Researchers have spent the last five years trying to decode themillennial generation. It makes sense — there are around 75 millionof us, which means we have a lot of influence and spending power. We’re also currently thelargest generation out there, and we’re much more diverse than thebaby boomers two generations before us. Some of our definingcharacteristics (according to this mountain of research) are thatwe’re more likely to live at home after college, we are oftenburdened with student loan debt, and we want to work incollaborative environments.

As a couple of millennials who work in the employee benefitsindustry, we bring a unique perspective to the ever-changing healthcare landscape. So, how does this play into the employer’s benefitsprogram? Here are our observations:

Understand millennials’ perspectives

Employee benefits have grown exponentially more complicated inthe past decade. Rates are climbing, worksite health and wellnessprograms are now a given, and pharmacy benefit plans are difficultto manage—and growing more expensive each year. Targeted voluntarybenefits and on-the-job perks, such as catered meals, are vital ifemployers are going to compete in a job market with just over 4 percentunemployment.

Many of us were lucky enough to stay on our parents’ healthinsurance until the age of 26. This means that health insurancewasn’t a draw for us while searching for our first job aftercollege. It also means that we weren’t exposed to the ins and outsof health care coverage, and may not have understood itsvalue.

Similarly, many of us aren’t familiar with HMOs and PPOs — we’reused to seeing high deductible health plans. However, somemillennials still don’t see the value in health insurance, becausewe’re young and at least think that we’re generallyhealthy. It’s up to brokers and HR professionals to remind allemployees that yes, millennials get sick and injured, too. And therisk of not having health insurance when that happens can becatastrophic. A strong benefits education program and a solidbenefits technology platform can make administration easier andhelp younger generations who are new to group health insurancechoose the right plan.

Beyond making the right plan decision, younger generations needto understand the health care options available to them, such astelemedicine or a mail-order pharmacy, when it makes the most senseto visit urgent care versus the emergency room, and even need someeducation around how important preventive care is and how employeesshould attend well visits rather than skip them. It’s ourresponsibility to make sure that each generation entering theworkforce learns to make good health care decisions that couldimpact all of us.

Make the tech leap

Millennials are more tech forward than their Gen X and babyboomer counterparts, which means we look at the traditional way ofdoing things through a different lens.

When it comes to benefits administration and just about any HRfunctions in a business, millennials and the next cohort to enterthe workforce, Generation Z, are going to be much more receptive tosigning up for benefits and filling out electronic forms, ratherthan writing out paperwork. And we think employers should be morereceptive to this, too. A benefits administration platformstreamlines the time-consuming process of managing employeebenefits and ensures compliance. Given that many boomers have alsoembraced technology, the majority of employees likely findautomation more attractive than anything paper-based.

Communicate to every generation

Millennials have an unfair reputation of looking at their phonesand paying attention to little else; like we mentioned, manyboomers have also embraced technology. However, we do typicallythink about other forms of communication, such as email, textmessages or social posts, before paper. In this age of techinnovation and advancement, it’s a good reminder to reach employeesacross the organization by using multiple message deliverystyles.

Millennials and Generation Z will likely respond better tosocial posts and push notifications than other generations, whileboomers and Gen Xers might be more apt to read an email or a paperflyer.

No, millennials aren’t some strange new alien presence in theworkforce — but our needs are different than those of oldergenerations. It benefits broker and their clients to understand howhistory has shaped who we are to make better decisions aboutrecruiting and retaining talent.