Employing the Side Hustle Generation

Millennials are the hustle generation. More than any generation (by a long shot) millennials are building their empires outside of their 9-5 jobs. In a survey by CareerBuilder, 44% of employees between ages 25-34 have some sort of side job, or ‘side-hustle’ as it is more commonly refer to.

 So why is the side hustle so important to millennials?  A few reasons:

First, this generation no longer subscribes to the idea that they will stay in one job for their entire careers. Today, successful careers are made by climbing the ‘jungle gym, not the corporate ladder” as Sheryl Sandburg outlined in her book “Lean In”, encouraging ambitious young employees to think broadly about their career aspirations and more creatively about their next steps than their grandparents did.  They want a full breadth of professional experiences to round out their careers and make them stronger candidates. A side-hustle oftentimes allows a millennial to learn new skills and build their resume in a way that a their 9-5 may allow.

Second, this is the generation that watched their parent’s worlds come crashing down in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.  An entire generation of loyal and hardworking employees were suddenly left without the safety nets of their salaries.  They lost their jobs, their homes, their 401k’s and their life’s savings. Because of that, Millennials have recognized the need to build their own safety nets by cobbling together streams of income that don’t all come from one place. 

Third, a side hustle can provide a creative outlet that is unavailable within the confines of three cubicle walls. It provides an opportunity to stretch out and grow something on their own, a way to keep one foot in a passion that otherwise would have fallen to the wayside.

So what does this mean for the old world of the 9-5 grind and how can employers and HR teams tasked with inspiring and focusing their employees compete with the side-hustle?  Well it is important to keep a few things in mind:

 

1)      Lean in and acknowledge it:

Don’t back away from acknowledging that many of your employees have interests outside of the office walls.  For many, it is something they are proud of, something that speaks to who they are and what sparks their interests, especially when it is of a creative nature.

 

Let employees talk about their passion, consider setting up a lunch and learn opportunity to let employees speak to what they’re doing. Let them talk about it.  Let them support each other and hear what others are doing.

 

Just because their attention might not be singularly honed does not mean that they are giving any less to their main job. In fact, in many cases, the business skills that someone learns from their side hustle will make them better and more out of the box thinkers when it comes to their main hustle.

 

And a company and culture that is mature enough to accept that employees are three-dimensional people with interests outside of work will only earn the respect of their employees all the more.

 

2)      This is not (always) about money:

It is important to understand that the side hustle is not all about the money.  More often, it is about security. The average millennial is asking themselves “If I lose my job tomorrow, how will I pay my phone bill? Will I be out on the street”. They don’t want to be caught unprepared and in the lurch in the event of layoffs.  Don’t automatically assume that someone with a side hustle is looking to take their side hustle into full time employment and quite their 9-5 job, or that they can’t make their ends meet and are looking elsewhere for work. 

To achieve greater financial stability, our grandparents might have purchased dividend paying stocks, Millennials are driving for Uber or selling protein shakes.

3)      Don’t worry about employees using work time to work on their side hustle:

Millennials are not the 9-5’ers of the past.  They are not tied to being in the office, nor do they think of their full time gig as happening within the four walls of their office. 

Give them flexibility and the respect to the business of their lives.  They might send an email or two for their side hustle during work hours, but it’s safe to say that they’ll be hustling for their main gig in the wee hours of the morning and on weekends.  They don’t see their cubicle as their workspace, they see their phone as their workspace, and we all know millennials are never without their phones.

 

In conclusion, if today’s HR professionals opt to embrace the side hustles of their employees, it will only add to the company culture and instill your employees with a sense of trust in you as their employer.  Side hustles are not a threat to the 9-5 job, but oftentimes an enhancement that will add value to your workforce.

Managing Millennials

Managing Millennials

The characteristics that define the millennial generation, and how management decisions can help companies tap into these employees' full potential.

By Amy Christofis | April 20, 2016 at 04:21 PM | Originally published on Treasuryandrisk.Com

 

“I don’t get out of bed for less than a million dollars.” 

This quote summarizes the culture of entitlement many assume is rife in the millennial generation. In fact, in HR offices across the country, managers, and recruiters complain that millennials are lazy, selfish, and entitled.

That perception is wrong. 

Time and time again, studies has shown that millennials (now the largest generation in the workforce) are more productive, creative, and tech-savvy than any generation before them. 

And by the way, it wasn’t a millennial that said “I don’t get out of bed for less than a million dollars.” It was Bruce Willis, in a bad action movie.

 

What Makes a Millennial a Millennial?

So how can companies and HR departments get the most out of the millennials working for them? Millennials, also known as Gen Y, have come of age in an entirely different economic climate than previous generations. Their expectations for their careers and their relationship with their employer is different than what HR has seen in the past, and it is necessary for HR to tap into and adapt to what motivates the millennial generation.

Doing so will push a company forward and drive the bottom line. Failing to do so will be cataclysmic to the corporate culture and the organization’s ability to effectively propel growth.

Millennials have grown up during a time in which technology is prevalent in their lives. They are comfortable with technology in a way that their predecessors are not. It infiltrates their everyday life: from how and where they work and how they consume entertainment to how they interact with their friends and family.

Many see social networking platforms as an extension of themselves and their careers. Millennials really view themselves as the CEOs of their own careers, no longer beholden to slogging through the 9-to-5 in order to move up the corporate ladder. They are proactive and aggressive in pursuing their next big opportunity, and they view social media as a way to promote themselves and their agenda, their calling card to the world.  

In fact, millennials have moved the needle in terms of work-life balance. They don’t expect to sit in their cubicles from 9 to 5. They want flexibility in their work location and hours. However, on the flip side of that, they are more connected to their work than generations before, often logging nontraditional work hours that better fit into their lives. 

Being more connected means they expect more paid time off and the ability to “unplug” to feel better refreshed and more productive when they are working. This is the first generation that scholars expect to be less financially secure than their parent’s generation. This group acutely feels that reality and, because of that, they have placed a higher value on building an overall life and existence that makes them happy and fulfilled, rather than a career sprint to make themselves rich. 

Additionally, the way in which millennials view their relationship with their employer holds some stark contrasts to what HR has seen in the past. They expect their relationship with their supervisor to be more than just a formal annual review. Millennials value frequent and consistent feedback from their bosses.

 

They want that relationship to be more like coaching than top-down leadership. In fact, 69 percent of millennials view their companies review structure as a flawed process. They value feedback and growth so highly that they will actively seek them out, which oftentimes results in switching jobs and moving employers.

 

Re-evaluating Your Benefits Approach

In terms of employee benefits, this generation (ages 16 to 36) often values coverage outside of the typical medical-dental-vision product suite that was par for the course in any benefit offering 10 or 20 years ago. Millennials value more paid time off, as well as the ability to work from home (or a coffee shop), and they place more value on matching employer contributions to their retirement account.

They also value things like a positive and progressive corporate culture, snacks in the office kitchen, and a focus and dedication to diversity. Perhaps most important, they value their ability to make a meaningful contribution.

The old adage of “40 hours to work, 40 hours to sleep, and 40 hours to do with what you will” is no longer true with the millennial generation. No group will work harder or contribute more than millennials—if their needs in the workplace are understood and met. It is evident that HR departments that can adjust to the changing needs of the millennial generation will provide immense value to their organization by really capturing the value that millennials bring. It may require some creative solutions and out of-the-box policies, but the opportunity cost of not tapping into what makes this generation different and unique is a gamble that most organizations cannot afford to make.

The Bright Future of Non-Traditional Employee Benefits

as originally seen in BenefitsPro on February 5, 2018

In today’s world, when access to medical coverage is on the political chopping block every week and there are many questions about what health insurance will look like in a few years (much less in the weeks to come), I believe the near-term trajectory of employer-sponsored medical insurance will be much less dramatic. Most employers will choose to “stay the course,” rather than tweak plan designs by moving deductibles and copays up or down. And forgoing the opportunity to make big changes will likely earn them some employee loyalty points – at least in the short term – given the uncertainty coming from Washington, D.C. on healthcare.  

However, we will experience a shift in the HR world. Specifically, a broadening of how HR professionals see their roles in managing employee benefits as a whole – not only in the workplace, but also in an employee’s overall life. Why? Because employees are working longer hours than ever before, glued to their laptops at work, home, on the road, and in many cases, on vacation. This has led to an increase in mental “burn out,” pushing employees to switch jobs more frequently. That’s where non-traditional benefits can play a key role, and where I believe we’ll see the biggest change in our industry in the next few years.

In fact, large employers with a lot of resources at their disposal, such as Google and Facebook, have already lead the charge in this burgeoning area of employee benefits. New workplace enhancements, such as nap pods and free, chef-prepared meals may sound unusual to some, but have all made office life much more enjoyable. I expect smaller employers to take notice and grab on to these kinds of employee benefits.

Holistic Healthcare

Holistic medicinal services, such as acupuncture, cupping, chiropractic care and massage therapy will continue to grow in popularity as people search for new ways to stay healthy, fend off common ailments, ease stress and maintain youthfulness. In fact, according to Connecture’s 2017 healthcare consumer survey, certain generations – in particular Millennials and GenXers – are more open than ever to these kind of services as a means to staying healthy.   

While much of this is outside the realm of what any practicing physician would prescribe (or carrier would cover), public acceptance of these types of wellness practices is steadily increasing. Particularly for self-funded employers that are turning to high deductible health plans, these non-traditional healthcare options can easily be included in their benefits programs so that payment of services go toward fulfilling deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Dental

Dental is certainly more of a traditional ancillary product in our industry, but I think we’ll see some interesting and nuanced changes within this benefit option, too. Specifically, for companies with many client-facing employees (e.g., sales and account teams), appearance is increasingly important, and historically, dental plans cover almost nothing in terms of cosmetic procedures. However, it’s likely that Calendar Year Maximums will increase to an average of $2,000 (from the current $1,500) and Adult Orthodontia coverage will become more common, making it easier for employees to put forward their best foot (or tooth, in this case).

Technology

Who could have imagined 10 or 15 years ago that the average person would have access to a private driver at their door any hour of the day (thanks, Uber and Lyft!). Or, could get groceries delivered to their kitchen through a mobile app (thanks, InstaCart!). Technology has given the non-billionaires among us access to services that make almost anything more convenient and within arm’s reach. This trend will continue as more employers help cover the monthly costs for various health and wellness-focused apps, such as Aaptiva for personal training, Headspace for meditation and Dryv for delivery dry cleaning and laundry services, etc. I mean, who doesn’t like coming home to clean, folded laundry?

Family Policies

The competition for quality employees will only get steeper as jobs require more specialty skill sets. As a result, we will see more employers embracing policies that make balancing family and job easier for their staff.  This will include adopting family leave policies that far exceed the federal mandates, implementing paid leave for new parents and even on-site day care options.


Student Load Payment Plans

There are currently 44 million Americans with student loan debt and student loan debt in the U.S. is more than $1.3 trillion.  As employers continue to chase quality talent, we will also see that talent accrue advanced degrees and, therefore, more debt. Employers will continue (or begin) to offer student loan repayment options to employees to help ease the financial burden of higher education, thereby improving employee loyalty and the chances they will stay with the company year over year.

While the aforementioned forecasts are tactical, in the months ahead there will be a shift in HR mentality from a standard ‘check the box’ on employee initiatives and benefits, to a more strategic attempt to help employees achieve balance in their overall lives. Doing so will ensure that these employers will be viewed as forward-thinking companies among new applicants and current staff, and enabling them to better attract and retain the best and brightest for years to come.

Managing Millennials Employee with Voluntary Benefits and a Portfolio Approach

Originally printed in BenefitsPro Magazine on August 12, 2016

By Amy Christofis

 

“Millennials” is a term tossed around seemingly everywhere these days with articles promising Ouija board like intel on what makes this seemingly indecipherable generation tick.

But the truth is that all people, even millennials, are individuals – each has his or her own individual desires, needs, motivations and concerns. It is essential to understand that each individual has a unique set of values that define who they are and the unique circumstances that inform the way in which they make a buying decision.  This holds true for employee benefit programs: HR and benefits pros must first and foremost acknowledge the individuality and uniqueness of the employee, regardless of their generational label, and then transform their approach to the benefits they provide to better meet that reality.

 

But there are common themes within the Millennial generation that come up again and again that account for how they view their world; and understanding those themes is essential to understanding their needs and harnessing their potential.

 

Changing Times

According to Pew Research, one in three workers today is part of the millennial generation. While the exact years vary depending on the source, generally speaking millennials were born between 1980 and 2000 – which means even more of them will be entering the workforce in the coming years.

 

Why should that matter to employers? After all, generational changes have happened for as long as companies have existed. The difference with Millennials is three-fold:

 

·         Millennials’ career expectations are drastically different than generations before them.

·         Millennials are poised to become the most effective, efficient, and strategic generation that the workforce has seen.

·         The collective experiences of Millennials have drastically shaped what they value and how they are likely to purchase insurance-related products.   

 

The Millennial Reality

When previous generations entered the workforce, the general expectation was that they would do better economically than their parents. That is not the case today with Millennials.

 

An average Millennial college graduate is saddled with roughly $35,000 in student loan debt. Millions more who attended college but didn’t graduate also face staggering amounts of student loan debt…with no diploma to show for what often becomes a de facto lifelong mortgage.

 

Despite being the most-educated generation ever, Millennials entering the workforce in the 2000s were hurt by several severe shocks from a weak economy. Wages were so low that for the first time in recent history living with their parents was at the top of living arrangements for a single generation. And many Millennials still struggle with basic life expenses, so much so that often they are choosing to remain on their parent’s medical plans for as long as possible (up to age 26).

 

One final factor: Millennials are also far more likely to change jobs than preceding generations, making it more challenging to attract and especially retain great talent. Engaging them with benefit options that match their needs and life outlook is a transformational challenge for today’s organizations.

 

All of this may seemingly paint a bleak picture for HR and benefit pros and brokers trying to understand what benefits will prove, well, most beneficial to Millennials. Given their lot in life so far, it’s understandable why Millennials are more focused on the tangible here-and-now, than they are with anticipating the uncertainty of what is to come over the long term.

 

 

Let’s Get Digital

Another significant difference is that Millennials never knew a day without computers. They grew up with social media as part of their DNA and continue to embrace the concept of using digital platforms to express themselves in a blurring of their professional and personal lives.

 

Think about it: Millennials view filling out paper forms and reading through hard copy information the way Boomers and Gex Xers view going to a well to obtain water to drink, cook and bathe.

 

This embrace of communications and work technology also transforms the way Millennials blend their work and personal lives, compared to previous generations. They check email constantly, even if they wake up in the middle of the night, are on vacation, attending a family gathering or at some other non-work function.

 

Basically, there isn’t such a thing as office or business hours any more – the demands of their job are omnipresent, in the office, at home, at the ball fields with their kids, or on a night out with their spouse.

 

Going Deep into the Millennial Psyche

In exchange for this ”always on” dedication, Millennials expect – indeed, demand –  to be able to take care of personal business during traditional work hours, whether that means going to the doctor’s office in the middle of the day, leaving early to meet up with friends, or working from home or the local Starbucks.

 

This represents a fascinating look deep into the psyche of Millennials. They don’t want to just work hard – they want to be recognized and rewarded for working hard. They want to feel their company sees them as special individuals, rather than cogs in the machine pushing out wickets. And it wants the company to invest in helping them achieve personal successes as well as professional – not just one at the expense of the other.

 

Unlike previous generations that expected once-a-year performance review, in moving through the career paths of today’s fast-moving corporate world, Millennials crave immediate and constant feedback, real-time coaching and mentoring from supervisors. The more they believe the organization is helping them develop and improve their skills and performance, the happier they are.

 

When you take all of those generational factors into account, it quickly becomes apparent that traditional benefits such as medical healthcare plans won’t hold as much appeal to Millennials as they did to previous generations.

 

This is especially true for those living at home and still on their parents’ health plan. A young, healthy person with no spouse or child-raising responsibilities may not see much need for anything beyond catastrophic health coverage. When you’re already struggling to make ends meet your eye is more on what’s in front of you than what might be down the road.

 

What does appeal greatly to them, however, are benefits that help them achieve greater health and financial security, especially ones that have an immediate and tangible impact to their bottom line.

 

Building a Millennial Portfolio of Benefits

Vision care is just one example of the type of voluntary benefits that make organizations more attractive to Millennials. Roughly 75 percent of all adults need some form of vision correction. Getting an eye exam and purchasing glasses without insurance costs around $600 on average. That’s a big hit to take for a Millennial who is already struggling to pay for everyday living expenses. Particularly in light of a study that showed Millennials is the generation least-prepared to meet unexpected financial costs.

Offering vision benefits that cost only a few dollars per month adds tremendous value to a benefits portfolio.

 

So how do employers make sure that they are using benefits to meet the needs of Millennials as well as all generations represented in their workforce while also accounting for the fact that all employees are individuals and have unique needs and circumstances? Employers and brokers need to start viewing employee benefits as a way to provide employees with a custom-made portfolio of products by offering many different options to suit many different needs.  This portfolio approach to benefits allow employees to customize the products that are best for themselves and their families.  Voluntary and other types of non-traditional benefits, such as gym memberships, wellness programs, tuition reimbursement, transit benefits, dental, and the ability to take advantage of flex time or working virtually at least part of the time helps employees develop a package that will enhance their health and financial security. But a customized benefits package rings especially true for Millennials, because it meets them where they are in their lives and on their budget.

 

Through the portfolio approach, organizations are acknowledging that employees are individuals with their own unique needs and challenges, and that they may not all value the same things.  That is a bold statement for an employer to make and one that will give them access to a dynamic, diligent and hard-working employee pool of Millennials.

 

Want to have an even greater impact with Millennials in the competition for their skills? Then making those benefits easy to understand and easy to use through technology platforms. And make sure information and outreach are available throughout the year, rather than just during the enrollment period, to ensure Millennials understand and are able to maximize the value of their benefits.

 

And the same is true for brokers who want to grow their books of business by adding voluntary benefits. It is essential that brokers provide voluntary benefits in a way that is easily understandable while also encouraging employees to use the products they’re purchasing (except, of course, for catastrophic type plans).  Leveraging the power of a comprehensive digital platform is the easiest way to achieve this, and also prevents overloading an already stressed HR professional or broker.

 

There are several other tips and tricks Millennials find valuable as well. For instance, advice provided online about whether to stay in network or go out of network for services will make their life easier, not to mention helping their pocketbooks. Also, moving services online that Millennials would normally have to go out of their way for, such as shopping for glasses, helps them feel engaged within their organization – and reminds them of the intrinsic value your organization brings to their lives throughout each and every day.

 

Tying the Threads Together

These are just a few of the threads of continuity that run through the experiences and expectations of the individuals who collectively make up the generation labeled the “Millennials.” It is important for benefits pros and brokers to transform their organizations benefits offerings to align better with what both the individual and the generational Millennials value – benefits that reflect the real world in which all generations in today’s workforce think about the interconnections between their careers, their employers, and their personal lives.  

4 Tips to a Successful Benefits Technology Implementation for HR

By Amy Christofis

Originally published on BenefitsPro on June 26, 2017

You’ve been in HR since before you can remember and you’ve just gotten the order that the company will be ‘going green’ for the next Open Enrollment (OE).  Yes, you’ll save on paper cuts and the time it takes to hunt down everyone’s forms and applications, but an online enrollment?!

While this is a big project, with the right tech partner and preparation, you can go green in no time.

1)      Choosing your best-fit vendor partner.

The first and probably most important step of the process is choosing the right benefits technology vendor. You and your consultant may opt for a formal RFP process, or a less formal ‘market check’ to see what is available. Make sure that you have a good understanding of the landscape. Some technology vendors may specialize in employers with 10,000+ employees, some may really focus on small to mid-size employers. Understand if your vendors are appropriate for your company’s size and industry.

You will also want any potential vendors to understand what you are trying to accomplish. Is this change meant to make benefits shopping easier and more informative for employees? Is your goal to increase operational efficiency for your HR team? All the above? Be sure to fully understand your goals and articulate them clearly to any potential partner. Also, your broker/consultant should be there every step of the way in choosing a technology partner: crafting an RFP, attending finalist meetings, helping you weigh the options and providing context throughout the implementation. The right broker partner should play an instrumental role in this process and should act as an extension of your team.

2)      Know your timeline.

Let’s be honest, the six weeks leading up to OE are likely the busiest time of the year for your HR team. It’s also the time each year when you might think, “I really wish we could do OE online this year! Should that cross your mind, take a step back because that’s usually NOT the right time to change your entire benefits enrollment process. Instead, make sure that an initiative as big and important as choosing and implementing a new benefits technology is made strategically and with plenty of time to do it right. We have seen that the most successful implementations typically begin about six months before the OE window. This allows plenty of time to complete the implementation and for the end user (i.e., HR) to get comfortable with the new system before the frantic pace of OE strikes.

3)      Know your benefits.

This probably seems obvious, but the more prepared you are before the implementation process begins, the smoother things will go. Gather all your plan booklets, know your plan rules, and the ins and outs of your benefit program. Moving from a paper process to a technology platform will likely raise questions about your plan rules that you aren’t forced to think about every day, but it will be important to get them right for a smooth transition. Collecting all your documents ahead of time, and getting clear on the rules applicable to your population, will help keep the process moving.

4)      Communicate.

Use this new technology platform as an opportunity to re-vamp your company’s approach to employee benefits. If benefits have been something that have been glossed over in the past, leverage this time to really stress to employees the value and richness of your benefit offerings. Communications leading up to OE should be clear and steady, notifying employees of any plan changes and also of the new technology that the company has chosen to invest in for their benefit. 

 

Additionally, the right technology partner’s enrollment site should reiterate the value of your benefits program by offering key information and tools, such as concrete examples of the employer’s contribution and decision-support tools that help the employee make smart decisions for themselves and their families. This will further drive home your department’s commitment to caring for your employees and investing in their future at your organization, which is what employee benefits are all about.

Finally, throw away your Band-Aids and book your vacation! If you choose the right tech vendor, clearly set your goals and priorities, prepare appropriately for your implementation, and communicate effectively to employees, then your enrollment should go that much more smoothly. Ultimately, this will allow you to focus on initiatives other than onboarding and OE, while giving your Executive Team something else to smile about.

Source: http://www.benefitspro.com/2017/06/26/4-ti...

A Career Where the Insurance Industry and Technology Meet →

A career where the insurance industry and technology meet

by Bob Calandra for LifeHealth Pro magazine

Amy Christofis followed an interest in health care and economics to a job that leverages technology to help employers, employees, providers and insurance companies. (Photo: Amy Christofis)

When Amy Christofis has an investment question she doesn’t hesitate to tap her friends in the financial world for guidance.

It’s good having a friend in the business.

For her millennial friends who have questions about which health insurance plan they should choose, that friend is Christofis.

“I’ve had friends call me and say 'I'm going through open enrollment and I don’t know which of these three plans are going to be the best,’ ” Christofis says. “I have knowledge that the everyday person doesn’t necessarily have access to and doesn’t have the expertise that I do.”

Christofis shares that knowledge and expertise five days a week with her clients as an account executive for Connecture, a web-based consumer shopping, enrollment and retention platform for health insurance distribution.

An economics major “intrigued” by a health care world, Christofis took a job as a broker/consultant right out of college. Seven years of “really diving into it and exploring” led her to the intersection where employer, employee, health care provider and insurance company converge.

“I felt that the way that the industry was going the technology piece was where there was the most growth and the most need from the employer's perspective,” says Christofis, 33. “I ended up coming over to the technology side.”

The road to the technology side led straight to Connecture. Located in a neighborhood away from the Loop, Chicago’s downtown commercial core, Christofis says the company’s office is pretty laid back and typical for a young, high-tech company.

“We have a really great, very cool loft space with an open floor plan and a great ping-pong table,” she says. “I like to think that we are a little bit cooler. We’re out of the norm.”

You would think that all that coolness would scare more traditional, conservative employers and insurance companies. Apparently that isn’t so. Connecture doesn’t have “an average” client, Christofis says. The company’s clients span the country and run the gamut from older, more established businesses to younger entrepreneurs. 

“I would say that the thing that probably ties them together is sort of the feeling that they recognize that technology is solving a problem for them or is solving an issue for them,” she says. “I think they all kind of see technology as helping them do their jobs.”  

Much of Christofis’ day is spent on the phone talking to clients and insurance carriers. Discussions during telephone sessions depend on how long the client has been with Connecture. For instance, a call with a new client focuses more on the nuts and bolts information necessary to onboard it to the company’s platform.

“They might still be making decisions on plans they’re offering to their employees, what products they are going to be offering folks, and what the contribution structure is going to look like,” she says.

Christofis’ job in those cases is to suggest ideas and programs that Connecture knows has worked for other clients. Telephone talks with established Connecture clients are completely different. If that client is approaching an open enrollment period, Christofis will ask questions like what the client’s goals for open enrollment are, what are its financial goals and what gaps in coverage are they trying to fill.

 

“Being in this role and having my previous life as a broker/consultant have given me a lot of knowledge,” she says. “There are a lot of things that I learned, things that worked well that are transferable client-to-client. We have a good understanding of the different paths clients can take and we are more than happy to relay those lessons learned.”

Her day is completed by standing calls with several carriers to load the website - or “stock the shelves” in Connecture speak — with their products. She will also handle employee issues that cross her desk.

“Maybe there was a claim that was denied or an issue with information that we transmit over to the insurance carrier,” she says.

As health care costs continue in an upward spiral, many employers are reducing choices to cut costs. But choice, Christofis says, is “important to employees.” And the kicker, Christofis says, is that choice doesn’t necessarily mean really expensive medical plans.

“We’ve done quite a few studies around that,” Christofis says. “The choice could mean voluntary products, things that are relatively inexpensive but provide a significant amount of value to employees that they really appreciate and are important to them.”

Christofis lists among those voluntary products things like vision and dental insurance, and identify theft protection.

“Policies like that employees are buying in higher numbers than most employers would anticipate,” she says. “In a lot of instances those are products that the employer is chipping in a little bit but in a lot of instances those are products being bought entirely on a voluntary basis.”

Offering those products may mean a small employer contribution but it could pay off in happier, more productive employees. And since Christofis believes that employer-based health insurance is going to be around for the foreseeable future, it just might make sense to consider adding voluntary products.

“I think there are a lot of untapped or underappreciated areas that have a lot of value,” she says.

Connecture’s office doesn’t have a fancy address in the Loop or along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. But that doesn’t matter to Christofis. She believes she’s at the right intersection for her career. Technology’s role in health care insurance, she says, is just getting started and is only going to get better, run smoother, and become more important to employers, employees, providers, and insurance companies. She wants to be right there when it does.

“So certainly I don’t see myself moving away from this intersection anytime soon,” she says.

She does, however, see is a change in focus from meeting the needs of employers to making life easier for employees.

“When we look five or 10 years down the road I think that the focus is going to shift to how can we better meet the needs and desires of employees,” she says. “How can we better give them products and an experience that is going to make their lives better and easier? It’s subtle but I think it’s an important shift.”    

Three Rules To Keeping Employees Engaged — After Open Enrollment

02/03/16

This blog post first appeared in Employee Benefit News (January 25, 2016).

What happens after open enrollment is over? It’s back to business as usual for employees while HR returns to the issues they put on hold for the month (or more) leading up to plan effective dates. Yet, there is a huge (and often missed) opportunity for employers and HR departments alike, where brokers and consultants can step in to help and keep their value proposition at the forefront of clients’ minds.

If employee benefits are truly to be seen as a value-add, there are three rules you must encourage your clients to follow.

 

 

  1. Make the Benefit Offerings Visible – It used to be that only a group’s sickest employees knew their benefits inside and out. Constantly utilizing the benefits made them familiar with the intricacies of how the policies worked. But today, employees want to see what their money is going towards, and they want to understand how their employers are contributing to their benefits. They expect to at least be aware of what is available to them, and not just in the last two or three weeks of open enrollment. To achieve this, employees need access to information about their benefits year-round through technology that not only lets them see what they’ve enrolled in, but also helps them understand their benefits and how to get the most out of them. Provider directories and having access to online glossaries that define terms (such as “coinsurance” and “out-of-pocket maximum”) keep benefits at the forefront of employees’ minds no matter the time of year, and help them see the real value of what their employers offer.
  2. Include Diversity in Benefit Products – We know that all employees are unique – they have different risk tolerances, financial situations, and health concerns. HR must keep their focus on providing a suite of benefits that satisfy the needs of their entire population. How? Encourage them to offer a diverse range of products outside just the standard medical plans. Coverage like critical illness or accident policies, even pet insurance. Offering more than the typical coverage suite gets employees to really think holistically about their benefits, where there might be gaps, and how to fill those gaps over time.
  3. Help Employees Improve Health and Financial Security – Employees should finish each open enrollment season thinking to themselves, “Wow, my employer really cares about me.” That can happen when they believe that their employer truly has their health and financial security in mind. We know from recent workplace studies that when employees feel healthy and financially secure, they are much more productive during work hours. So, giving employees access to the right combination of insurance products is key. But it’s also important to provide decision-support technology beyond the point of enrollment, such as financial wellness tools, that can help employees understand how to make the connection between their health and financial security, no matter what stage of life they are in (e.g., having a new baby).

If done properly, with a whole-life perspective, the right benefits technology and the right suite of products and decision-support tools, HR can use the entire year to show employees they are a vital part of an organization that truly cares about them.

Brokers, The Rise Of Benefits Technology And The ‘No-Flip-Phone' Approach

Originally posted on the ConnectedHealth blog (www.connectedhealth.com/category/blog)

03/17/16

Last week I had the opportunity to attend and participate in the Workplace Benefits Renaissance conference in Atlantic City. The conference focused on the issues and solutions that Human Resource professionals and broker/consultants will face in the near future. Many of the speakers, myself included, touched or focused on the greater role that technology will continue to take on in the HR departments in companies of every size.

It’s interesting to be in a banquet room full of folks on their smart phones – checking emails, texting, checking the balance on their bank accounts, staying in constant touch with clients, colleagues, and loved ones – and to watch them as they have such visceral reactions when the conversation turned to how technology is increasingly infiltrating the role of employee benefits. During one session, a presenter brought up one particular benefits technology company in his slideshow. A broker a few tables in front of me, perpetually on his cellphone, blurted out “experience does matter, those guys have no idea what they’re doing,” interrupting the presentation and showing visible disdain for the company that has been sweeping up small group business by providing their technology cost free to employers.

So why this level of discomfort with technology from a group of seemingly connected and contemporary individuals?

  1. I think most brokers/consultants want to protect their book of business, and they see technology companies (such as the model of taking over Broker Of Record (BOR)) as a direct threat to their bottom line.
  2. Many are concerned that helping their clients implement technology may make them obsolete in the long run.
  3. Many don’t understand how technology can complement their roles, and they are afraid of tying themselves to a vendor only to have it be the wrong solution or cause an issue in their relationship with their client.

A deeper understanding of benefits technology can address all of these issues and help a broker/consultant stand out from the pack and have significant impact on the growth of their book of business.

To be clear, benefits technology is not an iPhone. Technology in an HR context is not one size fits all and one solution is not right for every employer. Once brokers begin to understand the nuances in services, structure, cost, and capabilities, they can begin the process of helping their clients really find an appropriate solution.

  1. Not all technology firms are chasing BOR on group business. In fact, most work on a per employee per month basis (PEPM) and intend to leave broker services to the experts. Know your partners and their intentions; a good technology partner will bring a great solution to the table and leave the brokering to the brokers.
  2. I ran across a quote the other day that said “Man is a slow, sloppy, and brilliant thinker; the machine is fast, accurate, and stupid.” I believe that technology will never replace humans in devising the kind of strategic and complex solutions to the difficult problems facing organizations and HR departments today. Even if it might one day, that is many, many decades in the future. The role of the strategic, thoughtful broker/consultant is irreplaceable.
  3. HR technology solutions are as vast as the array of apps on your cell phone. Listening to several of the sessions at the Workplace Benefits Renaissance, I began to get a glimpse of that array. Every company represented had a different outlook on the role technology played for their clients and the gamut of approaches seemed infinite. When you as a broker/consultant start the process of finding a solution for your client, you have to know what they are hoping to achieve, their overall style and culture, and the needs of their demographics — because picking the right partner will be essential in a successful relationship.

At the end of the day, the brokers and consultants that prove capable of helping usher their clients into a more tech-savvy place will ultimately be the ones that succeed in this rapidly changing landscape. No one wants to do business with the only person in the room still using a flip phone.

This post originally appeared on the ConnectedHealth blog (http://www.connectedhealth.com/category/blog/)

Associations: Growing Membership Through Employee Benefits Technology

09/17/15

Associations are finding themselves in a tight squeeze these days. While the industries that associations operate in are varied, their problems garnering membership seem to be the thread that runs through the majority of associations’ struggles. For members, connecting with like-minded individuals is as easy as hunting someone down on LinkedIn or performing a quick Google search, and corporations are battling decreasing budgets and resources that are more readily available free of charge.

To stay competitive, associations need to differentiate themselves and start getting creative about how they solve their members’ pain points. Instead of looking at industry-specific problems, associations should address the issues employers face that make running their business harder.

At ConnectedHealth we’ve had the opportunity to work very closely with several associations across the country and have helped them add to their value proposition and bolster their membership through our private exchange technology. Here are a few things we’ve learned.

First, the associations we’ve partnered with have recognized that employee benefits are a huge pain point for employers everywhere. Benefits costs are commonly the second highest expenditure for employers, second only to salary; not to mention the drastic administrative toll it takes on business small and large. Employers are constantly looking for ways to cut costs while still offering competitive benefits and stay compliant with the ACA. The reporting and compliance components of the ACA have become another large hurdle that employers are frantically trying to solve. Second, today’s HR professionals have a lot of responsibility and their duties extend far beyond just benefits. As HR gets pulled into more and more directions, it is imperative to find efficiencies where possible, and some of the most obvious are automating the benefits process.

So, how do associations help meet these needs?

  • Allow small business owners to find easy and affordable healthcare options, either on a group basis or on individual basis.
    • Group insurance gets companies off of paper enrollments, frees up hours of time in HR as the processing becomes automatic, and allows for extensive reporting.
    • Individual insurance would allow employers to drop their group coverage all together while ushering employees to an easy solution for their healthcare needs.
  • Help take administrative burden off of all businesses, especially HR. From automating Open Enrollment and new hire elections, to running reports, and syncing with payroll, automating benefits can be a huge time and cost saving measure.
  • Partner with a technology solution that simplifies the benefit selection process for individuals, solves the reporting requirements, and eases the administrative burden on HR and administrators.

The bottom line is that insurance is an area where businesses small and large are struggling; it is a very real tax (no pun intended) on their time and resources that distracts them from the job that they are in business to do. If associations can bring a solution to the table to help solve for this business need, they stand to make themselves a valuable resource to their members. Providing a technology solution that makes insurance easy is a great way for associations to differentiate themselves as they compete for membership. Choosing the right partner to help solve the problem is imperative.

This post originally appeared on the ConnectedHealth blog (http://www.connectedhealth.com/category/blog/)

Associations: Growing Membership Through Employee Benefits Technology

09/17/15

Associations are finding themselves in a tight squeeze these days. While the industries that associations operate in are varied, their problems garnering membership seem to be the thread that runs through the majority of associations’ struggles. For members, connecting with like-minded individuals is as easy as hunting someone down on LinkedIn or performing a quick Google search, and corporations are battling decreasing budgets and resources that are more readily available free of charge.

To stay competitive, associations need to differentiate themselves and start getting creative about how they solve their members’ pain points. Instead of looking at industry-specific problems, associations should address the issues employers face that make running their business harder.

At ConnectedHealth we’ve had the opportunity to work very closely with several associations across the country and have helped them add to their value proposition and bolster their membership through our private exchange technology. Here are a few things we’ve learned.

First, the associations we’ve partnered with have recognized that employee benefits are a huge pain point for employers everywhere. Benefits costs are commonly the second highest expenditure for employers, second only to salary; not to mention the drastic administrative toll it takes on business small and large. Employers are constantly looking for ways to cut costs while still offering competitive benefits and stay compliant with the ACA. The reporting and compliance components of the ACA have become another large hurdle that employers are frantically trying to solve. Second, today’s HR professionals have a lot of responsibility and their duties extend far beyond just benefits. As HR gets pulled into more and more directions, it is imperative to find efficiencies where possible, and some of the most obvious are automating the benefits process.

So, how do associations help meet these needs?

  • Allow small business owners to find easy and affordable healthcare options, either on a group basis or on individual basis.
    • Group insurance gets companies off of paper enrollments, frees up hours of time in HR as the processing becomes automatic, and allows for extensive reporting.
    • Individual insurance would allow employers to drop their group coverage all together while ushering employees to an easy solution for their healthcare needs.
  • Help take administrative burden off of all businesses, especially HR. From automating Open Enrollment and new hire elections, to running reports, and syncing with payroll, automating benefits can be a huge time and cost saving measure.
  • Partner with a technology solution that simplifies the benefit selection process for individuals, solves the reporting requirements, and eases the administrative burden on HR and administrators.

The bottom line is that insurance is an area where businesses small and large are struggling; it is a very real tax (no pun intended) on their time and resources that distracts them from the job that they are in business to do. If associations can bring a solution to the table to help solve for this business need, they stand to make themselves a valuable resource to their members. Providing a technology solution that makes insurance easy is a great way for associations to differentiate themselves as they compete for membership. Choosing the right partner to help solve the problem is imperative.

This post originally appeared on the ConnectedHealth blog (http://www.connectedhealth.com/category/blog/)

Employers, Take Note: Here’s Why You Should Offer A Menu Of Benefit Options

07/23/15

Years ago, when I was working as a benefits broker, I met a lot of employers that saw it as their duty to provide “good” benefits to their employees at an affordable cost. That paternalistic mentality put a lot of companies in a tight squeeze as renewals continued to work their way up year after year. In 2014, we were seeing some renewals as high as 40% over current – a stark contrast to the single-digit increases that were common a decade ago.

Fast forward a few years, and we’ve seen premiums increase as much as 40% in the small group (under 50 lives) and individual markets. Employers have gotten more creative with the benefits they offer, which include more high deductible health plans (HDHP) across all employer groups. But one of the things that we have learned from the federal and state exchanges is that there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to healthcare.

We’re living in a new healthcare world
Individuals that are purchasing coverage for themselves on the public exchange choose a wide variety of plans. As healthcare companies grappled with designing plans that fit into the metallic levels, shoppers began to see deductibles that reached into the $5,000-$6,000 mark. And, as these (very) high deductible plans have been introduced to more individuals and small business plans, consumers have grown accustomed to these wide-ranging options. A $6,000 option is no longer shocking to a buyer, rather it’s something they’ve grown accustomed to being offered.

What does this mean for your employees?
Simply put, it means that you (the employer/HR) do NOT always know what is best for your employee. Each employee has a different family situation; a different financial situation; and a different health situation. Therefore, each person is going to value their benefits in a way that’s meaningful to them and their situation. When given the choice to choose benefits for themselves, employees are choosing differently than employers. In other words, they have come to expect a wide range of options as the norm.

What does this mean for you?
A private exchange or benefits marketplace technology provides employers with the opportunity to offer a wide range of medical and ancillary coverage options (while making the admin portion for your HR teams much easier). This allows employees to customize their benefits packages to fit their needs while still receiving an employer contribution to offset their costs. Viewing employees as individuals and allowing them to tailor their benefits packages to their unique personal situation only increases employee retention and satisfaction.

In this new benefits world, employees are becoming sophisticated shoppers of healthcare, accustomed to being offered a varied menu of options rather than just one plan. It’s important for employers to recognize this and understand that employee benefits will continue to be an influential aspect of the employee work-life, if and only if they are appropriately meeting the employee’s needs.