Changing times

According to Pew Research, 1 in 3 workers today is part of the millennial generation. While the exact years vary depending on the source, generally speaking, millennials were born between 1980 and 2000—which means even more of them will be entering the workforce in the coming years.

Why should that matter to employers? After all, generational changes have happened for as long as companies have existed. The difference with millennials is three-fold:

• Millennials' career expectations are drastically different than generations before them

• Millennials are poised to become the most effective, efficient, and strategic generation that the workforce has seen

• The collective experiences of millennials have drastically shaped what they value and how they are likely to purchase insurance-related products

The millennial reality

When previous generations entered the workforce, the general expectation was that they would do better economically than their parents. That is not the case with today's millennials.

An average millennial college graduate is saddled with roughly $35,000 in student loan debt. Millions more who attended college but didn't graduate also face staggering amounts of student loan debt, but with no diploma to show for what often becomes a de facto lifelong mortgage.

Despite being the most-educated generation ever, millennials entering the workforce in the 2000s were hurt by several severe shocks from a weak economy. Wages were so low that for the first time in recent history, living with parents was the top living arrangement for a single generation. And many millennials still struggle with basic life expenses, so much so that they are often choosing to remain on their parent's medical plans for as long as possible (up to age 26).

One final factor: Millennials are also far more likely to change jobs than preceding generations, making it more challenging to attract and especially retain great talent. Engaging them with benefit options that match their needs and life outlook is a transformational challenge for today's organizations.

All of this may seemingly paint a bleak picture for HR and benefit pros and brokers trying to understand what benefits will prove, well, most beneficial to millennials. Given their lot in life so far, it's understandable that millennials are more focused on the tangible here-and-now than they are on anticipating the uncertainty of what is to come over the long term.

Let's get digital

Another significant difference is that millennials never knew a day without computers. They grew up with social media as part of their DNA and continue to embrace the concept of using digital platforms to express themselves in a blurring of their professional and personal lives.

Think about it: Millennials view filling out paper forms and reading through hard-copy information the way boomers and Gex Xers view going to a well to obtain water to drink, cook and bathe.

This embracing of communication and work technology also transforms the way millennials blend their work and personal lives, compared to previous generations. They check email constantly, even if they wake up in the middle of the night, are on vacation, attending a family gathering, or at some other non-work function.

Basically, there isn't such a thing as office or business hours anymore—the demands of their job are omnipresent, in the office, at home, at the ballfield with their kids, or during a night out with their spouse.

Going deep into the millennial psyche

In exchange for this “always on” dedication, millennials expect—indeed, demand—to be able to take care of personal business during traditional work hours, whether that means going to the doctor's office in the middle of the day, leaving early to meet up with friends, or working from home or the local Starbucks.

This represents a fascinating look into the psyche of millennials. They don't want to just work hard—they want to be recognized and rewarded for working hard. They want to feel their company sees them as special individuals, rather than cogs in the machine pushing out wickets. And they want the company to invest in helping them achieve personal successes as well as professional—not just one at the expense of the other.

Unlike previous generations that expected once-a-year performance reviews, while traveling down the career paths of today's fast-moving corporate world, millennials crave immediate and constant feedback, real-time coaching and mentoring from supervisors. The more they believe the organization is helping them develop and improve their skills and performance, the happier they are.

When you take all of those generational factors into account, it quickly becomes apparent that traditional benefits such as medical health care plans won't hold as much appeal to millennials as they did to previous generations.

This is especially true for those living at home and still on their parents' health plan. A young, healthy person with no spouse or child-raising responsibilities may not see much need for anything beyond catastrophic health coverage. When you're already struggling to make ends meet, your eye is more on the present than what might be down the road.

What does appeal greatly to many millennials, however, are benefits that help them achieve greater health and financial security, especially ones that have an immediate and tangible impact to their bottom line.

Building a millennial portfolio of benefits

Vision care is just one example of the type of voluntary benefits that make organizations more attractive to millennials. Roughly 75 percent of all adults need some form of vision correction. Getting an eye exam and purchasing glasses without insurance costs around $600 on average.

That's a big hit to take for a millennial who is already struggling to pay for everyday living expenses, particularly in light of a recent study that showed millennials are the generation least-prepared to meet unexpected financial costs.

Offering vision benefits that cost only a few dollars per month adds tremendous value to a benefits portfolio.

So how do employers make sure that they are using benefits to meet the needs of millennials, as well as all generations represented in their workforce, while also accounting for the fact that all employees are individuals and have unique needs and circumstances?

Employers and brokers need to start viewing benefits as a way to provide employees with a custom-made portfolio of products by offering many different options to suit many different needs. This portfolio approach to benefits allows employees to customize the products that are best for themselves and their families.

Voluntary and other types of non-traditional benefits, such as gym memberships, wellness programs, tuition reimbursement, transit benefits, dental, and the ability to take advantage of flex time or working virtually at least part of the time, help employees develop a package that will enhance their health and financial security. But a customized benefits package rings especially true for millennials, because it meets them where they are in their lives—and on their budget.

By adopting the portfolio approach, organizations are acknowledging that employees are individuals with their own unique needs and challenges, and that they may not all value the same things. That is a bold statement for an employer to make, and one that will give them access to a dynamic, diligent and hard-working employee pool of millennials.

Want to have an even greater impact with millennials in the competition for their skills? Then make those benefits easy to understand and easy to use through technology platforms. And make sure information and outreach are available throughout the year, rather than just during the enrollment period, to ensure millennials understand and are able to maximize the value of their benefits.

And the same is true for brokers who want to grow their books of business by adding voluntary benefits. It is essential that brokers provide voluntary benefits in a way that is easily understandable while also encouraging employees to use the products they're purchasing (except, of course, for catastrophic-type plans).

Leveraging the power of a comprehensive digital platform is the easiest way to achieve this, and also prevents overloading an already stressed HR professional or broker.

There are several other tips and tricks millennials find valuable as well.

For instance, advice provided online about whether to stay in network or go out of network for services will make their life easier, not to mention helping their pocketbooks. Also, moving services online that millennials would normally have to go out of their way for, such as shopping for glasses, helps them feel engaged within their organization—and reminds them of the intrinsic value their employer's organization brings to their lives each and every day.

Tying the threads together

These are just a few of the threads of continuity that run through the experiences and expectations of the individuals who collectively make up the generation labeled the millennials.

It is important for benefits pros and brokers to transform their organization's benefits offerings to align better with what both the individual and the generational millennials value: benefits that reflect the world in which all generations in today's workforce think about the interconnections between their careers, their employers, and their personal lives.