical coverage and retirement planning.?
3. Administrative Burden: Managing and communicating health benefits can be a heavy administrative burden on HR departments and can distract from other important HR functions. This can lead to inconsistent or delayed responses to employee requests, potentially impacting employee satisfaction and benefits utilization.
4. Privacy Concerns: In an era of increasing data breaches and privacy concerns, employees may be hesitant to fully engage with health benefits platforms or share health information. This can prevent employees from taking full advantage of available services and maximizing the value of their benefits. Balancing the need for data to provide personalized health guidance with stringent privacy protection measures is an ongoing challenge for benefits leaders.

5 Must-haves for Effective Health Benefits Management

Effective health benefits management requires a multi-dimensional approach to find solutions that speak to employees’ holistic needs while staying cost-effective for the company. While benefits management needs can differ based on unique workforce and organizational demands, there are a few “must-haves” that are essential to a robust and effective plan. The focus should be on creating an effective benefits experience that simplifies the healthcare journey for employees while optimizing the company's investment in health benefits to help get the maximum value from them.?

Let's explore the five keys that can contribute to a more empowered and healthier workforce.

1. Unified Platform Integration: A streamlined health and care platform can be a central hub for all health-related activities and information, making it more accessible for employees and easier to manage for organizations. By integrating various health services, benefits, and resources into one place, employees can get a more comprehensive view of their health options rather than fragmented sources of information. When employees have one place to go for all their health and care needs, confusion is reduced, access to care is improved, and the overall employee experience is enhanced. For HR, it also streamlines administrative processes and can even provide valuable data insights to improve decision-making and future benefits offerings.
2. Personalized Next-Generation Navigation: Every employee's health journey is unique, and even one individual’s needs and preferences can change at the drop of a hat. With Transcarent Wayfinding , people can “Just Ask Transcarent” to be instantly connected to trusted, personalized health and benefits information, expert clinical guidance, and on-demand care. It’s next-generation navigation that improves health outcomes and increases employees’ engagement with their benefits. With personalized options, individuals are empowered to make informed decisions about their health and use their resources more efficiently and effectively.
3. On-Demand Access to Care: As more and more services are offered on-demand, healthcare is no exception; employees need quick and convenient access to healthcare services. Finding and implementing healthcare options that offer instant, 24/7 virtual care, and easy scheduling ensures that employees can receive care at the moment of their need, making them more likely to use these services. All of the benefits of on-demand care not only lead to improved health outcomes but also better productivity and less absenteeism – making it valuable for a business’s bottom line, too.
4. AI-Powered Assistance: Used effectively and responsibly, generative AI-powered tools like Transcarent WayFinding can transform how employees interact with their health benefits. With a people-centered approach and clinicians always a tap away, experiences like WayFinding can provide instant, trusted answers to common health and benefits questions, which reduces the administrative burden on HR. These experiences can also offer a range of added benefits – including personalized health recommendations, answers to benefits questions, and assistance in navigating complex health decisions – all while maintaining privacy and security.
5. Data-Driven Insights: Leveraging data analytics allows HR leaders to gain valuable insights into employee health trends, benefits utilization, and program effectiveness. With these insights, HR leaders can make more informed decisions that can optimize benefit offerings, find areas for improvement, and prove the ROI of health initiatives to leadership.?

5 Considerations for Navigating the Future of Employee Health

A personalized, tech-enabled healthcare experience is the future of employee health. But it’s not just good for employees; it has benefits for HR, too, like reduced workload and improved cost-efficiency. Benefit leaders must stay informed to adapt to changes and plan for potential challenges.?

Here are some key considerations in the future of employee health:

1. Privacy and Security: As advancing technology like AI continues to handle increasingly sensitive health data, robust data protection measures are paramount to protecting the data of employees and maintaining trust. Benefit leaders should work closely with IT departments and healthcare providers to implement strong security protocols and proactively disclose the use of personal data with employees.
2. Employee Education: With new AI-powered health tools becoming more available, employees will need guidance on how to use them effectively. Developing comprehensive learning programs will be essential to maximize the benefits of these technologies.
3. Innovate Responsibly: The use of AI in healthcare raises important ethical questions, particularly around data use and decision-making. Benefit leaders should be prepared to work with organizations committed to responsible, people-centered innovation who are transparent about their approach and policies.
4. Integration with Existing Systems: As new technologies emerge, they will need to be easily integrated with existing healthcare and benefits systems.
5. Continuous Evaluation: AI’s role in healthcare and employee health management is growing exponentially. Benefit leaders should establish processes to regularly evaluate new technologies and the potential impact on employee health and organizational goals compared to current systems.

By embracing these AI-driven innovations and preparing for the challenges they may bring, benefit leaders can position their organizations at the forefront of employee health and wellness.?

Key Insights

1. Adjusting to an Evolving Healthcare Landscape: As healthcare becomes increasingly complex, benefit leaders face the challenge of empowering employees to navigate their health and care options effectively. Although the wealth of options available to employees is undoubtedly a positive, it can easily overwhelm employees. HR teams must adapt their approach to employee health management to create a more unified, accessible, and personalized health benefits experience.
2. Overcoming Key Challenges: Benefit leaders must address several challenges to improve employee health and benefits management, including lack of health literacy, diverse workforce needs, administrative burdens, and privacy concerns. Recognizing and tackling these challenges is key to developing effective health benefit strategies that engage employees and optimize resource utilization.
3. Identifying Must-haves for Employee Health Management: To create a robust and effective health benefits plan, organizations should focus on five key elements: unified platform integration, next-generation navigation, on-demand access to high-quality care, people-centered AI-powered assistance, and data-driven insights.?
4. Leveraging Technology for Better Health Outcomes: Integrating AI and other advanced technologies in health benefits management offers significant opportunities to enhance employee engagement, improve health outcomes, and maximize cost-efficiency. Experiences like Transcarent WayFinding, with the ability for people to "Just Ask" questions from the palm of their hand, demonstrate how AI can provide personalized, on-demand health information and guidance, empowering employees to make informed decisions about their health and care at the moment of their need.
5. Preparing for the Future of Employee Health: As the landscape of employee health benefits evolves, benefit leaders must stay informed and adaptable. Key considerations for the future include ensuring robust data privacy and security measures, providing comprehensive employee education on new health technologies, addressing ethical considerations in AI use, integrating new systems with existing ones, and continuously evaluating emerging technologies. By proactively addressing these areas, organizations can position themselves at the forefront of employee health and wellness management.

Drive Benefits Utilization with Next-Generation Navigation

Embrace next-generation health and benefits navigation powered by generative AI and put people back in charge of their health and care.?

Transcarent WayFinding is an easy-to-use experience that simplifies complex health information and personalizes guidance. It’s next-generation navigation. Employees can Just Ask Transcarent and access personalized health and benefits info, expert clinical guidance, and high-quality on-demand care delivery—all from the palm of their hand. ??

? Learn how WayFinding can help you ?? https://bit.ly/40bZULg

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