Are Your Employees In the Dark About Their Benefits?

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” This old adage (often attributed to Mark Twain) likely rings true for many employers. Failure to challenge assumptions and do the appropriate research can result in misaligned product strategy, bad hires, operational waste, and more.With those dangers in mind, it’s also important to consider employees perceptions about their benefits. It’s no secret that employee health is a significant cost for employers and employees alike. Cost of care has increased, health insurance costs are significant and the cost of illness and absence are substantial as well.

With so much at stake, employers might be surprised by the gap between how much their employees think they know about health insurance benefits and how much they actually do know.

A recent study found that “while 80% of the workers tested felt they understood their benefits “very well,” only about 49% did.” What’s more, 25% of millennial employees failed a brief test about basic benefits terms and concepts. Their older baby boomer generation colleagues scored better, but 10% of that group failed the test as well.

What can be done to help employees understand their benefits better so they make better plan choices as well as utilize their benefits better throughout the year?

At Gravie, we’ve witnessed how important a real understanding of benefits can be for employees. In our experience working with tens of thousands of members, we’ve come to recognize two things that make a big difference.

First, members today expect “smart technology” to help them through the process of selecting, understanding and utilizing their benefits. This means access to information when they need it, brought to them in an intuitive way that uses straightforward language.

Second, “human touch” is important to many of our members as they learn about their options. That’s why our team of licensed advisors is available year-round to help with anything benefits related. Some members prefer to shop and learn on their own using our web-based tools. For others, there is no substitute for having an empathetic human being working with them in person or over the phone.

“Smart tech and human touch” work together, too. Many members opt to utilize our smart technology and when they get stuck in the shopping process or want to confirm details about their coverage, they reach out to a Gravie advisor and get help they need.

Reinventing benefits for employers and employees comes from better communication and understanding. Applying Gravie’s “smart tech, human touch” approach bridges the knowledge gap, eliminating risky assumptions and reducing potential costs. To find out more about how Gravie does it, contact us today.