As an HR professional for Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort,talent retention is one of my greatest challenges across all levelsof the organization. The hospitality industry is not known forlengthy employee tenures.

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In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employeeturnover in the industry was as high as 72 percent in 2015, severaltimes that of other sectors and increasing. That was the fifthconsecutive year of turnover rate increases in the hospitalitysector.

For the HR team at Sandestin, retention has always been anuphill battle. We’ve tried many ways to increase the employeelifecycle, including employee recognition programs, opportunity forinternal advancement, and ongoing training, to varying degrees ofsuccess. But recently we found that the implementation of a privateexchange actually impacted not only organization-wide turnover, butalso improved employee morale in the process.

In November 2015, we launched a private exchange for allSandestin employees. Our benefits offerings went from a singlemedical, vision, and dental plan to six medical, three dental, andfour vision plan options, along with 10 other products, toaccommodate the needs of our diverse employee base.

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Each of our employees was able to create a unique portfolio ofbenefits that met their individual needs through a benefitsmarketplace. In just our first year, we achieved 95 percentparticipation in enrollment. But, the most meaningful metric for myteam was that 68 percent of our employees said that the newbenefits program made them more likely to continue their employmentwith Sandestin.

Here are several best practices our team adopted throughout theprocess of setting up a private exchange.

1. Engage leadership early.

Demonstrating how the new exchange and benefits would positivelyimpact Sandestin’s company priorities was essential to gettingupper management and resort ownership on board early in theprocess.

We were able to show how the new employee benefits and use ofthe exchange would enhance Sandestin’s ability to contain costs,improve employee retention, increaseemployee happiness, and ultimately, have a big impact on ourorganizational culture.

To ensure resort ownership was fully invested in the transitionto a private exchange, we presented an introduction of the exchangeincluding a demonstration video and webinar. Then we followed upwith an on-site presentation for senior-level decision makerswithin the company.

They were extremely involved in the decision to move forwardwith the private exchange model and the selection of plans offered.Maintaining an open dialogue was an essential part of the processand ensured that we had champions for the exchange when it waseventually implemented across the organization.

Our benefits team learned all we could about the privateexchange concept before presenting to resort ownership. It wasimportant for us all to understand the costs associated, plandesign, and execution process. Our resort owner was very open tothis change as long as we, the subject matter experts, were inagreement and confident this would be the best move for thecompany.

2. Communicate early and often with employees to driveenrollment.

By making sure all employees were aware of the shift to aprivate exchange and its value for them, we were able to attainmaximum engagement when enrollment time camearound.

We distributed pre-open enrollment communication materialsacross all departments. These included videos (distributed toemployees in advance via email and played during open enrollment)and flyers intended to educate employees on the new marketplace andall of our new benefit offerings.

In addition to pre open-enrollment collateral, we held on-siteopen enrollment meetings to not only explain our new and improvedbenefits offerings, but also demonstrate how the marketplace workedby walking employees through the web site’s interface and showinghow they could shop for benefits online.

Throughout our internal communication efforts, we focused on theexcitement of the new benefits program and the expanded choice theprivate exchange would bring.

By creating buzz around the new marketplace, as well as thebenefit offerings, we were able to reduce the widespread fear ofchange that can often accompany organization-wide transitions.While employees seemed reluctant to participate at first, theyultimately embraced the private exchange concept and onlineenrollment process.

3. Ongoing support is critical for helping employeesembrace change.

All told, we dedicated six months to the rollout of Sandestin’sprivate exchange, including an introductory period for management,an implementation period for the exchange and plans, and finally,the enrollment period for all employees.

While the initial push leading up to open enrollment wasimportant to guarantee a smooth launch, continued supportthroughout the open enrollment period and beyond had the greatestpositive effect on Sandestin’s employee benefits experience.

We also made ourselves available for one on one meetings forfive days after the large group open enrollment meetings. Foremployees unable to enroll through a device of their own, 15computer kiosks were set up for employees to enroll on-site and askquestions. Ongoing support was also provided for employees whoneeded assistance with the technology and/or had benefitsquestions.

In addition, one of the major reasons we selected Liazon’stechnology over other private exchange operators was their decisionsupport tools, including the recommendation engine. Usingsophisticated statistical modeling, the exchange ask a series ofquestions about a person’s health, wealth, personality, and habits,and ultimately predicts the optimal combination of plans that willresult in the best personal financial protection. Eighty-sevenpercent of our employees found the recommendation engine helpfulwhen making their selections.

4. Employees like choice (in all lines of coverage), sogive it to them.

In implementing a benefits program that offered employeesgreater flexibility, we had no idea how impactful additionaloptions would be on employee satisfaction.

Ultimately 8 in 10 of our employees picked a different medicalplan than they had in the previous year. With selections madeacross all medical, dental, and vision plans, as well as thevarious additional lines we offered, there was a lot of variety inwhat comprised any one individual’s coverage.

But while no two plans looked alike, employees did have onething in common: 96 percent were satisfied with the variety ofchoices Sandestin offered through our private exchange.

Ultimately, the greatest takeaway from moving to an exchange isthat transparency and empowerment can have an immediate impact onemployee satisfaction. By giving our employees choices throughvaried benefit options, and empowering them to make decisions thatare best for their unique needs, we were able to improve morale,manage costs, and increase retention in an industry notorious forhigh turnover.