How to avoid a DOL 401(k) audit
Are you worried that your company's 401(k) plan might face a Department of Labor audit? Check out this great tips from Employee Benefits Network on how to avoid a 401 (k) aduit by Robert C. Lawton
There are many reasons for plan sponsors to do everything possible to avoid a Department of Labor 401(k) audit. They can be costly, time consuming and generally unpleasant.
The DOL, in its fact sheet for fiscal year 2016, indicates that the Employee Benefits Security Administration closed 2,002 civil investigations with 1,356 of those cases (67.7%) resulting in monetary penalties/additional contributions. The total amount EBSA recovered for Employee Retirement Income Security Act plan participants last year was $777.5 million.
In my experience, if a plan sponsor receives notification from the DOL that it has an interest in looking over their 401(k) plan, they need to be concerned. Not only do the statistics support the fact that DOL auditors do a good job of uncovering problems, but in my opinion, they are not an easy group to negotiate with to fix deficiencies.
As a result, the best policy plan sponsors should follow to ensure they don’t receive a visit from a DOL representative is to do everything possible to avoid encouraging such a visit. Here are some suggestions that may help plan sponsors avoid a DOL 401(k) audit:
1. Always respond to employee inquiries in a timely way. The most frequent trigger for a DOL 401(k) audit is a complaint received from a current or former employee. These complaints can originate from employees you have terminated who feel poorly treated or existing employees who feel ignored. Make sure you are sensitive to employee concerns and respond in a timely way to all questions. Keep copies of any correspondence. Be very professional in how you treat those individuals who are terminated — even though in certain instances that may be difficult. Terminated employees who feel they have been mistreated often call the DOL to “get back” at an employer.
2. Improve employee communication. Often employee frustrations come from not understanding a benefit program — or worse, misunderstanding it. If you are aware that employees are frustrated with your plan or there is a lot of behind the scenes discussion about it, schedule an education meeting as soon as possible to explain plan provisions.
3. Fix your plan — now. If the DOL decides to audit your 401(k) plan, as shown above, it frequently finds something wrong. Many times plan sponsors are aware that a certain provision in the plan is a friction point for employees. Or worse, they know the plan is brokenand no one has taken the time to fix it. Contact your benefits consultant, recordkeeper or benefits attorney to address these trouble spots before they cause an employee to call the DOL.
4. Conduct a “mock” DOL 401(k) audit. Many 401(k) plan sponsors have found it helpful to conduct a mock audit of their plan or hire a consulting firm to do one for them. If management hasn’t been responsive to your concerns about addressing a plan issue, having evidence to share with them that shows an audit failure can be very convincing.
5. Make sure your 5500 is filed correctly. The second most frequent cause of a DoL 401(k) audit relates to the annual Form 5500 filing. The most common 5500 errors include failing to file on time, not including all required schedules and failing to answer multiple-part questions. Ensure that your 5500 is filed by a competent provider and that it is filed on time. Most plan sponsors either use their recordkeeper or accountant to file their plan’s 5500. Don’t do it yourself. The fees a provider will charge to do the work for you are very reasonable.
6. Don’t be late with contribution submissions. Surprisingly, many employers still don’t view participant 401(k) contributions as participant money. They are, and the DOL is very interested in ensuring that participant 401(k) contributions are submitted promptly to the trustee. Be very consistent and timely with your deposits to the trust. Participants will track how long it takes for their payroll deductions to hit the trust. If they aren’t happy with how quickly that happens, they may call the DOL. If you have forgotten to submit a payroll to the trustee, or think you may have been late, call your benefits attorney. There are procedures to follow for late contribution submissions.
DOL audits are generally not pleasant. It wouldn’t be too strong to say that they are often adversarial. Because these visits are typically generated by employee complaints or Form 5500 errors, auditors have a pretty good idea that something is wrong. Consequently, I recommend that plan sponsors do everything they can to avoid a DOL 401(k) audit.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Lawton R. (2017 February 13). How to avoid a DOL 401(k) audit [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/how-to-avoid-a-dol-401-k-audit?brief=00000152-14a5-d1cc-a5fa-7cff48fe0001
Employers adding financial well-being tools for preretirees
Take a peek at this interesting article from Benefits Pro, about the man tools and services employers are starting to offer to pre-retirees by Marlene Y. Satter,
As their employee base ages closer to retirement, employers are adding tools to help those older employees better prepare for the big day.
That’s according to Aon Hewitt’s “2017 Hot Topics in Retirement and Financial Wellbeing” survey, which found that employers are taking action to improve employee benefits and help workers plan for a secure financial footing, not just now but when they retire.
Not only are employers focusing on enhancing both accumulation and decumulation phases for defined contribution plan participants, they’re taking a range of steps to do so—from improved education to encouraging higher savings rates.
Just 15 percent of respondents are comfortable with the average savings rate in their plan; among the rest, 62 percent are very likely to act on increasing that savings level during 2017, whether by increasing defaults, changing contribution escalation provisions, or sending targeted communications to participants.
And only 10 percent of employers are satisfied with employees’ knowledge about how much constitutes an adequate amount of retirement savings, and nearly all dissatisfied employers (87 percent) are likely to take some action this year to help workers plan to reach retirement goals.
In addition, more employers are providing options for participants to convert their balances into retirement income. Currently just over half of employers (51 percent) allow individuals to receive automatic payments from the plan over an extended period of time.
They’re also derisking through various means, whether by adopting asset portfolios that match the characteristics of the plan’s liabilities (currently 40 percent of employers use this strategy, but the prevalence is expected to grow to more than 50 percent by year end), considering the purchase of annuities for at least some participants (28 percent are considering this action) or planning to offer a lump-sum window to terminated vested participants (32 percent are in this camp).
Why are employers suddenly so interested in how well employees are financially prepared for retirement?
According to Rob Austin, director of retirement research at Aon Hewitt, not only do employees not really understand how to convert a lump sum retirement plan balance into retirement income that they can live on, and employers are also worried that employees will mishandle that lump sum when the time comes and end up broke.
So some employers are tackling the issue by folding in more information about 401(k) plans with the annual enrollment process, in an effort to get employees to think more holistically about their benefits packages.
They're also encouraging them to consider increasing contributions to their retirement plan while they’re already enmeshed in other enrollments.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Satter M. (2017 February 13). Employers adding financial well-being tools for preretirees [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2017/02/13/employers-adding-financial-well-being-tools-for-pr?ref=hp-top-stories
Where exactly are we in the ACA repeal process?
Worried about the ACA repeal process? Check out this informative article from HR Morning about the status of the ACA's repeal by Christian Schappel,
President Trump, along with other Republican lawmakers, have promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But it hasn’t happened yet. Here’s why, as well as a timeline for what’s to come.
In his “Contract with the American Voter,” Donald Trump promised to repeal Obamacare within his first 100 days in office. But the reality is he can’t do it on his own. He needs votes to get it repealed outright — and he doesn’t have enough of them.
What’s the hold up?
Broad legislation that would repeal the ACA would require 60 votes in the Senate, and the GOP doesn’t control enough seats to make that a reality — or avoid a filibuster by the Democrats.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Trump from declaring war on the healthcare reform law. In one of his first acts as president, Trump issued an executive order that directs federal agencies to waive some of the requirements of the law that could impose a burden on individuals and certain businesses.
It was a clear sign from Trump that his administration plans to attack the ACA by any means necessary.
So what’s the plan now?
Congressional Republicans are now preparing to dismantle portions of the ACA using a process known as reconciliation. It will allow the GOP to vote on budgetary pieces of the health law, without giving the Democrats a chance to filibuster.
The problem for Republicans is reconciliation limits the extent to which they can reshape the law.
Parts of the law it appears they can roll back through reconciliation:
- The individual mandate (which is imposed through a tax)
- The employer mandate (which imposed through a tax), and
- The subsidies to help individuals purchase coverage (which require government funding).
The Republicans believe that through reconciliation they can knock the legs out from under the ACA and begin to implement their own health reforms.
Some of the things members of the GOP have indicated they want to do:
- Go to a more free-market approach, in which individuals would have greater ability to purchase health insurance across state lines
- Expand health savings accounts
- Allow individuals to deduct the cost of health insurance premiums from their income taxes, and
- Let states manage Medicaid funds.
Two popular ACA provisions Republicans said they plan to keep in health plans:
- The prohibition on denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, and
- The ability for children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26.
So when is it all going to happen?
When it comes to a timeline for when the GOP hopes to initiate reforms, things are a little murky. The problem is, due to the reconciliation process — and complaints from insurers about what the requirement to provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions will do to risk pools and pricing — things aren’t as cut and dried as employers would like them to be.
But here’s what we know:
- In late January, at its annual retreat, the GOP said it wants to bring a final reconciliation package to the floor of the House by late February or early March
- In a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, President Trump said the repeal and replace process is “complicated” and could take until “sometime next year,” and
- Just a few days after Trump’s statements to O’Reilly, House Speak Paul Ryan (R-WI) said the president’s remarks won’t alter the timeline for the House GOP to introduce significant repeal and replace legislation by the end of 2017. Still, Ryan did indicate that even if such legislation is passed, it could take some time for it to be fully implemented.
Bottom line: Employers are likely looking at a long legislative process, and an even longer implementation period.
Bills that could chip away at law
While Congress mulls larger-scale changes to the ACA, a few bills have been introduced for lawmakers to chew on.
The following could chip away at certain elements of reform:
- The Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 173) would kill the 40% deductible excise tax (a.k.a., “the Cadillac tax”) on high-cost employer health plans
- The Health Savings Account Expansion Act (H.R. 247 and S. 28) would permit the reimbursement of health insurance premiums and increase the maximum allowable contribution, and
- The Healthcare Tax Relief and Mandate Repeal Act (H.R. 285) would kill both the individual and the employer health insurance mandates.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Schappel C. (2017 February 10). Where exactly are we in the ACA repeal process? [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.hrmorning.com/where-are-we-aca-obamacare-repeal-trump/
4 Basic Elements of Successful People Analytics
- We need to be clear about what question we are trying to answer.
- We need to gather the best available evidence—which, even if it not good, will be better than no evidence.
- We need to assess the quality of the evidence so we can make an informed judgment.
- Often, basic math is all we need to inform our judgment.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Creelman D. (2017 February 09). 4 basic elements of successful people analytics [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/4-basic-elements-of-successful-people-analytics
How to encourage increased investment in financial well-being
Disappointed that your employees are not putting enough into your company's financial programs. Take a look at this article from Employee Benefits News for some helpful tips to help improve your employees' spending on financial well-being by Cort Olsen,
As few as 15% of employers say they are satisfied with their workers’ current savings rate in programs such as 401k(s), according to a new report from Aon Hewitt. In response, employers are increasingly focused on increasing savings rates and looking to expand financial well-being programs.
More workplace wellness programs are including a financial component, in which employers aim to help employees with financial issues from budgeting to paying down debt to saving for retirement.
Aon Hewitt surveyed more than 250 U.S. employers representing nearly 9 million workers to determine their priorities and likely changes when it comes to retirement benefits. According to the report, employers plan to emphasize retirement readiness, focusing on financial well-being and refining automation as they aim to raise 401(k) savings rates for 2017.
Emphasizing retirement readiness
Nearly all employers, 90%, are concerned with their employees’ level of understanding about how much they need to save to achieve an adequate retirement savings. Those employers who said they were not satisfied with investment levels in past years, 87%, say they plan to take action this year to help workers reach their retirement goals.
“Employers are making retirement readiness one of the important parts of their financial wellbeing strategy by offering tools and modelers to help workers understand, realistically, how much they’re likely to need in order to retire,” says Rob Austin, director of retirement research at Aon Hewitt. “Some of these tools take it a step further and provide education on what specific actions workers can take to help close the savings gap and can help workers understand that even small changes, such as increasing 401(k) contributions by just two percentage points, can impact their long-term savings outlook.”
Focusing on financial well-being
While financial wellness has been a growing trend among employers recently, 60% of employers say its importance has increased over the past two years. This year, 92% of employers are likely to focus on the financial well-being of workers in a way that extends beyond retirement such as help with managing student loan debt, day-to-day budgeting and even physical and emotional wellbeing.
Currently, 58% of employers have a tool available that covers at least one aspect of financial wellness, but by the end of 2017, that percentage is expected to reach 84%, according to the Aon Hewitt report.
“Financial wellbeing programs have moved from being something that few leading-edge companies were offering to a more mainstream strategy,” Austin says. “Employers realize that offering programs that address the overall wellbeing of their workers can solve for myriad challenges that impact people’s work lives and productivity, including their physical and emotional health, financial stressors and long-term retirement savings.”
The lessons learned from automatic enrollment are being utilized to increase savings rates. In a separate Aon Hewitt report, more than half of all employees under plans with automatic enrollment default had at or above the company match threshold. Employers are also adding contribution escalation features and enrolling workers who may not have been previously enrolled in the 401(k) plan.
“Employers realize that automatic 401(k) features can be very effective when it comes to increasing participation in the plan,” Austin says. “Now they are taking an automation 2.0 approach to make it easier for workers to save more and invest better.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Olsen C. (2017 February 06). How to encourage increased investment in financial well-being [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitnews.com/news/how-to-encourage-increased-investment-in-financial-well-being?brief=00000152-14a7-d1cc-a5fa-7cffccf000
9 questions employees have about ACA – and how to answer them
Have your employees been asking more questions about the ACA? Check out this great article from HR Morning about some of the question your employees might ask and how to answer them by Christian Schappel
Even under the Trump administration, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still a real, enforceable law. You already know this. But do all of your employees?
Chances are, once employees start getting their ACA-mandated 1095 forms from you in the next few weeks, some of them are going to have questions — à la: What is this? I thought Trump did away with Obamacare.
Here are some of the questions employees are asking — and are bound to ask — along with how HR can answer them:
1. Didn’t Trump repeal Obamacare?
No. While he has promised to “repeal and replace” the ACA, all he has done so far is sign an executive order that directs federal agencies to grant certain exemptions from the law, as well as waive any requirements that they’re able to by law.
Surely, the executive order will eventually weaken some parts of the ACA — and maybe even lead to some repeals — but nothing concrete has happened yet. As a result, employers still have to comply with the “play or pay” mandates, and individuals still have to carry health insurance or risk penalties.
2. Didn’t Republicans in Congress start repealing the law?
No. Republicans in Congress don’t have the votes they need to repeal the ACA outright. They can’t avoid a Democratic filibuster.
As a result, what they have done is state their intention to attack the law through a process known as reconciliation. It’ll allow Republicans to vote on budgetary pieces of the law — like the individual mandate (which is imposed with a tax) and healthcare subsidies — without giving the Democrats a chance to filibuster.
The problem for Republicans, though, is that reconciliation limits how they can reshape (or repeal) Obamacare.
3. Then when will Obamacare be repealed?
All you can tell employees right now is that it hasn’t happened, and there is no clear answer on when (or even if) it will happen in its entirety.
However, Republicans recently made two things clear at its recent annual retreat in Philadelphia:
- They plans to use the reconciliation process to “repeal and replace” parts of the law.
- The GOP will bring a final reconciliation package to the floor of the House of Representatives by late February or early March.
Chances are, we’ll find out more once Trump’s cabinet picks — specifically his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — have been confirmed.
4. If I have a pre-existing condition, will I have trouble finding a health plan?
President Trump, as well as Republicans in Congress, have stated their intentions to attempt to keep two popular requirements of the ACA in place:
- The need for insurance companies to offer coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.
- The ability for children to be able to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26.
Form 1095 questions
5. What is this form?
Form 1095 is a little like Form W-2: The employer or insurer sends one copy to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and one copy to the employee. It describes whether the person obtained the minimum required level of health insurance under the ACA in 2016.
It also informs the IRS, and the employee, if the person was eligible for a premium tax credit in 2016.
6. If Obamacare is going to be repealed, do I still need this form?
Yes. The reason is because the ACA was in effect for all of 2016, and this form is for reporting information that reflects what happened in 2016.
7. What do I have to do with it?
In most cases, no action will be necessary. When filing taxes for 2016, individuals will be asked if they obtained minimum insurance coverage. This form will help individuals answer that question.
8. Do I have to wait to receive the form to file my taxes?
Again, in most cases, the answer is no. Only those who received insurance via an exchange or the “marketplace” will have to wait for their 1095 to file their taxes.
If a person received insurance through an employer, that person doesn’t have to wait for Form 1095 to file his or her taxes, assuming the person already knows whether or not they had minimum coverage throughout the year. In that case, the person can just keep the form for their records.
If a person’s unsure whether he or she had minimum coverage for the entire year, that person can wait for the form to file their taxes or ask their employer whether he or she had minimum coverage.
9. How will I receive the form(s)?
Individuals may receive their form(s) in one of three ways:
- hand delivery, or
- electronically (if they have consented to receive it electronically).
See the original article Here.
Source:
Schappel C. (2017 February 1). 9 questions employees have about ACA- and how to answer them [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.hrmorning.com/employee-questions-aca-obamacare-repeal-answers/
Target employee financial needs by finding the right technology
Are you looking for new ways to help improve your employees' financial needs? Take a look at this interesting article from Employee Benefits Advisors about how the use of technology can improve your employees' financial needs by Mark Singer
We have seen how a large percentage of the American workforce has an inadequate degree of financial literacy, and how the lack of basic financial knowledge causes personal problems and workplace stress. We have also seen the importance of financial education and how raising employee literacy directly benefits the bottom lines of companies.
The financial health of employees can vary greatly between companies, as can employee numbers. Work schedules and available facilities are other issues of variance. There is also the interest factor to address. Employees must find programs interesting and beneficial, or they will not attend or glean maximum results. Financial wellness programs that may be beneficial and successful for one company may be burdensome and unsuccessful for another. To meet pressing personal financial problems effectively, cutting-edge technologies need to be applied that both address immediate employee issues and limit company expense.
There are numerous new technologies that can be utilized in a mix-and-match fashion that successfully target employee financial needs. This age of the World Wide Web brings a host of financial education tools directly to the audience. Informational videos, virtual learning programs, webinars, training portals and other virtual solutions are easily accessible over the Internet and most are quite user-friendly. This mode of education is significant. For example, 84% of respondents to a survey conducted by Hewlett-Packard and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship said that e-tools were valuable. The study went on to show that modalities containing some degree of online training were preferred by 56% of respondents.
Gaming and data
One form of online educational technology that is gaining momentum as well as results is known as game-based learning. This method of learning is particularly popular with the millennial generation that has grown up with an ever-increasing variety of online gaming. In 2008, roughly 170 million Americans engaged in video and computer games that compel players to acquire skills necessary to achieve specific tasks. It has been found that well-designed learning programs that utilize a gaming sequence improve target learning goals. Such games teach basic financial lessons in a fun and innovative way that requires sharpened financial skills to progress through the programs.
Technological tools not only benefit those that are utilizing them directly, but they also assist the entire community through the collection of key data. Many of the mentioned tools embed surveys within programs or collect other data such as age, income and location, which can be used to create even better educational materials or better target groups in need of specialized services.
Employers need to realize that they benefit when they utilize these new technologies in their financial wellness programs, since these tools assist workers in taking control of their financial lives. Thereby reducing their stress levels, which in turn leads to happier and more productive employees. Sometimes it is best to meet the employees where they are, with tools that are easy and fun to use.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Singer M. (2017 February 02). Target employee financial needs by finding the right technology [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/target-employee-financial-needs-by-finding-the-right-technology
What Trump’s ACA executive order means for employers
Great article from Benefits Pro by Nick Otto.
President Donald Trump wasted no time in fulfilling one promise he made time and again on his campaign trail in undoing the Affordable Care Act on day one in office.
On Friday, Trump issued an executive order directing members of his administration to take steps that will facilitate the repeal and replacement of the ACA, but experts note employers should continue with business as usual until solid formalities come out.
From an employer’s perspective, “every regulation they need to comply with, they still need to until they hear differently,” says Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy at the National Business Group on Health.
What Trump’s order did was send a signal to everyone that his administration is prioritizing to repeal major parts of the ACA and to replace it with something else.
“In terms of specifics, nothing changes now, and it makes it clear that some changes may take longer than others because of the regulatory process to revise existing regulations,” Wojcik notes.
This specific order reiterates that it is administration policy to seek the repeal and replacement of the ACA and directs relevant agencies like Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor, to utilize their authorities under the act “to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the Act, and prepare to afford the States more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market,” according to the order.
But the different agencies will have to follow the law that requires notice and commenting periods before any final regulation is put in place, adds Chatrane Birbal, a government relations senior advisor with the Society for Human Resource Management.
“Trump’s administration is drawing a line in the sand,” she says. “While Congress is working on making its changes on a legislative front, Trump wants to move forward with the regulatory side.”
The most immediate focus will be whether the IRS acts to delay the employer reporting requirements under the employer shared responsibility provisions of the law, points out Joy Napier-Joyce, principal and leader of the employee benefits group at labor & employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C.
“Employer reporting is key to assessing employer penalties under the employer mandate, [but it] represents a significant burden to employers and the deadlines are fast approaching,” she says. Similarly, Napier-Joyce says, “we have not seen enforcement of employer penalties under the employer mandate to date.”
Especially given Trump’s announcement Monday of a hiring freeze for federal workers and the known shortage of resources at the IRS, employers will be eager to glean hints as to any non-enforcement stances, she says. Much of the requirements under the employer mandate have been formalized through statute and regulation, so in order to effectively and completely reverse course, formal processes will need to be followed, which will in turn take time.
“For now, employers should stay the course, but stay tuned as we await how and when the agencies, particularly the IRS, choose to exercise discretion,” Napier-Joyce adds.
One issue Birbal advises keeping an eye on is that the executive order calls for greater flexibility to states.
“This could be a concern for employers because it doesn’t recognize ERISA preemption,” she notes. “It has provided employers and employees with a workable regulatory framework for benefits, offering uniform set of benefits to employees throughout out the U.S.”
“We believe the flexibility and certainty of the ERISA framework already in place has been a success to the employers sponsored system and we hope that’ll be maintained,” she adds.
Another area to note, says NBGH’s Wojcik, is how providers could be impacted by the order.
“There are a lot of punitive delivery reform regulations that are in various stages of completion or haven’t been issued,” he says. “To the extent that that affects hospitals and physicians, it could be an area where you see a lot of impact besides issues like the individual mandates and excise tax.”
As for policies that were still in the works, “if something hasn’t come out yet, it’s likely that it won’t come out ever based on executive order,” Wojcik notes.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Otto N. (2017 January 23). What trump's ACA executive order means for employers [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitnews.com/news/what-trumps-aca-executive-order-means-for-employers?feed=00000152-18a4-d58e-ad5a-99fc032b0000
Employers prioritizing employee well-being
Are you putting enough priority into your employees' well-being? Take a look at this article from Employee Benefits Advisor about the importance of employee well-being by Nick Otto
Benefits managers and HR pros alike know the two-fold benefits well-being programs provide: a healthier, more engaged workforce and increased productivity. So it’s no wonder more companies are prioritizing such programs.
A large majority of employers (78%) call employee well-being a key component of company strategy, according to Virgin Pulse’s 2017 State of the Industry report. In addition, 87% say they have already invested, or plan to invest, in some type of employee well-being initiative, and 97% agree with the decidedly uncontroversial statement that worker well-being positively influences engagement.
“Until recently, employee well-being has been viewed as a ‘nice to have,’ but with more and more research directly connecting employee well-being to business productivity and performance, business leaders are recognizing it as a ‘must have’ from a business perspective,” says Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse, a wellness technology provider. “The proof is in the data that emerging-companies that invest in employee well-being see lower turnover, less absenteeism, stronger stock performance and higher business productivity. That’s a compelling business case.”
But what programs do employers say are advancing wellness and engagement? Opinions seem to differ. Forty-one percent of the organizations surveyed by Virgin Pulse are still in the process of defining employee engagement or developing a plan to enhance it.
Further, a little less than a third (29%) of respondents have established engagement programs to fit specific needs or offer an integrated solution that links to organizational strategy, the report notes.
One of the more striking differences between the older, or more “mature” organizations, accounting for 29% of those surveyed, and the rest of the employers is that the great majority of the former group conducts annual employee engagement surveys, compared to less than half of other employers.
By completing these surveys, some roadblocks employers say they are encountering in engaging more employees in well-being programs include issues such as organization culture (48%), budgets (47%) and communications (30%), the study notes.
For benefits managers, making sure that all employees have access to benefits and programs that address their full well-being — and having the ability to communicate those programs and measure usage and impact — is critical in proving the value of wellness programs, Boyce notes.
“Today, businesses can and should be looking beyond wellness and health cost savings and evaluating employee well-being programs in the context of the larger cultural and business value they deliver, such as increased employee engagement and retention, reduced safety incidents, decreased absenteeism and higher business productivity,” he adds.
In fact, a large majority of HR leaders view workplace culture as an important part of furthering employee well-being. Eighty percent have programs in place or plan to implement programs aimed at improving culture at the office.
Beginner organizations can jump-start their well-being initiatives by offering well-being programs, experiences and activities that engage all employees, not just a few, Boyce suggests. Social connections and team support are critical in building — and sustaining — cultures of well-being, so the more actively involved employees are in the program, the more successful it will be in driving the changes and outcomes that matter for individuals and organizations.
“As organizations continue to focus on individual well-being as a positive driver of company culture, they are going to see happier, healthier, more engaged employees and better business results, across the board,” he says. “That’s just good business sense.”
The best way to implement a robust program that meets the individual needs of employees —while simplifying management and communication for employers — is to find a well-being vendor that has a hub embedded with their solution, Boyce says.
A hub that provides a one-stop-shop experience by connecting all relevant programs into a single space allows employees to access all their resources in one interface while driving participation and usage. With the right well-being and benefits hub, employers will be able to integrate a broad range of HR and benefits programs and promote them to relevant employees and populations.
“Imagine being able to suggest your financial planning program to employees that are new to the workforce, physical activity programs to those who are most sedentary, and mindfulness programs to departments in the throes of their busy season,” Boyce says. “Simplification, employee engagement and personalization are key to building a robust well-being program.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Otto N. (2017 January 27). Employers prioritizing employee well-being [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/employers-prioritizing-employee-well-being?brief=00000152-1443-d1cc-a5fa-7cfba3c60000
Strategic Talent Investment
Looking for ways to develop existing talent? Check out this interesting article from SHRM about the impact and benefits of investing in talent by Sharon Margules
See the original article Here.
Source:
Margules S. (2017 January 19). Strategic talent investment [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/strategic-talent-investment