With industry disruptions and the tidal wave of newHR technologies transforming the benefitslandscape, brokers are increasingly challenged to respond to theircustomers’ ever-changing priorities and needs. Although theimportance of benefits remains the same, employers’ top benefitsobjectives have shifted significantly. Retaining top talentis now the number one benefit objective, coupled with increasingemployee loyalty and engagement (MetLife 15^th AnnualEmployee Benefits Trend Study, 2017). Instead of focusingexclusively on cutting benefit costs, employer focus is now onbenefit customization designed to drive the retention of employees(MetLife 2017). Agile brokers who are able to craft employerbenefit solutions designed to retain and engage employees gain acompetitive advantage. A revolutionary “plug and play” benefitsplatform provides brokers with an advantage that addressesemployers’ retention challenges by delivering a customized benefitssolution.

Just what is a “plug and play” benefits platform? A “plugand play” platform provides a centralized hub to better connect andcommunicate benefits to your client’s employees, therebysignificantly increasing benefit exposure and value. To beeffective in the industry today, brokers must provide clients withtheir benefits platform through mobiletechnology. This approach differs significantly fromtraditional benefit administration.

Implementing a “plug and play” mobile benefits platform

Traditionally, many employers struggle with connecting andengaging employees with their benefit package. A plug andplay benefits platform offers an alternative approach that betterconnects employees with their benefits by providing a mobilebenefits hub. This benefit administration approach canintegrate all existing HR software, solutions, benefits, products,and services, into a single platform.

Employers often look to brokers to be their benefit managers andare increasingly relying on brokers to help employees understandthe value of their benefits. In fact, according to a 2014Broker Services Survey “95 percent of employers expect brokers tooffer employee communication to help employees make benefitdecisions and understand the benefits provided, yet 40 percent ofemployers are unsatisfied with their broker in meeting thisexpectation.” By providing a mobile “plug and play”benefits platform, you can meet this expectation without losingvaluable selling time. Furthermore, a plug and play benefitsplatform enables you to consistently deliver the best and mostinnovative benefits, products and services in an integratedmanner. If a new HR solution becomes available that bettersuits your client’s human capital needs, you can simply plug thatbenefit into the mobile hub that you have delivered to them, withno disruption to the benefits platform. This approach enablesyou to provide consistent, reliable support while offering aninnovative and customized benefits platform that far exceeds yourclient’s expectations.

A mobile “plug and play” benefits platform better connectsbenefits to employees, helping your clients retain their top talent. With retentionbeing the number one benefits objective amongst HR professionals,providing an innovative benefit administration approach helps youstand out from your competition. Additionally, with theincreasing emphasis on mobile technology, an agile and customizedbenefits platform is needed to meet the needs of a workforce thatemploys five generations working side by side, and to balance theneeds of on-site employees with remote telecommuters. Amobile “plug and play” benefits platform offers brokers thecompetitive advantage needed to ensure success in thisever-changing climate.