USI Helps Employers Benchmark Their Benefits Throughout Our Pittsburgh Region

HIGHLIGHTS OF USI’S MOST RECENT BENCHMARKING SURVEY

Mike Daley, USI’s National Employee Benefits Practice Specialty Consultant recently held a webinar to help our USI clients understand how their benefit plans compare with others in the local region. 

Benefits benchmarking is a practical, proven method to measure employee offerings against competitors in the same market, support budget decisions with senior leadership and helps build the open enrollment and new hire process to allow employees make better, informed decisions. Benchmarking data helps employers balance specific, desirable benefits plan elements that employees want and need with necessary cost-control measures.

If you are an HR professional, C-level executive, or business owner, you should begin the process by considering this question- What is the purpose/ goal of offering employee benefits?

Once you can clearly answer that question, you are then prepared to assess whether you are meeting that goal and quantify the gaps in each critical area.

USI can help with that process. With over 6,000 respondents, 5,500,000 members and 75 industry classifications, we are the largest mid-market broker benefits survey. Not only do we provide the benchmarking results, but we also provide actionable advice on what to do with the data that will align with your goals.

Here are a few key takeaways from this year’s webinar:

o   Employers should focus on the overall plan value/actuarial value, NOT just deductible, co-pays, co-insurance. 

o  Educating employees on their benefits is the best way to ensure that the actual value of the benefits program aligns with the employees’ (and their families) perceived value. Leveraging our dedicated Communications Consultant as a resource, we develop effective and impactful strategies, particularly during the open enrollment and new hire process.

o  Today’s top employers offer a wide variety of benefit options. Many have at least two different medical plans and deploy a base/buy-up strategy, using a defined contribution amount that is given to each employee to spend on benefits.

o  USI has proven expertise using these cost containment strategies to close gaps that may be identified in the benchmarking results: Alternate funding including self-funding and level funding, prescription drug coverage carve out and health savings accounts & health reimbursement accounts to name a few.

Bottom line- communication is key! If you are not effectively communicating your benefits program to your employees, they could be participating in plans that do not align with their individual needs. Additionally, if they do not perceive great value in what you are providing, you could be wasting your money.

If you would like to see how your company’s benefits stack up to others in your area/industry and learn how to get more return on the investment in your benefits program, please e-mail me at [email protected]