A Total Rewards Strategy Built to Propel Business Success

Carrie Glandorf Practice Leader

Over the past two years, HORAN has hosted three different seminars all focused on building a datacentered, multi-year Total Rewards strategy designed to support you through a complex and everchanging environment. In these sessions, we’ve focused on using data to embrace innovation, control costs and navigate economic and workforce challenges.

After emerging from the COVID-19 lockdown in February 2021, we refocused (because it has always been a priority) on the importance of a thoughtful plan aligned with business goals. At that time, health care costs were lower-thanexpected as a result of delayed care, but that was not indicative of population health. The demand for goods and services was at an alltime high, but employers struggled to staff the talent needed to keep up. There was an explosion of new product and service innovations that could be bolted onto your benefits portfolio, but too much choice led to confusion. Employers questioned if their benefits package was competitive enough and if wages were keeping up and wanted to know what else they could offer to attract and retain talent.

These challenges from 2021 still exist today. Labor shortages remain and the market continues to innovate. But new factors have also emerged:

• Inflation rose to 9% in June 2022 and is currently 6.4%.1

• Interest rates increased to 7%.2

• Health care utilization and costs have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

• The prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased by 25%.3

• The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson has forced States and group health plans to make decisions about access to Reproductive Health.

• Multi-million-dollar gene therapy treatments have emerged on health plan claim reports.

• Premier hospital systems, like The Cleveland Clinic, reported losses in the millions because of the increased labor, supplies, and pharmaceutical costs.4 The in June 2022 and is currently 6.4%.1