Benefits brokers and consultants are in a prime position to help their clients reshape and take a proactive approach to employee benefits.

Historically, employee benefits strategies have focused on traditional health care and retirement offerings. But today's employees — especially the up-and-coming millennial generation — expect a broader and more flexible benefits package. They also expect a shift in how, when and where those benefit offerings are communicated to them.

For employers, this can be challenging, particularly when juggling several generations of employees with different expectations. As a result, benefit plans need to look very different from those of the past so they can attract and retain the best talent. This is where brokers and consultants can don their capes and come to the rescue.

A proactive approach to employee benefits

Many employers take a reactive approach to employee benefits. Every few years they review the plan, paying attention to price and product, without really focusing on what employees want. This approach generally fails to address the different needs of a diverse, multi-generational workforce. As a benefits expert, you can help your clients find out what appeals to employees, where the current plan falls short, and how to update the plan to better suit everybody's needs.

Get insight before making changes

In order to find out what your clients' benefits needs are, you should first gather information. Start by conducting an employee poll, which can provide crucial insights. Another tool is data analytics, which can play a key role by tracking employee benefits usage. The collected information can identify products that employees would value and help eliminate outdated and seldom-used offerings.

Offer voluntary benefits

As a benefits consultant, you know that different generational cohorts have unique needs and desires when it comes to benefits planning. While most workers place health care coverage at the top of their list, each generation has slightly different priorities. Baby boomers value salary level, health insurance and a solid retirement plan. Gen Xers balance the desire for salary levels and 401(k) plans with the need for job security, career advancement opportunities and work-life balance. Millennials, who grew up in a world of rapid change, seek paid time off, the ability to work remotely, control over their schedules, and a high level of flexibility.

One way to beef up your clients' benefits package is through voluntary benefits. With voluntary benefits, employees select only the benefits they want, and usually pay the full cost for each option they choose. Voluntary benefits include life insurance and accident coverage; legal plans; hospital indemnity plans; discounts on home and auto insurance; and pet insurance. Other valuable voluntary benefits, which are generally popular across age lines, are tax-advantaged health care accounts like flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs), as well as dependent care FSAs and commuter benefit accounts to help ease the costs of child care and transportation.

There are also “next-gen” benefits, such as wearable health tracking technology, debt consolidation services, and genome testing, which appeal to younger and more tech savvy employees.

Go digital (and save money)

A great way to help your clients save money and better reach today's modern workforce is through digital communications. Encourage your employer clients to forego printed brochures and lengthy plan documents, and meet their employees online and via their smartphones, where they're more likely to pay attention and engage with the information.

Educate and engage

Once you have established an updated plan with your employer clients, it's important to help them educate their workforce. Updating a benefits strategies can be a waste of time and money if employees don't understand what is offered to them.

Educate. Educating employees is very important, particularly when communicating the value the benefits bring to employees. Remind employees which benefits they are currently enrolled in, help them identify any new changes in their lives, and recommend the appropriate benefit offerings to meet their current needs. Take advantage of any creative benefits education programs that may be offered by service providers.

Communicate. To drive engagement, communicate often and in many different ways. Videos, blogs, social media, case studies, newsletters, FAQs, brown-bag lunches, etc. are great ways to deliver information on how to use the plan and the benefits of doing so.

Make it fun. Benefit programs that are fun and enjoyable are more likely to stick. Some ideas include wellness, yoga or physical fitness classes where employees can interact with each other off the job. Creative educational programs offered by service providers can bring novelty and entertainment to open enrollment. Reward programs for employees who engage with their benefits, such as wellness or smoking cessation programs, can also save your clients money.

Benefits brokers and consultants are key to helping their clients take a proactive approach to benefits. As times and generations change, the need for a modern benefits approach is crucial, which is where the expert advice of a benefits consultant is most valuable. The end result will be a more suitable (and possibly more affordable) benefits plan for the company, greater employee satisfaction, and an appreciative client base.

Bo Armstrong is a national conference speaker and author of numerous white papers and articles on the health care benefits industry. As DataPath's Chief Marketing Officer, Bo focuses on identifying emerging market trends within the benefits industry and advocating for customers and their needs within DataPath. DataPath, Inc. creates cloud-based technology solutions for FSA, HRA, and HSA administration. The company also created the award-winning employee education and engagement program, The Adventures of Captain Contributor.