Employee Benefits and Wellness Excellence September 2022

Why

After A Divorce Are Critical

Top Picks

Caregiving Is Not Just A Business - It’s A Business Issue

Caregivers need support now more than ever

- Kate Malham Pardes, Lead Enterprise Account Executive, LinkedIn

Caregivers: An Emerging And Vital Role For Business And HR Leaders

Caregiving puts the human back in human resources

- Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business

Creating A Culture Of Support For Working Caregivers

12 strategies to support caregivers in the workplace

- Brett Framiloe, Founder and CEO/CHRO, Terkel.io

Creative Benefits Strategies For A Post-Pandemic Open Enrollment

Take advantage of creative opportunities to expand your benefits package

- Bo Armstrong, Chief Marketing Officer, DataPath, Inc.

How are our Employee Benefits & Wellness Products and Services helping to make you smarter?

Benefits & Wellness Excellence - Monthly Interactive Learning Journal

This monthly interactive learning experience captures key metrics and actionable items and keeps you focused on your Benefits and Wellness planning goals and solutions.

Benefits and Wellness Webcasts for Credit

Benefits and Wellness Virtual Events

Employee Benefits and Wellness Virtual Events ensure attendees stay compliant and up-to-date with the latest changes to employee benefits and wellness regulations. Each event varies on topics such as healthcare legislation and compliance related to employee benefits and workplace wellness programs including COBRA, FMLA, Medical Benefits, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Outsourcing Benefits, Retirement Benefits, Voluntary Benefits and Work-Life Programs. Wellness topics encompass injury prevention, battling obesity, disease prevention, how technology is affecting wellness. Each Virtual Event consists of up to 10 credit webcasts.

HR.com webcasts deliver the latest Benefits and Wellness industry news, research trends, best practices and case studies directly to your desktop. Webcasts are available live online with a downloadable podcast and a copy of the slides (PDF) available before and after each webcast. Earn all of the required recertification credits for aPHR, PHR, SPHR, GPHR, and SHRM Certifications. HR.com’s onehour webcasts, in every HR specialty including Benefits and Wellness, are pre-approved for HRCI and SHRM credit (excluding Demo webcasts).

Benefits and Wellness Community

Join more than 100,000 HR.com members with a similar interest and focus on Benefits or Wellness. Share content and download research reports, blogs, and articles, network, and “follow” peers and have them “follow” you in a social network platform to communicate regularly and stay on top of the latest updates. This well established Benefits and Wellness Communities are an invaluable resource for any HR professional or manager.

Editorial Purpose

Excellence Publications

Babitha

Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence Team

Submissions & Correspondence

Employee

EDITOR’S NOTE

Debbie Mcgrath Publisher, HR.com

Tailoring Benefits to Support Employees And Why That Matters

Caregiving, although a selfless act, is not an easy job. Balancing work and caregiving demands can be tiring. About 1 in 5 Americans are serving as unpaid caregivers for a loved one, according to a 2020 report from AARP, and 61% of those caregivers were also employed in some capacity. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on caregiving and the importance of supporting struggling caregivers, who are leaving the workforce due to a lack of choice.

While the impact of caregiving on the workforce is high, employers can take up this opportunity to help caregivers by offering supportive policies and expanding benefit offerings in this space.

The September edition of Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence includes articles that focus on ways to support employee caregivers. Also included are informative articles on open enrollment and other healthcare benefits employees would love.

Stress is on the rise among employees at organizations across the country, but those who are also caregivers at home need extra support to avoid burning out. WellRight CEO, Neepa Patel in her article, Putting Out The Fire: Support Caregivers As Part Of Equitable Workplace Wellness, shares how employers can support caregivers in their workforce. LinkedIn's Kate Malham Pardes also focuses on the caregiving topic and sheds light on why caregivers need support now more than ever, in her article Caregiving Is Not Just A Business - It’s A Business Issue

What can business leaders and HR professionals do to become effective caregivers to help others understand and manage change? Dave Ulrich (Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business) discusses that in his article, Caregivers: An Emerging And Vital Role For Business And HR Leaders.

With open enrollment fast approaching, it’s time for HR teams to start planning how they can have a successful season. Kim Buckey's (Optavise) article, How HR Teams Can Create A Successful Open Enrollment Season and Bo Armstrong's (DataPath, Inc.) article, Creative Benefits Strategies For A Post-Pandemic Open Enrollment are your go-to resources for this topic.

As America’s workforce ages, menopause is emerging as a crisis for those organizations that fail to properly support their female employees as they pass through this life transition. P.volve's Julie Cartwright outlines the steps leaders can take to address this emerging crisis in her article, The Emerging Menopause Crisis In America’s Workforce.

This is just a sneak peek into what we have for you in this month’s edition of Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence. We hope you enjoy reading all the articles and get back to us with your valuable feedback/suggestions.

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Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed in the Excellence ePublications are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of HR.com and its employees. Under no circumstances shall HR.com or its partners or affiliates be responsible or liable for any indirect or incidental damages arising out of these opinions and content.

Babitha Balakrishnan Editor, Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence

In a world of unparalleled challenges (global pandemic, racial injustice, politi cal rivalry, digital 4.0, emotional malaise), uncertainty reigns. Finding opportu nity in this context requires harnessing uncertainty and harnessing starts with reliable, valid, timely, and useful information. The Excellence publications are a superb source of such information. The authors provide insights with impact that will guide thought and action.

Dave Ulrich

Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Partner, The RBL Group

Excellence publications are my ‘go-to’ resource for contemporary and action able information to improve leadership, engagement, results, and retention. Each edition offers rich and diverse perspectives for improving the employee experience and the workplace in general.

Julie Winkle Giulioni

Author, Virtual /Live Keynote Presenter, Inc.’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers

I regularly read and contribute to Leadership Excellence and Talent Manage ment Excellence. I use many of the articles I read to augment my own presen tations and I often share the articles with my clients. They are always quick, right on target for the latest issues in my field, and appreciated by my clients. If you want to stay up to date on the latest HR trends, choose a few of the dif ferent issues from the Excellence series of publications.

Dr. Beverly Kaye

CEO, BevKaye&Co.

Putting Out The Fire: Support Caregivers As Part Of Equitable Workplace Wellness

Five ways employers can support caregivers in their workforce

By Neepa Patel, WellRight

Employees are more stressed out than ever.

The American Psychological Association reported that 79%

of surveyed workers experienced work-related stress in the last month and pointed to pandemic-related stressors, such as long hours working from

home, unreliable return-to-work procedures, and the politicization of masks, as driving factors.

But there’s a subpopulation of employees experiencing an extra level of burnout that many organizations are overlooking: caregivers

About 1 in 5 Americans are serving as unpaid caregivers for a loved one, according to a 2020 report from AARP , and 61% of those caregivers were also employed in some capacity. That number is set to rise as the baby boomer generation ages and “sandwich generation” caregivers begin caring for their parents as well as their children.

However, their employers may not know it — about 1 in 3 employed caregivers reported that their supervisors didn’t know about their situation.

Employers need to account for caregivers when considering building an equitable workplace wellness program — one that is built so everyone, regardless of their lived experiences, has an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain well-being.

How Caregiver Burnout Impacts Organizations

Symptoms of burnout, be it workplace-related or caregivingrelated, permeate outside of the office and home. The first burnout sign an employer may notice is increasing use of sick days or leaving early. Burnout among caregivers can also show itself as withdrawing from loved ones, fatigue, irritability, or increased use of substances.

Just as burnout affects every area of an employee’s life, it affects

every area of a business as well. Allowing caregivers to reach the point of burnout can be costly on a number of fronts.

According to the AARP survey, 23% of caregivers say their health has worsened since they started looking after their loved ones, which results in increased healthcare spending.

Caregiver burnout also affects retention efforts, with some leaving the workforce entirely (6%) or retiring early (5%). And even if they stay employed, burnout affects productivity. Over half of employed caregivers say they go in late, leave early, or take time off, and 14% have taken a leave of absence from work as a result of caregiving responsibilities.

Putting Out The Fire: Support Caregivers As Part Of Equitable Workplace Wellness

Recognizing who serves as a caregiver and offering support before burnout emerges, is a win-win.

How Employers Can Support Caregivers in Their Workforce

Giving employees the resources and opportunities they need to achieve optimal outcomes is the basis of an equitable wellness program. And that includes caring for caregivers.

According to the AARP survey, a dismal 26% of caregivers say their employers offer special programs geared directly toward caregivers (such as specific information, referrals or an employee assistance program), leaving a large subgroup of employees unsupported.

It’s time to change that. Here are five ways employers can support caregivers in their workforce.

1. Develop a culture of listening. Supervisors are an important early detection system for burnout. Encourage open communication among managers and their teams. This helps employees feel heard, and it can also reveal if someone is serving as a caregiver. That way, managers can flag that employee for potential extra help before burnout sets in.

2. Offer broad paid leave options. While the United States is the only higher-income nation that doesn’t guarantee paid family leave, some employers have stepped in. 55% of employers offer paid maternity

leave, but just 35% offer paid extended family care leave. Paid family leave is an important part of a holistic benefits package. Employers should offer broad eligibility for paid leave programs so caregivers and others can stave off burnout and remain in the workforce.

3. Ask employees what they want. No one knows better what will be helpful than the person receiving the help. Direct employee surveys can reveal weak points in support programs that organizations may not have known they had. Then, they can act on the results.

4. Make a dedicated employee resource group. Many organizations create employee resource groups (ERGs) as part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, so underrepresented employees have a safe space to come together. There may be an appetite at your organization for a caregiver-specific ERG.

5. Promote the importance of self-care. Corporate workplace wellness programs can offer a variety of resources that can help prevent burnout, like guided meditations, movement challenges for physical health, or training on Medicare and Medicaid rules for caregivers. Give employees access to those resources via a well-being platform and continuously promote it, so employees feel comfortable accessing and using them as needed.

Stress is on the rise among employees at organizations across the country, but those who are also caregivers at home need extra support to avoid burning out. Supporting those who care for others is a key component of an equitable, holistic workplace wellness program.

Neepa Patel is the Chief Executive Officer at WellRight and joined the team in 2021. With over 25 years of experience in health care strategy and business development, Neepa has previously held executive positions at the BCBS Association, AIM Specialty Management, Evolent Health and IPG during periods of high growth and rapid change. With a strong understanding of both the challenges and opportunities facing the wellness industry, Neepa is uniquely skilled to lead WellRight's next phase of growth

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Putting

Caregivers

Caregiving Is Not Just

A Business - It’s A Business Issue

Caregivers need support now more than ever

By Kate Malham Pardes, LinkedIn

Being a “family caregiver” and Mother since the summer of 2020, I know all too well what some working parents and family caregivers have endured, sacrificed, and struggled with over the past few months.

Caregiving Is Not Just a Business - It’s a Business Issue

An article from Harvard Business Review (HBR), “Childcare is a Business Issue,” examined the role childcare plays in employment decisions and the needs of working parents. According to the article,

“one-third of the U.S. workforce, or an estimated 50 million workers, has a child under 14 in their household.” Balancing the demands of their jobs with the needs of caring for children is a constant challenge. The article noted that in a national panel survey of 2,500 working parents, “nearly 20% had to leave work or reduce their work hours solely due to a lack of childcare.” According to Pew Research, 12% of adults with children are also caregivers to their parents, acting as multigenerational caregivers, putting more stress on their time and reducing their available work hours and sleep time.

The HBR research also found that work-life balance issues related to Covid-19 disproportionately affected women. In particular, women of color reported reduced work hours due to lack of childcare at rates 8% higher than women on average.

I recently experienced childcare loss that caused significant physical, financial and emotional stress on family life and forced me to contemplate leaving the workforce. I’m blessed to work for a company that has offered many benefits to support those struggling to find childcare since the pandemic’s beginning. Unfortunately, many caregivers don’t have the same benefits and employer support. This lack of support adversely impacts working caregivers, especially African-Americans, Hispanics, and other diverse caregivers.

Caring about Caregivers

The numbers referenced above indicate that caregivers are your employees, customers, and influencers. Influential brands should educate and support the caregiving community, estimated at 43 million in the U.S. alone. It would greatly benefit healthcare brands and employers to truly understand and honestly speak to them - providing educational resources, benefits, and customized support.

Health & Wellness brands and affiliates should invest in listening, learning, and educating caregivers on how best to cope and manage their family's needs in times of uncertainty to mitigate stress and burnout. Looking at LinkedIn for article topics related to caregiving, it’s clear that the desire for this content is strong. Healthcare marketers have ample opportunity to address this topic with content and thought leadership on caregiving to support this community. In 2021, LinkedIn content topics such as 'caregiving' saw a 2X increase, and this trend may continue.

Healthcare influencers, like Melinda French Gates, are already approaching the topic. She recently shared a viral article supporting national paid leave for caregivers, leveraging #carecantwait and #paidleave. This topic highlights an opportunity for marketers to speak on employee benefits and support their caregivers. This year, let’s not only celebrate caregivers but contribute to these critical conversations that impact caregivers in meaningful ways.

Share what you’re doing to address the loss of women in the workplace, employee childcare benefits, mental health and wellness resources for parents, economic disparity, elder care, and more in the comments.

This article was originally published here

Kate Malham Pardes, CPA is Lead Enterprise Account Executive at LinkedIn. Kate has over 14 years of experience in consulting, technology, market research, and the insurance industry, leveraging a passion for creativity, relationships, strategy, and complex problem-solving to increase business outcomes and client success.

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Case Study: Virginia Bankers Association, VBA Benefits

By Brian Gezella, LearnYour Benefits

The Problem

Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) provides pooled employee benefits to approximately 70 different banks in the state of Virginia. In total, VBA services approximately 10,000 employees. With today’s workforce facing increasingly complex benefits choices, confusing jargon, and changes to plan designs each year, VBA wanted a solution that could better engage and educate these employees. Their solution had to include best-in-class tools to communicate 8 different medical plans, 3 different

dental plans, and numerous supplementary and voluntary benefits. It was clear to VBA that confusing terms and dreary content were two of the biggest barriers for employees to fully understand their plans and make smart benefits decisions.

The Plan

Each VBA member bank would get a unique, branded LearnYour Benefits video streaming site for their employee

VBA turned to LearnYour Benefits (LYB) to provide video design for each of their sponsored medical and dental plans — 11 videos in total. Moreover, VBA turned to LYB to provide streaming media and content websites for each of the 70 VBA member banks. Each VBA member bank would have a unique URL and a branded LYB mobile and desktop-enabled streaming site. Through our intuitive back-end administration, each respective member bank could customize its employee content. This would allow each member bank to (1) create its own video playlist based on the specific plans they provide, (2) add or remove employee-related content PDFs, such as benefits guides and summary plan descriptions, (3) add or remove links to 3rd party benefit providers, (4) include custom messages, and (5) provide specific HR contact information. With this solution, VBA member bank employees will become more engaged, educated, and empowered to choose the best options.

Confusing terms and dreary content are the biggest barriers to employees fully understand their plans

The Outcome:

LearnYour Benefits designed these 11 short and engaging benefits videos and provided them in its streaming platform. By doing so, VBA and its member banks are able to visually articulate each medical and dental plan option to their respective employees and spouses. Moreover, the real-time analytics within the LYB platform, allowed VBA and its member banks to track employee viewership of these videos and show what content was downloaded, when.

QUOTE:

Viewership of all videos within the LYB platform for VBA member bank employees was very high. Member Banks' HR teams reported a very good overall experience using and showcasing their respective LYB site to their employees. HR representatives at member banks found the LYB platform very easy to use, navigate, and administrate. Moreover, member banks purchased additional video content for their LYB site(s), including NEW HIRE and VOLUNTARY BENEFITS videos. Overall, VBA had a very good experience using and implementing the LYB videos and LYB platform within their member banks and has chosen to continue to expand LYB in 2020 and beyond.

“The LearnYour Benefits (LYB) team helped us implement an online and mobile video solution for our 70 member banks during 2019 open enrollment. We engaged LYB to create 11 semi-custom medical and dental videos, in addition to their stock video playlist. The LYB team was very responsive and great to work with, especially in creating the scripts and developing the videos in a condensed period of time. In addition, we were able to create individual benefits engagement sites for each of our member employers, with their own unique video playlist and access to specific benefit documents and links. LYB assisted in helping educate our employers on how to populate and manage their sites through multiple live webinars as well as being available to answer questions. We’ve received very positive feedback on providing this new value-add benefit for 2019, which has helped our covered employees and family members become better engaged and educated regarding their specific benefits offered by their employer!”

Case Study: Virginia Bankers Association, VBA Benefits

Benefits

LEARNYOUR BENEFITS:

LearnYour Benefits is a fast-growing benefits communications and technology company. We specialize in helping organizations visually articulate their benefits, technology, and wellness programs with brief videos and mobile streaming technology. We combine deep expertise in video production and advanced streaming technology to create solutions for employers, consultants, pooled benefits organizations, and CDHC partners. We’re regularly recognized for our high-level of service, expertise in communications, and ultra-affordable pricing.

Pooled Benefits Organizations:

● https://learnyourbenefits.com/solutions_ organizations.html

● http://www.LearnYourBenefits.com

Brian Gezella is the Co-Founder, CEO at LearnYour Benefits. Before co-founding LearnYour Benefits, Brian Gezella was a CFO, COO, and strategist consultant for multiple startup technology companies and businesses ranging from $1mm to $1 billion in revenue. Before then, Brian’s unique skills found him working as an officer at healthcare marketing experts and the best place to work, StoneArch, in Minneapolis, MN. Before StoneArch, he filled diverse roles in public accounting, consulting, technology, and organizational development.

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Case Study: Virginia Bankers Association,

Our easy to manage, video focused platform accelerates benefits knowledge through modern communication and promotional technologies, resulting in happier, healthier employees.

With LearnYour Benefits, you get high quality educational videos that educate and navigate employees to additional videos, links, and resources; benefit plan design videos that can be updated in real time; and access to custom videos.

Employees and families using LearnYour Benefits get fun, interactive user experiences, year round campaigns, simple navigation, informative videos, and all their answers in a single destination.

Want to understand how LearnYour Benefits can help your organization drive higher adoption of benefits all while having healtier, happier employees?

Schedule a demo at:

Caregivers: An Emerging And Vital Role For Business And HR Leaders

Caregiving puts the human back in human resources

By Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business

Caregiving, the act of regularly looking out for the welfare of others, matters more than ever in today’s volatile world.

In recent years, we have come to appropriately regard first responders as heroes. When disasters (fires, floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes) occur, first responders risk their personal safety to rescue others and offer physical and emotional support to those in need.

Likewise, organizations undergoing rapid and disruptive change need first responders. The Covid physical pandemic has led to an emotional endemic where nearly all mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, loneliness) are increasing. In this business context, caregiving becomes not on a social agenda but a business imperative. Those facing emotional demands are frequently the catalyst for terms like psychological well-being, quiet quitting or the great resignation. When inevitable change dramatically affects us, we need support from caregivers who provide understanding, empathy, and hope

Business leaders and HR professionals act as first responders, heroes, and the front line support to employees who face professional and personal disruption by helping them understand and manage the inevitable emotional trauma of change.

What can business leaders and HR professionals do to become effective caregivers to help others understand and manage change?

Physical

When clients face depression, psychologists often recommend taking care of the physical body including nutrition, exercise, and sleep (in addition to other remedies). In any type of demanding situation, caring for the body is easily ignored. Long work hours, work isolation, personal financial loss, and stressful work duties often mean avoiding time for the body.

HR professionals can become physical caregivers who encourage employees to care for their bodies through encouraging healthy eating, exercise, sleep, and regular medical attention. This may include providing health care and benefits programs, sponsoring corporate events attending to health (annual physicals, fitness center activities, smoking cessation workshops), and encouraging the physical basics (getting sleep, avoiding addictions). In addition, HR can establish healthy work environments that might include ergonomic settings, resources to promote wise personal finances, and employee control and flexibility over work time demands. Physical caregiving ensures that employees have a lifestyle that enables both attendance and productivity at work.

Emotional

Many of us have taken the general stress inventory where we accumulate points for stress-inducing life events that we’ve recently experienced. The researchers suggest that scoring above a certain point level is likely to lead individuals to have a health breakdown. We have also identified a crisis response stress disorder (CRSD) like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) where people are traumatized by stress in today’s work. These emotional stresses may be depression from past experiences, loneliness from current circumstances, and anxiety about the future.

HR professionals become emotional caregivers by helping employees play to their strengths and match skills to jobs, learn from past successes and failures to improve for the future, provide empathy by listening to employees’ concerns, and work in an affirming and positive setting. These resources build reserves that employees can draw on in emotionally demanding circumstances. Empathic leaders and HR emotional caregivers ensure that employees feel understood and valued.

Social

As social beings, people often find joy through relationships where they share common experiences and feel cared for and understood. Having best friends both at work and in personal relationship networks outside of work helps people manage the stress of change. When I have had personal or professional disappointments, a social network where I can share and feel supported renews me. Loneliness (social isolation) is one of the greatest liabilities and risks of the digital age, even post-Covid.

Organizations, by design, accomplish work by bringing together diverse individuals into collective action. HR professionals can become social caregivers when they create a sense of community and belonging where people feel committed and attached to each other. This belonging may come from sourcing and developing relationships with trustworthy and competent people, high-performance teams where team members care for and nurture each other, and the right internal culture to match customer expectations so that the organization wins in the

marketplace. Community leaders and HR social caregivers instill a sense of belonging that is central to succeeding in the emerging experience economy.

Intellectual

Research shows that learning agility is a key predictor of leadership success. With learning agility comes the ability to create a future, anticipate opportunities, adapt quickly, and learn always. Individuals who turn personal curiosity into organizational innovation are enthused, not threatened, by evolving market opportunities.

HR professionals can become intellectual caregivers by investing in employee learning. Learning helps employees face their unconscious biases and adapt over time. Employee learning increases when HR builds tailored learning experiences, designs and delivers training programs with clear personal impact, and makes personal learning a major part of delivering a business strategy.

Spiritual (Meaning or Purpose)

Finally, people need a sense of meaning or purpose in their lives: purpose often progresses through a three-step logic:

● Step 1 is happiness found from activity (what is done).

● Step 2 is experience (how it is done).

● Step 3 is meaning (why it is done).

This three-step evolution shapes how we respond to and feel about our world and how we fit into it, evolving from what we do to how we do it to why we do it. In all of these cases, meaning matters and moves us beyond simple engagement to real contribution. For employees in a work setting, the same three steps apply.

● Activity helps employees to be satisfied.

● Experience builds employee commitment or engagement.

● Meaning inspires employees to sustain personal commitment through taking ownership of their work and finding real purpose from it.

HR professionals (and business leaders) can become meaningful caregivers by creating a purpose-driven organization that enables social citizenship. HR professionals can also help employees discover their personal values and how they fit (or not) with the organization. Leaders and HR professionals as meaning makers create personal and organizational abundance.

Change happens and creates demands and opportunities to become a caregiver. Being a caregiver is not easy. It requires you to serve others and help them through difficult times. Attending to the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of caregiving, you can help your employees have the reserves to act on strategic decisions. Caregiving puts the human back in human resources.

Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor of Business at the Ross School, University of Michigan, and the Co-Founder & Principal at the RBL Group . He has helped generate award-winning databases that assess alignment between external business conditions, strategies, organization capabilities, HR practices, HR competencies, and customer and investor results. Would you like to comment?

Caregivers: An Emerging And Vital Role For Business And HR Leaders

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The Emerging Menopause Crisis In America’s Workforce

5 steps HR managers can take to support female employees through menopause

By Julie Cartwright, P.volve

The growing participation of women in the workforce has resulted in human resources challenges ranging from supporting pregnant employees to addressing childcare concerns to eliminating gender-based compensation disparities.

As America’s workforce ages, menopause is emerging as a crisis for those organizations that fail to properly support their female employees as they pass through this life transition.

Leaders who doubt whether menopause is a concern should ask themselves questions such as:

● Do we have a significant number of women employees who are in their 40s, 50s or 60s?

● Are we having a difficult time attracting female employees as they approach middle age?

● Do we want to retain women who are in the prime years of their careers?

Answering yes to any of these questions means menopause should be a key issue for any organization’s leaders, especially those concerned with recruitment and retention, employee benefits and other human resources issues.

First, a little background. Menopause itself is defined as the time when a woman stops

menstruating for 12 months. The time surrounding this, called perimenopause, is a universal transition that occurs over a period typically lasting about seven years. It brings changes physically, hormonally and in other ways that cause changes in the body.

During perimenopause, women may experience symptoms that vary by individual in both type and intensity. Some of the most common are hot flashes, sleep disturbance, constipation, mood changes, “brain fog,” bladder changes, hair thinning, dry skin and vaginal dryness. There are at least 34 potential symptoms associated with menopause, and about 80 percent of women will experience at least some of them.

Although the menopause transition typically begins at an average age of 51, symptoms can start much earlier, and affect large numbers of women. About two million Americans reach menopause annually, and nine out of 10 reach menopause by age 55.

Given such numbers, the impacts in the workplace are widespread: In a survey of working women, 90 percent said menopausal symptoms affect them at work. The impacts on business are clear, with increased menopausal symptoms being correlated with lower work performance and nearly half of women having had to take time off because of such symptoms.

In the U.S., those in perimenopause typically receive little support, in or out of the workplace. Three-quarters of women who seek help for menopause do not receive it, and 99 percent of working women in the U.S. receive no employer-pro vided menopause care benefits.

With menopause especially affecting those in their 40s through their 60s, the peak performance years in the workplace, the potential impact of menopause is staggering: Productivity losses due to menopause are now estimated to exceed about $150 billion globally. These numbers are likely to continue increasing as more and more women assume positions of leadership in business, government, and the nonprofit sector and become more likely instead to leave their jobs or pass up promotions.

So, what can leaders do to address this emerging crisis? A proactive, HR-centered approach includes five steps to address the effects of menopause and enable women to continue to perform productively and grow in their careers:

Articulate Support at the C-suite Level Management at the highest levels, including the chief executive officer and the chief human resources officer, need to make clear the organization’s commitment to supporting women in perimenopause. Line managers need to understand that they must be prepared to address the needs and concerns of women passing through this transition. Workers should be encouraged to speak freely to their managers about perimenopause issues without fearing the adverse impacts on their careers.

Make Reasonable Accommodations

Organizations support pregnant women and workers with childcare issues, and providing reasonable accommodations for women in perimenopause is similarly good practice. Just as they would support any worker with a long-term health issue, organizations should provide time off for doctors’ appointments or, when severe symptoms manifest themselves, allow flexible hours and enable remote working. Time off beyond ordinary sick leave should be a baseline accommodation that recognizes perimenopause not as an illness but rather as a natural part of life.

Offer Perimenopause Benefits

Women in perimenopause can benefit from seeing specialists in the field who can recommend ways to address symptoms. In fact, a survey found that two-thirds of women would like to be able to consult a menopause specialist at no cost. Organizations should add menopausal benefits, including medical and hormonal treatments, to their current benefits packages, whether as part of healthcare or as a standalone benefit. Employers may want to consider offering such benefits as part of a cafeteria package in order to ensure equity among workers of different ages and sexes.

Provide Workplace Support and Guidance

Women going through perimenopause often try to hide their symptoms, whether to avoid showing what they fear would be perceived as weakness or to avoid acknowledging aging in a youth-oriented culture.

Counseling and guidance from trained staff, who can come from current human resources officers, can provide a source of advice and understanding. Support groups that meet regularly at, say, lunchtime can offer perspective and a feeling of not being alone in passing through perimenopause.

Provide Access to Exercise and Other Natural Solutions

Beyond short-term symptoms, menopause can result in longer-term changes such as slowing metabolism, loss of bone density, postural changes, and loss of muscle mass. Women over age 40, for instance, may see a 2 percent year-over-year loss

of muscle mass, often intensified by a decrease in estrogen. Medical and hormonal treatments can help, but so can natural measures such as exercise. One recent study, for example, determined that “physical activity in all of its forms may help maintain muscle mass in midlife.” Programs of weight training, high-intensity but low-impact cardiovascular exercise, pelvic floor strengthening, and balance and stability exercises can help to offset or mitigate the long-term impacts of menopause. Organizations can provide access to such programs through healthcare or other benefits, with the added value of improving overall health and fitness.

Menopause is often seen negatively rather than as part of a natural progression through life that should be embraced. And, while menopause is a transition to a different stage of life, its less-desirable impacts on women’s lives and careers can be addressed. Human resources can and should play a leading role in helping employees through this transition, for their benefit and that of the organization. The time to start is now.

Since P.volve was founded in 2017, Julie Cartwright has been president of the omnichannel fitness brand. She leads the delivery of real fitness solutions to women in all stages of life. With more than two decades of business development and fitness industry experience, Julie is responsible for spearheading P.volve’s overall vision and growth strategy, financial objectives, and investment priorities. She has led P.volve’s expansion from a small, digitally native startup to a multichannel fitness authority.

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Creating A Culture Of Support For Working Caregivers

12 strategies to support caregivers in the workplace

By Brett Framiloe, Terkel.io

What is one strategy you use to support caregivers in the workplace?

To help you offer the best support to caregivers in your workplace, we asked top executives this question for their best insights. From allowing flexible hours and working options to creating a caregiver resources list, there are several strategies organizations adopt to help employees develop a culture of support for their working family caregivers.

Here are 12 strategies these leaders use or recommend HR to support caregivers in their workplace:

● Allow Flexible Hours and Working Options

● Offer Sick Time for Caretaking Duties

● Be Flexible in Dealing With Caregiver Issues

● Build Trust and Offer Friendly Support

● Invest in a Specialized Caregiver Platform

● Provide a Supportive Culture

● Create a Flexible Work Policy With Onsite Daycare

● Offer Caregiver Insurance

● Open a Dedicated Support Channel for Caregivers

● Check in With Caregivers Often

● Organize Regular Management Training on Policies and Support

● Offer Self-Care Stipends

Allow Flexible Hours and Working Options

Flexible working options are one of the most effective ways to support caregivers in the workplace. For many roles at our fully-remote organization, we do not stipulate particular hours employees must be online, provided they com plete their work in the expected timeframes. Caregivers are seldom able to work straight eight-hour shifts since caregiving duties often necessitate during-work responsibilities like watching over loved ones or attending doctors' appointments. Flexible hours let caregivers more effectively balance work and non-work responsi bilities and reserve PTO for self-care and rejuvena tion rather than familial duties. Also, if employers allow remote work, then caregivers can log in and complete work tasks while in between caregiving tasks, for instance, while in waiting rooms.

Michael Alexis, CEO, TeamBuilding

Offer Sick Time for Caretaking Duties

One way to support caregivers in the workplace is to offer sick time to take care of loved ones. Tak ing care of a loved one is hard work, and caregiv ers need rest and relaxation. These individuals should be able to use their personal or vacation time for recharging, and not to ferry loved ones to doctor appointments or watch over family members who cannot look after themselves. By offering leave for caregiving duties, you ease the burden on these employees and enable these team members to look after themselves as well as others.

Be Flexible in Dealing With Caregiver Issues

I am a caregiver for my elderly grandfather. I work full time, and he lives with me, so I have to juggle my work schedule with his doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, and other needs. I have found that one of the best ways to support caregivers in the workplace is to be flexible with their sched ules. If I need to leave work early for an appoint ment, my boss is usually understanding and willing to let me make up the time later. I also try to use my lunch break to run errands or take care of things that need to be done, so that I can focus on work when I'm at work. Caregiving can be a challenging juggling act, but with a little under standing and flexibility from employers, it can be manageable.

Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack

Antreas Koutis, Administrative Manager, Financer

Invest in a Specialized Caregiver Platform

We’re looking into caregiver platform implementa tion to meet the diverse needs of caregivers on our team. The platform takes complex situations with varied needs and offers employees a single point of services and resources. Whether needs for child care, special needs parenting, eldercare, or more, real-time access to resources like special education documents, complex form support, healthcare reviews, and housing documents will help. It’s nearly impossible to have an in-house HR department that’s highly specialized and equipped to support in the way these platforms do.

Build Trust and Offer Friendly Support

Build trust and offer friendly support. Our philoso phy has always been to foster an open, creative environment so that everyone involved can feel confident the team has their back. That personal connection to each other gives employees the confidence and trust to openly communicate their needs. Having a strong team bond and building trust through communication is essential.

Stephen Skeel, Co-Founder, 7 Wonders

Ruben Gamez, Founder & CEO, SignWell

Creating A Culture Of Support For Working Caregivers

Provide a Supportive Culture

HR leaders can create a supportive and inclusive culture that values and recognizes the contribu tions of caregivers. This could include offering paid leave for caregiving purposes, organizing company-wide events to celebrate caregivers, and ensuring that caregivers feel comfortable discuss ing their needs and concerns with their employers.

Create a Flexible Work Policy With Onsite Daycare

Fiona Lee, Co-founder, Notta

There are a few top HR strategies that can be deployed in order to support caregivers in the workplace. One strategy is to create a flexible work policy that allows employees to work from home or adjust their hours as needed. This can help reduce the stress of having to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. Additionally, em ployers can offer benefits that specifically support caregivers, such as paid leave for family care or on-site daycare. By implementing these strategies, employers can help make it easier for caregivers to manage their work and caregiving responsibili ties.

Mogale Modisane, CEO, ToolsGaloreHQ

Creating A Culture Of Support For Working Caregivers

Offer Caregiver Insurance

One important strategy that HR leaders can put into practice is to offer insurance to caregiv ers, where nursing assistance is included. Most people requiring care have either government assistance or insurance but benefits for caregiv ing nursing are usually limited. It would be won derful if employers offered insurance that covered nursing care or caretakers to come to sit with a person's family members or monitor their health while they are at work.

Open a Dedicated Support Channel for Caregivers

I run a fully remote company, making it more flexible for my caregiver employees. Beyond the flexibility of working remotely, we also have a forum or dedicated channel for caregivers in our Slack workspace. This channel is moderated by the most experienced caregiver and a volunteer from a caregiving organization. Caregivers can share experiences, challenges, frustrations, and advice in the channel. They can ask questions or offer answers, and they provide each other emotional support. When needed, we organize a virtual workshop where we invite an expert to talk on a much-requested topic.

Fadi Swaida, CEO, Halton Village Dental

Check in With Caregivers Often

HR leaders and all leaders should continue to check in with caregivers. Showing that you care and providing a safe space to allow staff who are caregivers to speak is important. In addition, or ganizations (with their HR leaders) can create an employee resource group or slack/zoom channels for caregivers to meet and speak with each other. Finally, HR leaders need to ensure all staff (care givers and managers) know what leave benefits exist and how to access them.

Samantha Rosenberg, Director of Human Resources, AACC

Kevin Huang, Founder and CEO, Ambient Home US

Organize Regular Management Training on Policies and Support

As the ones that typically have staff coming to them for aid when they’re juggling caregiver du ties with their job, managers need a deep under standing of company policies around flexible scheduling, employee leave policies, and benefits available to caregivers on the team. All of our managers must attend annual training to brush up on caregiver policies and any immediate changes are quickly diffused to the entire management team via our weekly management meetings. We ensure our managers don’t simply understand our policies, but encourage our employees to access them and ask for as much help as they need. This open communication is crucial to maintain our re lationship - we want our employees to know they can count on us.

Fernando Lopez, Marketing Director, Circuit

Offer Self-Care Stipends

Caregivers often sacrifice loved ones' safety, care, and happiness over their own, often to the point of exhaustion. One unexpected and underrated way employers can support caregivers is to offer a self-care perk. HR can provide a regular stipend for employees to treat themselves to self-care products and activities, with the stipulation that the money should go towards the employee and not a family member. Examples of ways to spend the stipend might include massages, food delivery, coffee, candles and bubble bath, art, or a babysitter to cover so the employee can spend a fun night out. This policy encourages caregivers to take care of themselves rather than spend the extra money on bills or others' needs.

Kate Duske, Editor in Chief, Escape Room Data

Would you like to comment?

Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO and currently the CHRO of Terkel.io

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Why Benefits After A Divorce Are Critical For Your Employees

Three reasons why HR managers should consider it

By Sheri Atwood, SupportPay

Divorce spans many chapters in my life story, beginning when I was a child and up to now as the founder and CEO of SupportPay. My parent's divorce was bitter, so when I faced my own divorce, I tried to make it as amicable as possible for my daughter. After my divorce, I was completely unaware

of the complexities, conflict, and stress that I would face when it came to co-parenting with my ex. It dramatically impacted my career and financial well-being, and it also created a constant emotional roller coaster for myself and everyone around me.

Why Benefits After A Divorce Are Critical For Your Employees

Even when a marriage is going well, it can be difficult to manage a career, a relationship, and children. When you add divorce and separation to that, it becomes even more difficult for working parents.

At 25, I was a newly divorced mom raising a daughter and building my career as a tech executive in Silicon Valley. In between budget meetings and marketing strategies, I tracked child support payments and expenses in a spreadsheet. Then, I needed to send proof of each expense in an email or text message to my ex-husband. It was a tedious process that was made worse by the fact that there was no easier way to communicate with my ex-husband about the shared expenses for our child. The financial stressors were bad enough, but it was also difficult to coordinate our custody schedule, who would be picking up our daughter, or who would be taking her to any of her extracurricular activities.

My ex-husband would interrupt me constantly at work and oftentimes had my assistant pull me out of meetings so we could hash out our daughter’s expenses or figure out how she would be picked up on time that day. I could get approval from my boss on a high-dollar advertising campaign with ease but

letting my ex-husband know he owes me $50 for our daughter's shoes was utterly painful. He never believed that the amount he owed was actually going to our child. It became a constant battle to get what I was owed, and the back-and-forth arguments about how much it costs to raise our child were a drain on me emotionally and impacted my job performance. We found ourselves in more conflict after the divorce than when we were finalizing it. The worse part of all was that our daughter was impacted the most.

What most employers don’t realize is that divorce is the second most stressful life event after the death of a spouse. While it is certainly difficult for the divorcee and their immediate family, it also creates a ripple effect at work. Divorce or separation negatively affects the entire operation of a business. When newly divorced parents are juggling court dates, legal fees, and custody arrangements, they're going to be less focused on their work, their productivity will go down, and their team is going to feel the brunt of it. When you add the fact that most couples get divorced when their youngest child is six years old, it's easy to see how divorce can profoundly impact a person's life and career.

According to a recent study by Good Housekeeping and SupportPay, 70% of the workforce is impacted by divorce at any given time. That’s astounding. With divorce and separation taking such a massive toll on the entire workforce, why aren’t companies providing divorce benefits to help employees going through this difficult life event? Even more, why aren’t they offering benefits to make divorced and even single and stepparents' lives easier after divorce or separation?

By offering benefits during and after a divorce, businesses can help their employees navigate this challenging time and come out stronger on the other side. Most importantly, by implementing supportive family-friendly policies, companies can retain these talented individuals for years.

I know from personal experience that this type of support could have made all the difference for me, and I’m sharing three reasons why HR managers should consider it.

1. With quiet quitting, the tight labor market, and The Great Resignation, companies are finding themselves in an employee’s market According to Gallup, 64% of employees named “pay and benefits” as a critical factor in taking a new job. If you want to attract and retain the best talent, you have to offer a progressive and comprehensive benefits package. You need to be willing to provide unique benefits that other businesses may not be offering to stay competitive in this market. Additionally, you need to make sure that you are offering benefits to all types of employees and considering those that are overlooked, like single and divorced parents.

2. Divorce and separation impact more than just the employee going through it The emotional stress created by a significant life event like a divorce reaches coworkers, management, and the company's bottom line. Divorce-related stress costs employers approximately $300 billion per year. The potential financial and productivity impacts are critical for companies to be aware of and to take action to better support employees’ emotional and financial health and well-being.

3. Working moms are disproportionately impacted by divorce, and the pandemic has pushed them out of the workforce in droves. As a result, there are one million women still missing from the labor force Family-friendly policies, including co-parenting and divorce resources, demonstrate that your company prioritizes family responsibilities alongside having a fulfilling career. Moreover, by meeting the needs of working moms, you can ultimately help to reduce the growing gender gap in the workforce.

In the years following my divorce, I dedicated my career to helping families navigate life after divorce and separation. To make the process easier, I founded SupportPay, a software that helps co-parents manage and track support, alimony, shared expenses, custody, schedules, and communications for their children.

I've spoken with thousands of parents about their experience managing both their careers and co-parenting. Now, I'm encouraging businesses of all sizes to implement benefits that specifically support the often overlooked employees - divorced and single parents. A simple benefit that is also incredibly affordable for employers could make all the difference.

Sheri Atwood is the Founder and CEO of SupportPay, the only co-parenting solution that manages child support payments, alimony, expenses, custody, and communication. The platform is now available as a unique and innovative employee benefit, providing free access to working parents who are impacted before, during, and after divorce or separation. Would you like to comment?

Why Benefits After A Divorce Are Critical For Your Employees

Creative Benefits Strategies For A Post-Pandemic Open Enrollment

Take advantage of creative opportunities to expand your benefits package

By Bo Armstrong, DataPath, Inc.

Open enrollment is always an intense and stressful time for HR teams, as well as benefits brokers and TPAs. But as we transition from pandemic to endemic, Covid-19’s impact on the employee benefits landscape is undeniable.

In this environment, employers and their benefits advisers must do more than put a new facade on existing benefits packages. Companies need creative benefits programs focusing on physical, mental/emotional, and financial well-being to attract and retain employees.

The Workplace Has Changed

Covid-19 continues to impact the workplace. American employers are struggling to fill job openings,

and the tight labor market is worsening existing problems in the supply chain. In the U.S., between March 2020 and July 2022, workers voluntarily left their jobs more than 106 million times.

More than 11.2 million job openings exist, but the unemployed ranks number barely 6 million. Many employed people can work multiple jobs, but these numbers highlight the tight labor market.

A Deloitte study from 2021 surveyed Fortune 1000 company leaders about the labor shortage. Among the findings:

● 57% of CEOs believed attracting talent was among their most significant challenges

● 35% had already expanded benefits to help increase retention

Since the sudden and unexpected pivot to remote work in March 2020, about 16% of American companies have decided to convert permanently to 100% remote work. By 2025, approximately 36.2 million Americans will work remotely at least part of the time.

Workers Have Changed Even More

The changes in workers may be more dramatic than those in the workplace. Employees now expect more from employers in areas ranging from work location and flexibility to desired benefits. And they have proven that they are willing to change jobs and careers to get what they want.

In fact, among those participating in the Great Resignation’s 2021 wave, 45% said they resigned due to a lack of flexibility in work hours, with 43% citing unsatisfactory health and PTO benefits.

Before the pandemic, the American economy grew steadily, unemployment was low, and socio-political stability was relatively secure. In addition to standard benefits like group health care and PTO, employers offered cool perks like ping-pong tables or in-house gyms to stand out and attract workers. However,

these perks have now lost much of their previous appeal.

What Employees Are Looking For

Many employees are unwilling or unable to return to work life as it used to be. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), employers must adapt by focusing on retaining employees and rebuilding company culture.

Workers are now more interested in benefits that protect their security and enhance their overall well-being. MetLife’s annual employee benefits report for 2021 focused on how companies need

to rethink their responsibilities toward employees. They found that concerns over well-being affect productivity in over half of the workforce.

During enrollment season 2023, employers must offer workers benefits that protect their security and enhance their overall well-being in three key areas: physical health, mental/ emotional health, and financial health. Providing an employee benefits program that recognizes these areas can help employers attract and retain talent in a tight employment market.

Creative Benefits Strategies For A Post-Pandemic Open Enrollment

CREATIVE BENEFIT STRATEGIES FOR 2023

Promote Physical Well-Being

Most people experienced unplanned medical expenses during the pandemic. As such, physical well-being benefits are more valued than ever – even among younger employees, who have historically put less value on this area than older age groups.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Over 30% of employers still do not offer any Flexible Spending Account (FSA). To help with employee physical well-being, provide a full FSA for various healthcare expenses or a Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA) for just vision and dental care.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)

Employers who have not sponsored a group plan in the past or are having difficulty affording one now should consider offering an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) or Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA). Employees can use these accounts to acquire individual healthcare coverage on either the healthcare exchange or the open market. Employers can include reimbursement for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses also if desired.

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Employers can help keep group health insurance costs down

by adopting HSA-eligible health plans with higher deductibles and HSAs. In addition, employer contributions encourage employee participation (typically a 5% increase in the employee adoption rate) and spark increases in employee contributions. The average employer contribution is $500-$750 for single coverage, depending on company size.

Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)

LSAs can contribute to physical well-being by helping employees access products and services such as gym memberships, fitness equipment, weight loss programs and many other options. The employer decides which expenses are eligible and whether to offer employees a debit card to access the funds or have them pay out of pocket and then submit a receipt for reimbursement.

A Note about FSA-HRA-HSA Accounts

In addition to promoting physical well-being, FSA, HRA, and HSA account also promote financial health by helping employees save payroll taxes on the amounts set aside – up to 30-40%, depending on their tax brackets. The sponsoring employer gets a business expense deduction and a reduction in FICA matching taxes.

Nurture Mental/Emotional Well-Being

The desire for mental/emotional health and well-being benefits has also increased. In 2021, the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) found that half of all employees think mental health

wellness programs are more critical than ever.

Even more striking, one in five employees (20%) said increased assistance with mental health and emotional well-being would be the one most valuable improvement to their employer’s benefits package.

Flexible Spending Account / Health Savings Account (FSA/HSA)

Employers should promote account usage for mental and emotional well-being. Even seasoned account holders may be surprised to learn that counseling therapy (including telehealth), substance abuse treatment programs, and similar assistance sources are eligible expenses

Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)

If the employer offers an HRA, ensure mental health benefits are among the expenses eligible for reimbursement. If not already included, consider adding a telehealth counseling option to the list of qualified healthcare expenses.

Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)

LSA accounts can promote mental and emotional well-being by helping employees pay for services such as marital counseling, meditation apps or classes, and life coaching. Weekend getaways, date-night babysitting services and many other activities that can be made available under LSAs also help employees deal with stress, anxiety and burnout.

Encourage Financial Well-Being

The pandemic caused substantial hardship, particularly among gig workers and those in industries that cannot work remotely. As the pandemic has eased, unforeseen financial volatility, inflation and wage stagnation have continued to reduce income and increase debt.

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Educate your employees about HSA tax benefits and investment features that contribute toward their financial well-being now and in the future.

Student Loan Reimbursement Account (SLRA)

Many employees are burdened by high student loan debt. Employers can help by sponsoring an SLRA. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, employer SLRA payments are not taxable to the employee but remain a business expense write-off for the employer. Through 2025, employers can make up to $5,250 in matching employee student loan debt payments annually.

Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)

Have you noticed just how versatile Lifestyle Spending Accounts can be? They help with physical, mental/emotional AND financial well-being. For the latter, employers can set up the LSA to cover financial planning services,

budgeting classes, savings apps, will preparation and more.

Emergency Savings Account (ESA)

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve found that about 40% of American adults would struggle to pay an unexpected $400 bill without having to rely on credit.

Employer-sponsored ESAs automatically deduct a small amount from each participating employee’s payroll before it is direct-deposited. The ESA deduction is direct-depos ited instead into a separate savings account.

Although ESAs have no tax advantages, many people find that an automatic savings process using money that’s never reached their regular bank account is much easier for them.

Well-Being is the Name of the Game

Employees want employers to help protect their holistic well-being so they can feel safe, protected and prepared across physical, mental/emotional, and financial areas.

Benefits account for just over 31% of an employee’s total compensation package. Companies can and should leverage their employee benefits programs to attract and retain employees.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) found that 80% of Americans

favor benefits over extra salary. Over half of U.S. workers have left jobs after finding better benefits elsewhere.

As you prepare for the 2023 enrollment season, approach your traditional benefits with fresh eyes and take advantage of creative opportunities to expand your benefits package. Doing so can help you overcome many challenges posed by an incredibly tight labor market and set your company apart from others hiring out of the same competitive labor pool.

Bo Armstrong is a national conference speaker and author of numerous white papers and articles on the health care benefits industry. As DataPath’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bo focuses on identifying emerging market trends within the benefits industry and advocating for customers and their needs within DataPath. Would you like to comment?

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How HR Teams Can Create A Successful Open Enrollment Season

Employees deserve guidance every step of the way

By Kim Buckey, Optavise

With open enrollment fast approaching, it’s time for HR teams to start planning how they can have a successful season. Open enrollment offers employers a fantastic opportunity to promote their healthcare and benefits offerings and educate employees so that they can more confidently choose the health plan that best fits their individual situations.

Open enrollment season can be stressful for employees, employers, and their HR teams. Meeting employees where they are at, in terms of healthcare literacy and financial planning, is vital to ensure that employees are making the best long-term decisions for their healthcare and financial security.

To be successful, HR teams should keep the following considerations in mind:

1. Reflect on Last Year’s Enrollment

Choosing the right health insurance is a difficult financial decision for many people. Several studies show that people routinely pick bad plans for themselves, even choosing options that impact their finances significantly in negative ways. To solve this problem, review last year’s successes and failures and brainstorm how to improve this year’s open enrollment.

HR teams should meet with relevant internal and external stakeholders (such as TPAs, consultants, and communicators) to evaluate last year’s open enrollment performance. Were enrollment goals achieved? What feedback, if any, was received from employees before, during, and after enrollment? What types of questions did your HR team or call center receive? What worked well, and where can improvements be made? Knowing where teams are in this year’s planning and any challenges they may face will enable HR to create a meaningful plan for this year.

2. Focus on Healthcare Literacy

According to a study by Optavise, 22% of workers said they want to know how to choose a health plan. Part of the reason Americans struggle with healthcare literacy is that too many consumers take a “do-it-yourself” approach to healthcare education. Optavise also found that 34% of respondents had educated themselves about their insurance benefits through online or other resources, rather than turning to benefit experts. Just 30% had learned about health insurance from their employer’s HR team (down from 37% in 2021). And 21% had learned from a third-party benefits educator or other resource provided by their employer, up from 16% last year.

Employees who understand how to navigate the system (i.e., receiving regular preventive care, choosing in-network providers, comparing costs, etc.) can make more informed long-term care choices to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on healthcare treatments and services to improve their overall well-being. Knowing that healthcare literacy can improve physical and financial health, HR teams must help increase their employees’ health literacy levels. Open enrollment can serve as the gateway to start this conversation.

The best way HR teams can begin this dialogue is by offering additional support around open enrollment. Offering virtual or in-person one-on-one meetings can provide a confidential, personalized forum for employees to get answers about their benefits packages. Support tools can include a virtual benefits fair, links to a year-round benefits site housing information and tools regarding different plans, and personal enrollment support. Keep in mind that even though open enrollment is the start of the conversation, HR teams must communicate about benefits year-round to have the greatest impact on their employees.

3. Be Mindful of Enrollment Tool Limitations

While assessing how to support employees as they learn about and select their benefit options for the coming year, HR teams need to understand both the benefits and limitations of the self-service tools

available. While digital tools can help employees determine a rough estimate of healthcare costs, these tools cannot take each individual scenario into account. It can be difficult for online tools to factor in variables such as prescription costs, chronic illnesses, or family planning choices.

Concierge-level services for employees can provide more comprehensive, in-depth support during open enrollment. Although self-service enrollment tools can connect employees to a live person if they need assistance, employers should offer conversations as a first option and ensure that in-person support is a priority. Once employees understand the costs for and coverage under each benefit option includes, HR teams or benefits experts can then help employees who may not feel confident in their own abilities pick the right plan for their needs. Offering personal conversations offset the limitations of virtual support tools and build employee loyalty and appreciation.

By keeping these three considerations in mind, HR teams are sure to have a successful open enrollment season. Focusing on a seamless, efficient, and effective process will help reduce stress and ensure all employees get the help they need to make the best healthcare decisions possible. Because healthcare is a journey, employees deserve guidance every step of the way. Every employer should take steps to encourage smart, cost-effective decision-making this season to have a successful open enrollment season and more educated employees year-round.

Kim Buckey is the VP of Client Services at Optavise (formerly DirectPath). Would you like to comment?

How HR Teams Can Create A Successful Open Enrollment Season

Meaningful Health Benefits For All

A data-driven approach to health care benefits that bridge equity gaps

By Jason Elliott, HDMS

Any HR executive today will tell you how challenging the current environment is for attracting and retaining talent. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 11.2 million open job positions

(vacancies) across the US at the end of Q2 2022. Hence, it stands to reason that organizations are rolling out the red carpet to try to appeal to job-seekers, offering sign-on bonuses as well as comprehensive health

and financial benefits. Wellness rewards and a varied suite of ancillary health benefits have become the norm rather than the exception.

Meaningful Health Benefits For All

While the impact of these comprehensive ancillary benefits can be significant, so can the cost—especially since inflation is at a 40-year high. Therefore, data analytics are more vital now than in the past for driving decisions around the offering, expanding, or discontinuing various programs. The rise in the availability of new data enables nuanced and sophisticated analyses to determine the value of "total rewards" packages.

Analytics Evolution: Powerful Revelations from Digital Data Connections

For years, the set of metrics used to measure the success of any health benefits program was limited to simple data elements available in standard claims. For example, the number of members who enrolled in a program, or the number of members who had one visit with a health care provider.

Unfortunately, measurable health impacts usually do not occur immediately. Therefore, the success of a program cannot be determined immediately with any level of confidence.

However, enrollment metrics are no longer the only available barometer for engagement. The aggregation of traditional claims with non-traditional digital data sets now allows us to connect dots that were previously either invisible or inaccessible, thus revealing new trends and powerful insights.

The ability to identify how members engage with a certain program—and why—gives organizations the power to build programs around their employees’ real-life needs and make progress in delivering on the triple aim of reducing cost, improving health, and improving quality and

experience. Questions commonly asked of our data analytics teams recently include:

● How often are employees using our wellness or chronic condition management programs?

● Are engagement patterns different for different sub-populations?

● Have those programs yielded positive health outcomes?

● Are there other health gaps that should be addressed instead?

Engagement in a program has been redefined. For example, rather than tracking just a daily step count in a fitness program, granular metrics like the frequency and intensity of biking, running, weight training, or even dancing are used in tandem with medical and pharmacy claims to identify discernible, meaningful, and quantifiable value.

Other examples of data types frequently leveraged from various solutions include biometrics (e.g., BMI, BP), lab tests (e.g., blood sugar, cholesterol, A1C, etc.), sleep patterns, meditation and mindfulness minutes, mood changes, dietary changes, etc.

It is possible to then look holistically at a program’s impact on employees’ health, wellbeing, productivity, quality of life, retention, disability avoidance, and other indicators—driving more effective benefits decisions.

The concept of coordinated and continuous care is not new, but clinical and digital transformation across the industry is now bringing us closer to achieving it. Understanding an individual's interactions with care when they are healthy and not just when they are ill drives policy changes to reduce the burden of illness.

New Insights to Articulate Value

All programs offer something and will benefit some of the people in an organization. Often, the question is whether the magnitude of the benefit derived is enough to offset the cost of the program itself. This, in turn, drives decisions around expanding or discontinuing a solution.

One large employer, for instance, offered two separate wellness programs that promoted a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise goals. However, one focused more on the exercise component while the other concentrated on healthy and mindful eating. When the employer tried to assess the effectiveness of both programs to determine if one added more value than the other overall, the data showed a very interesting and unique pattern. It revealed that adoption and engagement in the two solutions differed along racial, ethnic, and income lines. Different populations engaged with these solutions at similar levels for reasons outside of health status. As a result, the company decided to retain both programs since they obviously were essential to varied groups.

Likewise, mental well-being is now universally recognized as a critical part of overall health. Many organizations are compiling a profile of those who engage with their mental well-being solutions (e.g., EAP mental health programs) and evaluating their impact on employees' medical comorbid conditions.

For one such organization, bringing together medical, pharmacy, and mental health EAP (digital) data brought to light an interesting link between anxiety and heart disease. Specifically, 30% of those with a new diagnosis of anxiety also had a new diagnosis of hypertension and/ or ischemic heart disease in the same year. They also sought care for other indicators of acute stress, such as flare-ups of autoimmune conditions.

This insight helped the benefits team better align their concierge services to ensure a more holistic health model, where the mental, emotional, and physical health needs were addressed together.

Employers are also making major changes to benefit designs in a deliberate effort to remove barriers to care access, especially since the pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of low-income and minority communities to weather major health storms.

As an example, several organizations have removed waiting periods (typically 30-90 days) for new employees to become eligible for health and financial benefits. Others have

expanded paid sick time benefits for all workers, including hourly employees for whom paid sick time used to be rare. Some organizations that offer wellness rewards and incentives have done away with mandatory activities with incremental payouts.

Value for All

Across health care, clinical and digital transformations are making it easier to analyze how people interact with health benefits—both mental and physical health, when sick and when well. Consequently, data also makes it possible to evaluate how the advantages of various programs differ for different subpopulations. When benefits are designed for total well-being, their value cannot be measured in silos—hence data analysts have become the new superheroes.

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Jason Elliott is the VP of Customer Experience at HDMS

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