CHROs are naturally strategic, so it's all about showing the thinking that goes behind benefits planning while being creative with offerings that align with employee wants and needs. (Photo: Shutterstock)
With the new year in full swing, budgets are top of mind and employee demand for mental and physical well-being support is growing rapidly. As a result, companies must develop strategies now to help finance and human resources teams work in tandem to ensure company success in 2021.
According to Glassdoor, 87% of employees expect their employer to help them create a balance between work and their personal commitments. This has become a critical factor for both HR and finance departments as employees are taking notice on whether or not their leaders are making investments in the right places.
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Given 2020's negative financial impact on several industries, for CHROs petitioning for an increase in spend, the conversation with CFOs could be tricky. Although CFOs may be struggling to put essential cost-cutting initiatives into place to cushion the impacts of COVID-19, now is not the time to be cutting employee wellness benefits. It's the perfect time to sit down with your CFO and evaluate your benefits offerings to ensure that they're driving ROI.
Here are the important considerations you need to keep in mind before going into the conversation:
Strategic creativity goes a long way
CFOs expect CHROs to come prepared with well-evaluated and thoughtful plans, not just "same as last year" plans. Ensuring thoughtful planning requires a thorough assessment of each benefit offered in the past and pivoting strategy accordingly, which could result in adding new vendors or changing your current benefits structure. A strategic approach to spend only brings value. In fact, organizations that have made strategic investments in employee development report 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees.
It's imperative to design benefit plans that balance employee needs with the financial constraints of the current economic environment such as new work-from-home technology, flexible hours, or wellness reimbursements. CHROs are naturally strategic, so it's all about showing the thinking that goes behind benefits planning while being creative with offerings that align with employee wants and needs.
Healthy employees reduce costs
As part of the conversation, CHROs need to show the correlation between the health of their organization and a healthy bottom line. Providing resources that improve employee health will reduce claims costs and increase workforce productivity. It's critical to remind your CFO of the connection and hold them accountable for investing now to avoid expensive health-related expenses and drive long-term ROI.
Benefits that extend beyond physical health
In addition to physical wellness, benefits that help employees cope with stress in order to boost productivity can benefit employers. Sixty-two percent of employees reported losing at least one hour a day in productivity, and 32% lost at least two hours a day due to COVID-19 related stress. As a CHRO, being prepared with the research proving the return on investment makes it easier to come to a progressive solution during budget conversations that works across departments.
Revaluate your benefits to determine which are essential
Benefits that can increase employee engagement, support mental health, and are easily accessible are no longer considered "nice-to-haves" they're now "need-to-haves." So how do you discuss which voluntary benefits are essential with your CFO? Start with ROI. Focus on how a benefit can impact the financial, clinical, and cultural health of your organization. Will this benefit provide savings on future healthcare costs? Will this benefit have a measurable clinical impact on your population? And will this benefit increase overall employee engagement? You'll want to align your benefits strategy with solutions that do all three.
Many companies are running leaner workforces due to financial constraints, and therefore, CHROs and CFOs have to focus on retaining high performing talent. To do so, company leaders need to offer competitive benefits that exceed employee expectations. To accomplish this, HR teams are tasked with rethinking past offerings and providing benefits that will actually enrich employees' lives.
When making your case for expanding benefit offerings, leverage vendor data to make evidence-based decisions in conjunction with your CFOs, as they will be most interested in what the data proves. Choosing benefits or a wellness program that provides tangible feedback, data, and quality of life results from participants will be pivotal during budget conversations.
Once all of these topics have been taken into consideration, the last step is to take action. The impact COVID-19 has had on organizations worldwide has made it so executive leadership must now think on a holistic and collective level about benefits. Ultimately, every leader in an organization will have to work together to elevate the company for success.
Emily Taylor is chief financial officer & chief human resources officer for Naturally Slim.
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