3 Big Benefits Mistakes Employers Make from an HR Professional of 20+ Years

💡 Don’t miss our upcoming webinar, From Silos to Synergy: Blending Wellness Platforms Into Your HR Tech Stack, to hear more insights from Alice Raflores, PHR, SHRM-CP, Vice President of People & Culture at WellRight.

Holistic workplace benefits play a crucial role in attracting and retaining top talent, yet many employers struggle to get them right.

A recent survey reveals that 78% of employees consider benefits a key factor when accepting or declining a job offer. However, employers often fail to align their benefits strategies to the direct needs of their employees, leading to decreased engagement, high turnover, and reduced wellbeing.

"The landscape of workplace benefits is ever-changing, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for fostering a thriving workforce," says Alice Raflores, a 20+ year HR veteran and Vice President of People & Culture at WellRight.

Let’s shed some light on three common mistakes employers make when it comes to sourcing workplace benefits that not only attract top candidates, but retain and engage employees for the long-term. By understanding which types of benefits strategies fizzle out over time and how to enthuse rather than confuse employees during open enrollment and beyond, HR managers and business leaders can take steps to enhance their offerings and boost employee satisfaction.

One of the most common traps employers fall into is failing to make their employees aware of the benefits at their disposal, inevitably leading to decreased engagement and underutilization of valuable programs.

“First impressions are everything, and an employee’s first impression of their company’s benefits can make or break their decision to use or refuse their benefits,” Raflores says.

Of the 78% of candidates who consider benefits a key factor when accepting a job offer, nearly half admit that even after accepting an offer, elements of their benefits packages are hard to find and too complex to understand, indicating a lack of sufficient education.

Overreliance on Text-Heavy Materials

It’s not uncommon to see many modern employers still relying on dense, text-heavy materials to communicate benefits. On top of being out-of-date and inaccessible, this approach often overwhelms employees, making it difficult for them to absorb and retain crucial benefits details.

Rather than using complex legal jargon and technical language, it’s more beneficial for HR teams to adapt lengthy brochures, booklets, or presentations into condensed and easily accessible digital materials. When employees can connect key benefits information to visually compelling graphics, videos, or quicklinks, they’re more likely to return for more information and utilize offerings on the go.

Lack of Interactive Learning Tools

Another common pitfall is the absence of interactive learning tools in benefits education. Traditional communication methods like emails and newsletters may not be sufficient to engage employees who already have full inboxes, heavy workloads, and lengthy meeting schedules.

Instead, employing interactive online platforms allow employees to explore their benefits in a more engaging and personalized format. From virtual town halls and Q&A sessions to benefit-specific webinars and lunch-and-learns, making benefits education interactive enables HR teams to cater to diverse learning styles and capacities.

Insufficient Manager Training on Benefits

Managers play a crucial role in communicating benefits to their teams, yet they often lack the necessary knowledge and resources to do so effectively.

Empowering managers to talk about benefits as a problem-solving strategy and as part of an employee's total compensation can significantly boost benefits utilization. Providing managers with the necessary tools, resources, and training to effectively educate can prepare them to answer questions and provide guidance when employees need it most, ultimately leading to better understanding and utilization of offerings.

Many employers make the mistake of focusing solely on physical health when securing workplace benefits, often settling for gym memberships or costly nutrition programs.

“While physical health is undoubtedly crucial, it's essential to recognize that employee wellbeing encompasses much more,” explains Raflores. “A comprehensive approach to workplace benefits should address not only physical health outcomes, but also mental, emotional, social, financial, and purpose-driven wellbeing.”

Overlooking the importance of a holistic approach to employee wellbeing can lead to gaps in care for employees' overall health and happiness, increasing the likelihood of burnout, quiet quitting, and low engagement.

Lack of Social and Community Wellness Initiatives

Social wellness plays a vital role in employee satisfaction and productivity, both in terms of team camaraderie and larger community outreach.

Research shows that 57% of employees say having a best friend in the workplace makes work more enjoyable, while 22% feel more productive around friends. Neglecting social and community wellness initiatives can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection among employees, ultimately impacting their overall wellbeing and job performance.

Insufficient Emphasis on Preventive Care

You may be surprised to learn that many employers miss the mark on incorporating preventive care into their benefits strategies, despite being a crucial component of holistic wellness.

Focusing on preventing health problems before they occur is key to reducing the risk of chronic health conditions, enhancing employees' quality of life, and lowering healthcare costs. Implementing flexible preventive care solutions like health screenings, onsite clinics or virtual appointment reminders, and wellness programs can demonstrate an employer's commitment to their staff's long-term health and wellbeing.

But preventive care doesn’t stop at annual physicals or seasonal flu shots. The onus is on employers to adopt more comprehensive approaches to preventive benefits, like expanding access to mental health support, fostering opportunities for employees to socially connect outside of work, and building healthy financial saving habits.

By embracing a holistic preventive care strategy, organizations can create a more supportive and engaging work environment that promotes employee wellbeing and ultimately leads to enhanced productivity and job satisfaction.

It’s one thing to source in-demand workplace benefits and hope they appeal to unique workforce needs, but it’s another thing to assess whether or not they align with company culture.

“Even the most enticing benefits can fall short when they don’t match an organization's values and principles, as well as what employees truly need to thrive,” Raflores says.

As a result, failing to assimilate benefits into the cultural fabric of an organization is one of the top contributors to decreased employee engagement and under-utilization of offerings.

Misalignment of Benefits with Company Values

Many employers make the mistake of finding hot, new benefits that work for other industries or workforces, but don’t gel with their existing company values.

For instance, if a company emphasizes work-life balance as a key value, but fails to provide flexible working hours or adequate paid time off, it creates a discrepancy between words and actions, eroding trust and credibility among employees. To address this issue, it’s essential to design appealing benefits packages that directly support unique workforce needs and reinforce an organization’s stated values.

Failure to Leverage Benefits as a Retention Tool

Another mistake employers often make is overlooking the potential of workplace benefits as a powerful retention tool.

In today's competitive job market, employees consider benefits as important as salary when deciding whether to stay with a company or seek new opportunities. A recent survey revealed that 66 percent of employees wait to review their company's new benefits upgrades before deciding whether to stay or go.

Failing to leverage benefits strategically causes organizations to miss out on a valuable opportunity to retain top talent and foster long-term loyalty.

Lack of Leadership Support for Benefits Utilization

Even when comprehensive benefits are offered, a lack of leadership support can hinder their effectiveness.

When leaders fail to champion and actively participate in wellbeing programs, they send a mixed message to employees about their company's actual commitment to employee health and happiness. To create a culture that truly values employee wellbeing, leaders at all levels must actively support, promote, and make use of benefits themselves.

Workplace benefits play a crucial role in shaping employee satisfaction and company culture. By understanding and addressing common mistakes in benefits strategies, employers can create more engaging and supportive work environments, enhance the employee experience, and foster the overall success and growth of their companies in an already competitive business landscape.

Effective benefits education, holistic wellness approaches, and seamless integration with company values are key to developing benefits packages that truly meet employee needs and support organizational goals. To figure out what your organization is doing right—and where you can improve—get in touch with our wellbeing experts for hands-on guidance, advice, and coaching.

To learn more about common HR mistakes and how to weave holistic wellness programming into your benefits strategies, register for our upcoming webinar hosted by WellRight’s Vice President of People & Culture, Alice Raflores, PHR, SHRM-CP!