ADP® recently hosted more than 1,200 HR thought leaders anddecision-makers from our largest clients for our annual ADP Meetingof the Minds conference in beautiful San Diego, California. Overthe course of four days, the conversation focused on human capital management (HCM) issues that aretop of mind for HR leaders. Each year, we've noticed an increasinginterest in topics that involve how companies are leveragingemployee benefits in the “war for talent.” 

HR leaders are eager to learn how other companies are thinkingabout benefits as a strategic asset in attracting and retainingtalent, and what benefits are trending and looming. 

Here are six of the hottest trends discussed at theconference: 

1. The not-so-secret weapon inthe war for talent

Four out of five employees say that their benefits are acritical reason for staying with their employer, according to theGuardian's 2015 Workplace Benefits Study®. Withfiercer competition for talent, companies need to bring theirbenefits A-game and do everything they can to differentiatethemselves using benefits offerings as a way to attract and retaintalent.

2. The marketing is as important as thebenefits themselves

You might have the best benefits package in the industry, butwhat if nobody knows about it? Your employees have to know what youoffer and what's in it for them. People remember 80 percent of whatthey see and do, only 20 percent of what they read, and only 10percent of what they hear. Companies are taking a multiprongedapproach to marketing their benefits utilizing video, infographics,mobile, gamification and “explainimation” (animations that explain)to get creative with messaging to keep employees engaged in theirbenefits decisions.

Related: Tech'srole in demystifying health benefits

3. Thinking outside the traditional benefitsbox

Netflix® attracted a lot of media attention — and prospectiveemployee attention — when they announced they were offering anenhanced benefit of 12 months of paid parental leave to employees.Starbucks® followed soon after when they made their own employeefriendly benefits move, announcing that baristas could be entitledto tuition reimbursement. Supplemental benefits that go beyondhealth care are becoming more and more important, and differentbenefits packages appeal to different groups of employees. The2016 American Student Assistance® “Life Delayed”Survey found that 76 percent of college graduates say that, allthings being equal, their decision to take a job could depend on anemployer's willingness to offer a student loan repayment program.Other employers are getting even more creative. The shoppingstartup Boxed Wholesale will pay up to $20,000 towards the weddingof any full-time employee. BitSol Solutions in Manchester, Englandis offering what they call “Paw-ternity leave,” paid time-off fornew dog parents.

4. Chat rooms replacing examrooms?

Imagine getting a medical diagnosis by just logging on to yourcomputer or tablet. No, not just WebMD®, but rather, theincreasingly popular trend of telemedicine. This is where doctorscan consult with patients virtually, diagnosing issues via videocall. Biometric wearable technologies are making these “visits”even more efficient. VitalConnect® is a wearable health patch thatmonitors a patient's biometric data and remotely provides it to thephysician. Whenever a patient checks-in for a virtual visit, his orher health data is there for the doctor to see. The 2016 Mercer National Survey of EmployerSponsored Health Plans found that 44 percent of employers withmore than 20,000 employees are considering offering telemedicaloptions.

5. Data transparency clarifiesbenefit options

Everyone knows how Big Data is helping people make betterdecisions in their daily online shopping lives, but those conceptsare now taking shape in the world of employee benefits. A wellorganized and robust data set can help form opinions, createconversations that matter and predict benefits needs on behalf ofemployees, helping them make smarter benefits choices. Dataanalytics can tell your employees whether they should pick a highdeductible health insurance plan or if they should stick to apreferred provider organization (PPO). It can also provide themwith insight on what “people like them” have chosen. Further, if anemployee knows he needs knee surgery in the coming year, thetechnology can recommend doctors based on zip code and insuranceplan, show the doctors' ratings, and explain what out-of-pocketcost will be for the procedure.

6. “Hey, Alexa. Tell me aboutmy health care options.”

Virtual assistants like Apple's Siri® and Amazon's Alexa® havebecome household names. At ADP Meeting of the Minds, RobertoMasiero, senior vice president of ADP Innovation Labs, demonstratedlive on stage how voice command technology will become your newpersonal benefits assistant. The technology uses the concepts of“mass personalization” to enhance the benefits shopping experience.Instead of mass enrollment emails, voice command technology canapproach each employee at the ideal time and push a prompt to them,“Benefits enrollment season is coming up. Wouldyou like me to tell you about your options?” 

Benefits are back! They are vital to the well-being of yourcurrent workforce, but they also speak to the culture, thereputation and the employment brand of your company. The HR thoughtleaders we met are excited about how innovations such as machinelearning and data analytics are being used for benefits to engageand retain talent. They might just be the difference that brings inyour next new hire!