The changes you make to your benefits plan at the end of the year can have a massive impact on your company. Rather than waiting until the last minute to start thinking about your renewal, you should start reevaluating your plan months ahead of time. By analyzing what’s working in your benefits plan and what could improve, you can use your renewal strategically to increase your savings and help your business continue to grow.
Here are the five most important questions you should be asking ahead of your renewal:
5. Are my employees educated about their benefits?
In order for both you and your employees to get the most out of your business’ benefits plan, your employees need to understand how to make cost-effective healthcare choices. Use your upcoming renewal as an opportunity to keep your employees up-to-date on the changes that may occur in their plans and inform them about how they can save money while still receiving great benefits.
Having your adviser meet one-on-one with your employees is an effective way to make the benefits experience more personal while also providing workers with the education they need to make the right decisions in their healthcare process.
4. Is my business’ benefits plan designed in accordance with my employees’ best interests?
While your benefits plan should create savings opportunities for your business, it should never do so at the expense of your employees. Developing a plan that offers better healthcare at greater convenience and a lower cost should be a priority for you as you start thinking about your renewal, especially because it can lead to:
- Increased employee morale
- Better recruiting and retention rates
- Fewer employee sick days
Your employees are the backbone of your company, and you should take every opportunity to make your benefits plan do more for them.
3. Am I missing valuable savings opportunities in my benefits plan?
Now’s the time to start working with your adviser to examine potential savings opportunities that might have opened up in the healthcare supply chain since your last renewal. For example, a new outpatient surgery center in your area could give your employees an alternative to the hospital, potentially saving you thousands of dollars if one of your workers needs knee surgery. As the supply chain evolves, your plan should adjust accordingly if you want to reap all the savings it has to offer.
2. Can I trust that my adviser is doing everything possible to save me money?
Traditionally, benefits brokers work on commission; their focus is to get you to renew your plan at the end of the year while convincing you that they’ve kept your premium increase as low as possible. While this system is great for the brokers, insurance companies, and providers, it’s not great for business owners.
Working with an adviser who offers a performance guarantee is a far more effective way to ensure that you’re getting the best benefits for the lowest cost. Because your adviser’s pay depends on the results they can achieve for you, they’re incentivized to work harder to create more savings within your plan.
1. Is my benefits plan serving as a tool to help my company grow?
You’re doing yourself a disservice if you treat your plan as just another expense to check off at the end of every year. Approach your renewal with the mindset that your benefits plan can be used to give your business a competitive edge in your industry. Your adviser should work with your company’s C-suite to help you discover how the savings created through your plan can be used to build up other parts of your business. If your benefits plan isn’t serving as a strategic advantage for your company, that needs to change when you renew.
An opportunity for change
Your renewal is an opportunity for growth both within your benefits plan and for your business as a whole. Letting your plan evolve with your company can create bigger savings for you and happier, healthier employees.
Contact me today to learn more about how to make your renewal a catalyst for positive change in your business.
