Boost employee satisfaction and confidence with in-person benefits education

Do you invest significant resources into putting together a strong benefits package only to be left wondering why your employees are dissatisfied with their benefits?

Your company’s delivery of benefits education could be the answer.

That’s because offering good benefits is just one piece of the puzzle. Educating employees about their benefits in the most helpful way possible is just as important as the package itself. Because when employees don’t feel confident in their understanding of their benefits, they’re less likely to be satisfied.

To explore the importance of benefits education delivery, in 2023 Optavise surveyed 1,061 employees with employer-sponsored health plans. We found that the most utilized resources for teaching employees about their health plans don’t align with what employees say are the most helpful resources, and this disconnect results in a 3% decrease in employee understanding of how their health plans work over just one year’s time.

The biggest disconnect between employers and employees relates to digital versus in-person education. We found that digital benefits education is most utilized, with use of online resources increasing 10% year over year and use of emails increasing 6% over the same period.

Despite these increases, employees say digital education isn’t as helpful as in-person conversations or presentations with HR or benefits educators.  For example, employees say learning from a 1:1 conversation with a benefits educator is 22% more helpful than learning from an online resource and 70% more helpful than learning from an email.

We also found that learning from a benefits educator rather than digitally boosts employee confidence in their understanding of how their health plan works. Employees who learn from a 1:1 conversation with a benefits educator are 14% more confident than if they learn from an online resource and they’re 11% more confident than if they learned from an email.

With HR teams already stretched thin, it’s understandable why so many employers rely on digital resources for teaching employees about benefits. After all, it’s much easier to send an email with pertinent information than to orchestrate group presentations or 1:1 meetings, especially at workplaces where employees work different shifts or remotely.

This is where third-party benefits educators—such as Optavise—can help greatly. Educators act as an extension of HR teams and are available to meet with employees 1:1 onsite or virtually based on their schedules.

Educators can help employees understand available options and guide them to the benefits that meet their unique needs and wants, ultimately empowering employees to make confident decisions and maximize value.  With help from benefits educators, employers and employees could experience these advantages:

• No hidden benefits: Employees will be aware of all the benefits offered and understand how benefits can help them, improving employee satisfaction and experience.
• Educated benefits elections: Employees will be empowered to select the plans that make the most sense for their unique needs.
• Awareness of benefits owned: Employees will know what benefits they signed up for and how to utilize them.
• More healthcare literacy: Employees will have better understanding of important benefit concepts, such as in-network providers, preventive care, and management of out-of-pocket costs.
• Better appreciation of benefits: Employees who understand their benefits are more likely to appreciate their benefits.

Want more? Check out our blogs, 6 tips to help your employees get the most out of their 2024 benefits and What your employees need to know when the plan year starts.

Optavise is your benefits partner
Optavise provides personalized employee benefits solutions to help employers and their employees optimize their benefits and make better health and financial decisions. Optavise offers a unique combination of innovative technology, flexible voluntary benefits, and experts who educate and communicate with employees about their benefits