Changing the norm in benefits spending is possible, but we must first reject the failure we’ve been trained to accept. For years, business owners have come to accept that their renewal will mean yet another increase in their benefits spending, even if the quality of the benefits themselves continues to decrease.
Rather than working to uphold this unsatisfactory standard, your adviser should be working with you to change it. Your benefits plan can be so much more than an ever-increasing expense, but in order for it to reach its full potential, you have to take action and accept the challenges that come with even positive change.
Here’s why you should trade the permanent discomfort of a benefits plan designed for failure in exchange for the temporary discomfort of a plan designed for success:
An Exception in Acceptance
Benefits expenses often stand out for all the wrong reasons, and many business owners have simply accepted the ever-increasing costs they pay toward their plans, even when their employees’ quality of care decreases year after year. Imagine the outrage that would occur if this trend continued in any other industry. If your personal gym started charging 5 percent more for your annual membership each year despite continuously removing equipment, shortening their hours of operation, and decreasing the number of services offered, you’d probably either find a new gym or develop your own workout plan at home.
For some reason, though, employers don’t apply this same reasoning to one of the most expensive investments in their business. Instead, they force themselves to be content with “better increases,” with their brokers convincing them that their ability to negotiate a smaller price hike is a victory. This unfortunate norm can be changed, but the first step in doing so is to reject the long-held idea that we should accept the unnecessarily expensive standard in the benefits industry.
The Challenge of Change
Any business owner knows that change rarely comes easily, and substantial change rarely comes quickly. Your employees, in particular, may be annoyed at the early changes to your plan, not understanding why they were necessary or how they’ll create savings. Just as employers are trained to accept failure in their benefits plans, employees have also been conditioned over the years to accept this same mediocrity. You’ll need time and patience to get them to understand the process, and your adviser can help the process by providing you with helpful tools such as:
- Digital apps that can help your employees access their benefits with ease
- One-on-one meetingsthat allow your employees to speak with your adviser and have all their questions answered
- Online portals that employees can use to find more information about their plan and watch any group benefits meetings they would like to revisit
You and your employees may be uncomfortable with the immediate changes in your plan, but a great adviser will be able to work with you through the growing pains to achieve an end result that will make everyone happy.
A New Definition of ‘Success’
Refusing to improve is a failure in itself, and that’s the choice that much of the benefits industry continues to make year after year. They’ve convinced employers that because the pain of the status quo is just a stubbed toe instead of a broken foot, business owners should continue to take it year after year and be thankful for whatever they can get.
Your adviser shouldn’t be looking for ways for your plan to “hurt” less – they should be looking for how your plan can help more. Just as your business is evolving, your plan should evolve with it, increasing your retention rates, lowering your costs, and opening opportunities to give those savings back to your employees or the business as a whole. Rejecting rising benefits spending isn’t enough – your adviser should make the most of whatever you do spend on your plan as a strategic advantage for your company.
Reinventing the Benefits Mindset
Change is intimidating, especially when it comes to one of the largest expenses in your business. By rejecting the narrative that the benefits industry has taught, being patient with the process of change, and working with an adviser who will help your plan grow your business, you can be a part of a benefits revolution that will help your company and everyone involved in it.
Contact us today to learn more about how a change in your benefits plan can be exactly what your business needs.
