According to many prominent news outlets, 2021 was dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. That’s because a record number of people all over the world quit their jobs. 

Many speculated that this was mainly because people took sabbaticals, retired early, had mental or physical health concerns, or were forced to leave the workforce for caring responsibilities. And while that’s all true, there were also a lot of people who began seriously reviewing their career paths and seeking better opportunities. 

These workers turned to self-employment or shifted into new industries, jobs, and companies that offered higher compensation, better health benefits, or flexible work opportunities. 

Employees today also want to help build companies where their values are best aligned. It’s not enough to find a good job in a good organization; employees today want to feel that they are appreciated, their work matters, and their efforts are contributing to something bigger than themselves. 

So how can employers keep employee retention high in an era where many are considering other possibilities and questioning where their careers are headed next? By ensuring your benefits offering meets the needs of your current and prospective workforce. 

Below, we’re sharing a few ways to optimize your benefits plan in 2022 to support employee retention.

3 ways to strengthen your employee benefits plan in 2022

1. Collect employee feedback

The best way to see where your benefits plan excels, or lags, is to ask your employees directly. This can be done via an online survey and responses can remain completely anonymous, so everyone feels comfortable sharing their feedback. 

With direct input, you might discover that flexible work arrangements are highly valued, or that you don’t offer enough mental health support or dental coverage. You might also find out that your people aren’t as informed as they should be about your full benefits offering and that it’s time to rethink your communication strategies. 

With this information at hand, you can then adjust your plans according to what your employees really want or need in 2022. This shows them that you value their opinions and want to keep them happy. 

2. Explore your claims data

Doing a quarterly or bi-annual plan review isn’t just about cost considerations and making sure you’re staying on budget. Looking over your historical claims data can shed a lot of light on whether your current benefits plan is adequately supporting your employees. 

For instance, you might want to see how many people used up their health spending allowances over the last 2 years, or whether short-term disability coverage provides adequate financial support to those who have claimed it recently. You might also look at how often financial planning services were used in tandem with mental health services to support those still wary of the pandemic’s uncertainty. 

All of this data can paint a clearer picture of where you can make improvements to your benefits plan and better assist your employees. 

3. Learn how your benefits stack up

If you haven’t done a competitive benchmark analysis in a while, it might be a good time to do one. This will tell you how your benefits plan stacks up against the offerings of other key players in your industry. 

Perhaps your competitors are offering a flexible benefits plan and giving people the choice in coverage levels for specific benefits. Or maybe others are giving people more paid vacation or parental leave so they can achieve better work-life balance. 

In a world where your employees are keeping an eye out for better opportunities, your organization needs to stay competitive. 

You can use that industry benchmark, alongside employee feedback and claims data, to know exactly where your benefits plan needs some added attention. 

BONUS: Consider your company culture

Employees today aren’t just looking for top dollar salaries and good benefits. They want to work for a company that has a strong corporate culture that best aligns with their values. Adding unique benefits within your offering that also support your company culture can go a long way in keeping your employees engaged and happy at work. 

This can be anything from providing financial assistance to first-time homeowners or allowing employees to work anywhere in the world a few weeks of the year. 

Your culture is a direct reflection of the type of employee that you’ll attract and your benefits plan, once aligned, can best showcase who you are and how much you value the people that work for you. 

Don’t be afraid to think outside the traditional benefits box to offer innovative perks. Those unique ideas just might be the reason why people stay with your company or apply to become a new team member.

Redesign your benefits plan with expert help on your side

There’s a lot of pressure for organizations to lower turnover and keep employees healthy and happy amidst other pandemic woes. One of the most effective ways to do all that is by revisiting your benefits plan and making sure it still meets the needs of your team and prospective talent. 
Handling employee surveys, looking at claims data, and doing industry benchmarks seem overly time-consuming? We’re always here to assist. Contact our team at BenefitDeck to find out how we’ll help you thoroughly revise your benefits plan so you can boost employee retention in 2022.