Designing Benefit Programs with a Holistic Approach to Worker Well-Being

BY Katie Chambers | November 01, 2024

At From Day One’s NYC Benefits conference, panelist Meera Oliva, chief marketing officer at Candidly, shared some sobering statistics on personal finance: Almost half of Americans don’t have $500 saved for an emergency. And 80% of student loan borrowers do not start saving for retirement until they’re done paying down their student debt.

“These problems don’t live in isolation,” Oliva said, impacting a person’s family life and even their work performance. That’s why financial well-being is one aspect of holistic health that should be incorporated into an effective employee benefits package.

As companies strive to support their employees comprehensively, offering benefits that provide practical help as well as peace of mind can be a key factor in attracting and retaining top talent. What are the most innovative employee benefits that can be crafted by combining diverse point solutions, from mental health support for teens to employer contributions toward student loan repayment? Executive panelists shared tips during a session about “Designing Benefit Programs with a Holistic Approach to Worker Well-Being.”

Meeting Employees Where They Are

Today’s employers are looking for a holistic solution, says moderator Jenny Sucov, an independent health and well-being journalist, but also one that is applicable and adaptable for the majority of employees. “We want to address everyone in the workforce, and we want to increase productivity, and we want to stay within budget. Kind of a tall order,” said Sucov.

The panelists spoke about "Designing Benefit Programs with a Holistic Approach to Worker Well-Being"

Ultimately, it comes down to understanding exactly who your workforce is and putting their unique needs at the forefront of your strategy. “In healthcare, employees are caregivers. They spend most of their day caring for patients and the community, and the reality is that most of them go home and they're still caregivers, whether it's their children or their parents or family members or their pets. So, there’s just very little time for them to care for themselves and it’s hard for them to prioritize their own well-being,” said Lindsey Garito, AVP, talent enablement at Montefiore Health System. “We want to make sure that our employees are feeling cared for, and that their health and well-being is being prioritized the same way that [they care for our] patients.”

Montefiore is rebranding its benefits program to emphasize personal well-being, calling their program “Healthy ME,” the ‘ME’ also representing Montefiore Einstein. The program is designed to align with the lifestyle of Montefiore employees. “We need them to be able to get the information that they need when they need it, which is typically not at work, not at a desk,” Garito said. “Many of them don’t really access work email, and so we want to make sure that we’re also reaching their families and having tools and resources that they can utilize when they’re at home, which is typically when the benefits-related conversations are being had.”

Building the Right Programs

The best way to find out what would work best is to ask the employees directly. “We have a lot of data scientists in our workforce, and one of the things that we use to truly engage our employees and [see] what they’re looking for are the employee engagement surveys,” said Christina Hansen, director, global benefits, HR, at Verisk. “Just this past June, there were 1,500 comments, and [our CHRO] read them all, and she sent them out to various HR leaders.”

In the Verisk surveys, the most talked about issue has been mental health, so the company instituted structured wellness day and Summer Fridays. “Those were some flexible wellness offerings that the company could give where it wasn’t costing us a lot of money, and yet it was very valuable,” Hansen said. The organization also hired a vendor to increase accessibility to mental health resources. For just a $25 copay, employees and their families can access therapists and even psychiatrists. “The utilization rate has quadrupled since January,” Hansen said. “We’re looking to promote it, to make sure that people understand that if you need help it’s just a phone call away.”

Prioritizing Ease of Use

Making sure health benefits are as streamlined as possible will ensure employees make the most of them. “We’re constantly innovating and evolving to see what [people] need. You want to make it as comprehensive as possible,” said Justine Mitsock, senior strategist at Lyra. “We don’t want to have to send your folks one place to do some mindfulness and do just a quick wellness check in. Go to another place where maybe you need some mental health therapy. Go to yet another place where you need specialty support for your children. Where we’re staying ahead of the game is trying to be as comprehensive as possible so that you don’t have to spend your time navigating.”

Getting the word out about the full spectrum of benefits and how to access them can be tricky in a large organization where simple internal communications might not reach everyone. Garito’s organization has a public website that can be perused not only by current, but by potential employees, as well as their families, in addition to regular employee newsletters that highlight different EAP’s and benefits innovations.

Navigating cultural and generational differences among employees can also be a challenge. Hansen worked with her EAP vendor to have an ambassador training program that teaches employee volunteers how to communicate about the wellness program in a way that is personal, effective, and culturally appropriate.

Recognizing the Importance of Financial Wellness

As Oliva noted, so much of an employee’s overall well-being and performance is tied to their financial stability. “Financial wellness and financial stresses are a really big part of how people show up at work,” Sucov said.

Whether that’s lingering student debt, buying a home, or saving for children’s future college expenses, “that link between financial stress and the stress that people bring into the workplace is well-established,” Oliva said. That stress causes employees to miss work or be distracted on the job. Oliva shares that employees may spend an average of three to five working hours per week dealing with their personal finances. Providing financial benefits packages can help alleviate that stress and allow them to be more engaged in the workplace. It’s also important to note that financial stress and debt impacts all members of a family unit, and therefore whenever possible, all should have access to the education and benefits being provided for this to be a truly holistic approach.

Evaluating your Current Offerings

Utilization is the number one way to evaluate if your program is effective. “We’re constantly reviewing claims. Where is this going? What are the top drivers of claims utilization? What can we do? What are alternatives to help change behavior where you don’t always have to run to the doctor for something that’s happening?” Hansen said.

And all employers should be reviewing their benefits package to make sure it’s inclusive of a variety of employee lifestyles and reflects all the different things the word “family” can mean to us today.

“In a world in which families take on all different shapes and sizes, how are you providing access? What systems do people who aren’t employees have access to? How are they gaining access to this benefit?” Oliva said. And employers must incorporate these families into their potential budget. “You have to think about the downstream impacts of that, and how you want to manage that type of inclusivity.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

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Preventative tools offer real-time support and data-driven insights to address mental health challenges before they escalate.By integrating AI solutions, companies can scale mental health care, reduce costs, and build a resilient workforce. “Digital tools give employees the autonomy to access support on their own terms while ensuring organizations can offer consistent, scalable care,” he said. 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