Health Care Nondiscrimination Notice Requirement Is Going Away
The Department of Health and Human Services' has removed requirements that employers issue non-discrimination statements to employees that will go into effect on August 18, 2020. Read this blog post to learn more.
On Aug. 18, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS's) finalized changes to the Affordable Care Act's Section 1557 nondiscrimination rules will take effect, removing requirements that employers issue health care nondiscrimination statements to employees and add health care nondiscrimination taglines to employee communications.
Prior to the changes under a final rule HHS published on June 19, employers had to ensure that they, along with their insurers (for fully insured plans) or third-party administrators (for self-insured plans), abided by a 2016 HHS rule requiring employer-sponsored plans to:
- Create and maintain a notice of health care nondiscrimination.
- Include it in "significant communications" along with taglines in 15 different languages advising individuals of the availability of language assistance.
- Include similar taglines for other communications but only in three different languages.
These notices are still required until Aug. 18.
"Now more than ever, Americans do not want billions of dollars in ineffective regulatory burdens raising the costs of their health care," said Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS.
Less Paperwork and Lower Costs
"The final rule eliminated the requirement to post the discrimination notice and add taglines," said John Kirk, an attorney at law firm Graydon in Cincinnati. "The final rule also eliminated the requirement that the discrimination notice and taglines be included with all significant publications sent by the organization. This change will be a significant cost and administrative timesaver for most entities."
Employers offering employee benefit plans that were subject to the prior 2016 rule "should review any notice and disclosure obligations and may begin revising their disclosures to remove the nondiscrimination statement and required taglines," Kirk advised.
"This is welcome news for employers that were required to create and maintain these complicated notices," according to compliance firm HUB International. "In the preamble to the new final rules, HHS stated that the notices were costing employers and other entities hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, but were not, in HHS's view, providing meaningful additional help to individuals."
HUB noted that "the onerous notice requirement is gone, but nondiscrimination rules still generally apply," prohibiting discrimination in health care on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
Overshadowed by Transgender Controversy
Most coverage of the HHS final rule focused on its controversial rollback of anti-discrimination protections based on gender identity, which overshadowed the rule's repeal of the notice and tagline provisions under the 2016 regulation.
A coalition of LGBTQ groups and health care providers are suing the Trump administration, alleging the new HHS rule conflicts with the Supreme Court's June 15 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., which found that the prohibition against sex discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act covers sexual orientation and gender identity.
SOURCE: Miller, S. (16 July 2020) "Health Care Nondiscrimination Notice Requirement Is Going Away" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/health-care-nondiscrimination-notice-requirement-is-going-away.aspx
How to Prosper When HR Is Understaffed
The HR department often has many things on its plate when the company as a whole has a lack of staff, but what happens when the HR department has a lack of staff that may be caused due to many situations? Read this blog post to learn more.
One of the hardest parts about working in HR is helping a company's managers succeed when the company is understaffed. But what about when the HR department is understaffed, perhaps due to summer vacations, unfilled positions, or team members working fewer hours as they wrestle with child care or illness during the COVID‑19 pandemic?
HR leaders, whether managing a small or large team, can find the weight of a company's needs overwhelming when their department is short-staffed. But HR experts say there are a range of strategies to help address this situation.
"When an HR team is short-staffed, one of the best things to do is try to understand the goals of the company during this time," said Melodie Bond-Hillman, senior manager of HR and administration at XYPRO Technology Corp. in Simi Valley, Calif. She has had many cohorts reach out and express concern that their jobs have expanded out of scope during the coronavirus outbreak as they attempt to handle a range of new duties amid staff shortages. "They need to try and figure out how long term the staffing issue might be to know how to strategically plan," Bond-Hillman said.
Conversely, it's important not to over-promise when seeking staffing solutions for the department in such an unpredictable environment, said Buck Rogers, a vice president at Keystone Partners, a Raleigh, N.C., executive coaching and outplacement firm. "Don't set your team up for a fall," he said. "You need to keep their spirits up as much as possible, but giving them false hope can make them less likely to trust you in the future."
Rogers recommended against giving the HR team exact dates on when operations will return to normal, because no one can say for sure. Instead, he suggested being supportive—but not unrealistic.
Consider Investing in Automation
One positive step an HR leader can take during a period of uncertainty is to look for opportunities to automate required processes to save time, Bond-Hillman said.
"An important question to research is, how well is your HR system set up? Is it driving a lot of your process so you can automate when possible and give employees a strong range of self-service access?" she asked. "Do you have apps so workers can get their benefit cards and policy questions easily answered without your team being called on to step in too often? From getting their pay stubs to making 401(k) changes, the process needs to give employees a chance to help themselves. These are areas HR may get lazy at when times are easier, but it makes a difference" when times are tougher, as they are today, she said.
Even with shortcuts in place, there are other steps that will help the team operate more effectively. One is to provide new opportunities for team members to broaden their contributions, perhaps by giving responsibilities to HR professionals who are ready for a new challenge.
"This is a chance for them to help you out," Bond-Hillman said. But you can also help HR team members advance their careers or become specialists. "Give them the opportunity to come through for the team and further their career."
And despite potential revenue shortfalls due to the faltering economy, now isn't the time to reduce training. After all, if team members are going to be able to assist you more, they'll need the training to succeed, Bond-Hillman said.
"Yes, there's a feeling you don't have time, but if you don't make the time, it will potentially be a disaster in executing the work," she said. "Many HR people struggle because not everyone is cross-trained."
Seek Inexpensive Support
Seeking part-time help from a temp or college intern is another popular option this summer, said Heather Deyrieux, SHRM-SCP, HR manager for Sarasota County, Fla., and president of the HR Florida State Council, a Society for Human Resource Management affiliate. "We've had an intern just for the first couple of weeks of the summer, and she has been very helpful," Deyrieux said. "You can even look for volunteers—there can be many of those, especially if it's remote work."
Keeping morale up also is important and may be achieved by making sure everyone in the HR department sees team leaders rolling up their sleeves and doing tasks that may have been handled by others before the pandemic. It's also wise for those leaders to keep their office doors open and be available early and late to help answer questions and address issues, Bond-Hillman said. "A team has to be just that–a team."
Debora Roland, a Los Angeles-based vice president of HR at CareerArc, said seeking opportunities to allow the team to recharge is critical. "Your team, however big it may be, is working tirelessly during these times, and showing appreciation can go a long way," she said. "One way to do this is to give team members time off when it's needed. We're all in such high-stress times, and providing days off to recuperate and reset can make a world of a difference."
If providing time off isn't possible given the workload, showing appreciation can help. "Give a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or something else they like," Deyrieux said. "This way you show appreciation, but you also show them that you pay attention to their interests. People need to know they're not just another employee."
6 Ways to Support an Understaffed HR Team
- Identify the company's primary goals during the pandemic and share it with the team.
- Ease the team's hours through automation or help from a temp, an intern or a volunteer.
- Be in the trenches with team members by taking on menial tasks and arriving early and/or staying late.
- Show appreciation, even if just in a small gift.
- Give additional responsibility that could lead to a promotion.
- Provide training so your team members feel they're in a good position to take on new responsibilities.
SOURCE: Butterman, E. (09 July 2020) "How to Prosper When HR Is Understaffed" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/how-to-prosper-when-hr-is-understaffed.aspx
Rethink Work-from-Home Employee Perks
Working from home has become a new normal for many employers and employees. With that being said, it may be time to rethink employee perks that expand flexibility and customize work schedules. Read this blog post to learn more.
As working from home stretches into the summer and beyond at many companies, some firms are adopting interesting, innovative incentives to maintain engagement and productivity among telecommuting employees.
Most common among such perks is the expanded flexibility for personal time off and customized work schedules. But many employers consider those options to be table stakes and are raising the ante. Perks related to food and drink, camaraderie, dress code and new technology are being introduced as HR rethinks and adjusts company culture.
"Pre-COVID, working from home was considered a top employee perk," said Cheryl Fields Tyler, CEO of San Francisco Bay-area firm Blue Beyond Consulting. "Now, it's practically considered an entitlement. And with executives [seeing] how effective their home-working employees have been during this situation, it's likely to stick around even after the recovery."
At her firm, "our teamwork has really stepped up. People are supporting each other more and finding new ways to handle responsibilities to get through this, which will be the lasting benefit of this 'change'."
At IBM, CEO Arvind Krishna created and shared a special eight-point pledge that went viral as a model for other C-suites to follow, putting a "human touch" on his entire workforce.
"With employees and companies making such strides in work-from-home execution, there's going to be a massive rethinking of just how you build culture," Fields Tyler said.
Informality Catches On
Many companies are creating clever ways to connect remote employees during and after the workday ends, usually with fun in mind.
Tampa HR consultant Michelle May Griffin, SHRM-CP, has clients who have created a virtual coffee klatsch once or twice a week, designed with an impromptu gathering-in-the-breakroom feel. "Supervisors aren't invited," she said. "Staff can come and go. It's very informal. People can eat lunch or have a cup of coffee and just talk about anything they wish."
At Centurion, a health care company based in Vienna, Va., HR created a voluntary lunch-time video meeting for employees on Zoom to talk about things other than work, said Jennifer Tyrrell, SHRM-SCP, senior director of HR.
"We did one that was called 'Get Up and Move' based on fitness videos so employees could be active, but that didn't draw a huge crowd," she joked. "Others had better participation, such as 'Just Social: Brown Bag Lunch Buddies' for remote workers to take a break and have virtual lunch to catch up with co-workers, and end-of-day Friday happy hours, including one where we played Pictionary."
Griffin shared another story of a small client. On one Friday afternoon, HR reached out to all employees and took drink orders. It then set up a virtual happy hour on Zoom where employees used their drinks—that the company personally delivered to their homes—to toast another great week.
"The company did a good job, packing them in baskets with other goodies," Griffin said.
As for food, some larger companies are offering stipends for daily lunch pickups or delivery, which has become an unanticipated expense for remote employees "now that they aren't able to take advantage of full cafeterias at work every day," said Chris Hoyt, president of CareerXroads, a membership-based talent community of more than 150 companies.
Zoom Fatigue
Virtual meetings have become so common at most companies that "there is more and more talk of blocking out meetings on multiple days each week to reduce stress and prevent 'Zoom fatigue,'" Hoyt said. "For some, there are entire days where either no meetings are called, or at least none that involve a video log-in. That's a well-being perk."
As for home offices, tech equipment stipends can make work and life easier. Hoyt said one organization gave its remote employees full access to a virtual ergonomic assessment that could help determine what equipment they would need to work most productively and funded those purchases.
At Iona, a social services group in Washington, D.C., employees were provided with office furniture and computer technology delivered to their homes, with set up-help provided, said Stacey Berk, a managing consultant with Expand HR Consulting in Maryland. "They bent over backwards to help their employees," she said.
At some companies, encouragement to take a summer vacation is a well-received perk. "Having spent so much time over the past few months working from home, [employees] are pivoting to summer rentals in remote places instead of theme parks or family reunions," Berk said. "Some employers are allowing staff to extend that time away if they split their work time, and may offer to pay for Wi-Fi connections, additional temporary office resources and supermarket gift cards for these types of vacations so that they can productively work in this capacity."
Wellness Well-Done
Berk sees a trend where clients are providing wellness "relief" to their workers by having group stress-relieving exercises, guest virtual speakers or even comic relief, such as themed summer dress-up days. Hoyt agrees that wellness has become an emerging front for many HR leaders.
"Some have been pushing for the ability to incorporate ideas and strategies for years and now are realizing that the pandemic [is the final catalyst] to get initiatives off the ground and running," he said.
"Some company fitness centers are offering virtual workouts much like commercial gyms do," Hoyt added. "A few employers' in-house trainers are getting creative with programs for people who may not have equipment at home but can do workouts with whatever equipment they might have around."
Personalized mental-health care program offerings also are gaining popularity, Hoyt said, such as LyraHealth and Headspace. Both focus on mindfulness and meditation for stress, anxiety, sleep, attention and fitness and enable participants to track their progress. Other popular programs include MeQuilibrium, a well-being and performance platform that helps employees identify and manage stress; and Sleepio, a digital sleep-improvement program featuring cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
Gifted and Talented
At BHI Insurance in Newark, Del., which boasts 28 employees, HR Director Maria Clyde, SHRM-SCP, offered everyone a list of electronics to choose from as a thank-you gift for adapting well to working from home. She budgeted $40 to $60 per gift.
"We thought that was fitting since everyone who is working remotely is looking to make their lives (and their kids' lives) easier," Clyde said. "I've also seen companies providing headphones and streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ for the kids. People are getting really creative!"
Charitably conscious, Hoyt said some companies are matching or double-matching employee donations to local organizations or for anything related to front-line workers and PPE creation and distribution.
Other benefits that companies can define as perks, Berk said, are a relaxed summer dress standard and the ability to work outdoors, which shows up as an employee's background in virtual meetings. "By not having to wear a blouse or dress shirt, think of the money employees are saving in dry cleaning because they can dress casually," she said. "It's not a lot of savings, but it helps."
Giving employees a greater voice can be considered a perk for some employees. Organizations that previously conducted one employee survey a year—or even every couple of years—are now conducting them more frequently, Berk said. "This gives employees more of a chance to be heard and to have a voice in some policy decision-making, which is one perk you cannot put a price tag on."
Tyrrell said Centurion has conducted more employee surveys recently and found that 90 percent of employees expressed confidence in how the C-suite has been dealing with the crisis, while at-home distractions ranked second lowest among employee challenges.
Many companies are creating incentives for work-from-home employees to voluntarily return to the office. Campus Advantage, an owner and manager of off-campus university student housing, has 70 employees assigned to its Austin, Texas, headquarters.
"Many workers are still afraid to come back," said Angela L. Shaw, SHRM-SCP, vice president of HR. "Our office has a mojo committee that creates fun office events, and we've offered those in the office breakfasts, Taco Tuesdays and yoga classes. On average, we'll have about five employees come in. The others are happy to continue working from home."
Perks on the Chopping Block
Many companies are planning for the next wave of the coronavirus, one that is expected to hit them hard financially during the second half of 2020 and beyond, Berk said. Traditional employee perks likely will be impacted, at least for the short term.
"Expect perks like traditional staff-wide wellness benefits, such as gym memberships, discount programs and celebratory gatherings, will be cut or eliminated and replaced with more modest offerings," Berk said. "Companies are quickly adjusting forecasting and budgeting for the coming year based on the realities of the pandemic. The reimagined office layout and sanitation will be at the forefront for HR and executives, and you could see companies reducing employee benefits, eliminating increases, bonuses, education stipends and executive perks. With the post-pandemic workforce, they have to account for a big in-office sanitation budget and potential reduced profits."
SOURCE: Bergeron, P. (01 July 2020) "Rethink Work-from-Home Employee Perks" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/rethink-work-from-home-employee-perks.aspx
Viewpoint: 12 Tips for Return-to-Work Communications
While employers begin to move their employees back into their offices, communication between team members may not be as strong as they were before working remotely. Read this blog post for helpful tips on communicating when returned to work.
While the move to working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic happened quickly, the return to work will be slower and more complicated.
Employers that haven't made movement back to workspaces and office buildings should think carefully about the implications of the new six-feet-apart world. How will you handle an employee who refuses to wear a mask when required? When will you open the kitchens and make coffee and water available? How many people will you allow in a restroom at a time? Do people have to walk clockwise around the space? Where do you put hand sanitizer stations? Setting aside all of the logistics, how do and will employees feel?
Connect with Employees
Like any other workplace change, making sure employees are aware and understand this new world will be equally as important as the actual changes themselves. Training, education and effective communication are key to returning employees to the workplace.
Below are a number of tips to keep in mind as you communicate return-to-workplace situations:
- Develop a clear and detailed safe work plan, reviewing any policies that need to be updated.
- Write in plain, easy-to-understand language.
- Use images and diagrams where appropriate.
- Outline what building management is doing, how the company is supporting this effort and clear expectations for employees.
- Partner with legal counsel. They can help you steer clear of perceptions of discrimination and other potential employee relations or legal issues.
- Get input from your senior leaders. They should be knowledgeable and included well before you communicate to employees.
- Train your managers and supervisors on the safe workplan and what is expected of them. They are the front line of employee communications.
- Use different media to supplement a written plan. Hold a webinar and record it. Create a video, leverage your online employee portal, or do a podcast.
- Make good use of signs throughout the office to help with key behaviors, including directions to walk down aisles in one direction or to designate one stairwell for walking up and another for walking down.
- Be clear where employees should go with questions.
- Start communicating before workers are allowed (or expected) to return to the workplace, and keep communicating to address new issues and concerns as they arise.
- Explain that the situation is fluid and manage expectations by noting that when new information becomes available the plan will be updated. Communicate those key changes with leadership and employees.
Careful Not to Overdo It
Especially now, employees want to understand what you are doing to keep them safe and to believe that you care. But you don't want to overdo it, either. Whether it's due to a lack of trust or excess worry, some organizations are holding more meetings than usual to "check-in," which employees can find invasive and intrusive.
If "eyes on your employees" was your primary form of performance evaluation, you might be feeling unsettled in this new work-from-home arrangement. In most situations, you've likely hired responsible, talented people who want to, and will, do good jobs under any circumstance. Trust they will, and reward them when they do.
Tip: Let them dictate the check-in frequency. Be willing to tailor your approach to the communication needs of the individuals or groups. Then, over time, survey your employees and ask them how it's working, especially the frequency and content of communications.
Wherever you are along this journey, don't forget employees' needs have shifted and will likely continue to change. Be flexible and willing to adjust your communication approach constantly. Look for that Goldilocks communication approach—not too much, not too little, but just right.
SOURCE: Foster, D. (26 June 2020) "Viewpoint: 12 Tips for Return-to-Work Communications" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/12-tips-for-return-to-work-communications.aspx
How employers and the economy win with remote work
Employers have been highly affected by the situations that the coronavirus pandemic has brought upon them, but so has the economy. The coronavirus has seemed to bring in a dark cloud over most situations, but now it can be looked at as helping both employers and the economy with the remote working situations. Read this blog post to learn more.
As high profile employers such as Twitter and Slack announce that they will allow employees to work from home indefinitely, other organizations have also noticed the advantages of a remote work model.
Aside from increased productivity and improved mental health for employees, employers can save $11,000 per employee on office costs and even reduce their carbon emissions, says Moe Vela, chief transparency officer at TransparentBusiness, a company that provides a remote workforce management platform.
When it comes to remote work, ”everyone wins across the board,” he says. “Remote work should be viewed no differently than a healthcare insurance package, dental insurance, paid time off, sick leave, or family leave.”
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Vela shared his thoughts on why remote work is the new normal and how employers can use technology to ensure that the experience for their employees is seamless.
How does remote work benefit employers and employees?
Employers benefit tremendously. On average, an employer saves $11,000 per year per employee in a remote workforce model. They need less commercial office space, so their bottom line actually improves because they can cut down on their office expenses. If you have 500 people in an office setting, that's 500 people you need supplies, equipment and infrastructure for — those costs get dramatically reduced or go away completely.
The other benefit to the employer is that productivity goes up in a remote workforce model. There is less absenteeism, workers are happier and also healthier because you're not confined in an office space spreading germs.
Your work life balance is improved dramatically by a remote workforce model for employees. On average, an employee gets two to three hours of their day back into their life because they don't have to commute. That's two to three hours you can spend with your family, that you can engage in self care, that you can run your errands, whatever it is you choose to do.
What advantages does remote work have outside of work?
One beneficiary in a remote workforce model is the economy. When those employees get those two to three hours back, guess what they're doing: they're spending money that was not being put into the economy before.
Another beneficiary is the environment. During this pandemic, there are around 17% less carbon emissions being emitted into the atmosphere and the environment. Climate change is impacted and our environment is a winner in a remote workforce model.
How can employers ensure a seamless remote work experience?
There are three fundamental technologies on the marketplace that every employer should immediately start using. Number one, video conferencing. We're all using it, it works just fine, you’ve got a lot of options in the marketplace from Skype to Zoom, to Google. Number two, file sharing. You have all kinds of file sharing software and services out there in the marketplace. Number three, remote workforce management and coordination software. All you have to do is implement them, and the risk is mitigated almost to nothing.
How can an employee approach management about working from home permanently?
Don't be afraid to ask your employer. Communicate your request very succinctly and very clearly. Let your boss know that you've thought this through. Prove to them that you have the self-discipline, that you have the loyalty, that you're trustworthy, and that you have the environment at home to be effective at working remotely. Use the fact that you've already been doing it as an affirmation, to attest to the fact that it can be done seamlessly and productively.
How COVID-19 could be a financial wellness springboard
Although the coronavirus pandemic has brought many implications to watch during these times, health isn't the only thing. Many businesses could use COVID-19 as a way to monitor their financial wellness. Read this blog post to learn more.
Physical health isn’t the only thing to monitor during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recent studies, which suggest the fate of businesses could depend on an ability to use financial wellness initiatives to restructure their financial and cultural mindset.
But what is financial wellness, and what can businesses do to cultivate it?
To enjoy financial wellness is to have control over daily and monthly finances, be able to meet financial goals, have enough rainy day money to survive an emergency and be able to splurge a little, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Of course, at this stage in the COVID-19 crisis, it’s all about step one — staying afloat day-to-day — according to Neil Lloyd, who heads Mercer’s US DC and financial wellness research.
But as the workforce gradually returns, there’ll be opportunities for major reinvention, the way Lloyd sees it.
“I think this is a time when you can look back at your benefits and say, ‘Well, given what we just learned, is there a better way to structure benefits that meet the needs of people?’ ” Lloyd said. “Because this is going to be in people’s minds. They’re not going to forget it in six months’ time.”
For some organizations, that might mean introducing an emergency savings account option to cover unexpected events, or providing tools that help staff understand and build their credit scores — widely expected to take a tumble in the coming months.
Why bother with financial wellness?
Even before COVID-19, 67% of employees reported feeling personally stressed, according to PwC’s 2019 employee financial wellness survey, which found 57% had less than $1,000 in emergency savings and 49% struggled to meet their financial obligations each month.
Those kinds of money worries are a bane for productivity, morale and turnover, according to the Retirement Advisor Council, which says the best way to reduce stress in the workforce is to tackle employee’s financial problems at their source.
Likewise, Mercer’s 2020 global talent trends survey of 7,300 senior business executives, HR leaders and employees across nine industries concluded that economics and empathy can and should coexist.
Though an organization’s ability to survive and expand depends on the talent and engagement of its workforce, Mercer found 63% feel at risk of burnout. And though 78% of employees said they want long-term financial planning, only 23% of companies said they provide it.
That means COVID-19 and its aftermath could present an opportunity for human resources departments to step up.
“Employers are also going to have a lot on their minds, so it’s going to be quite tough,” Lloyd said. “But ideally, try and see what you can learn from what we’ve just been through. What were all those stresses and strains that your people had? Maybe survey them and talk to them. Learn from this.”
Financial wellness initiatives only became popular about five years ago, according to Lloyd, who said Mercer’s latest survey suggests a change in the winds. While executives used to focus on the financial returns for each initiative, Lloyd says they’re developing a new understanding that, “If you look after your people well, they will ultimately look after you.”
“When we were talking to clients, what tended to happen quite quickly was, ‘Let me see the return on investment for financial wellness.’ I.e., ‘I put a dollar in here, what do I get back?’ Lloyd said. “People are beginning to not look at it like that.”
How to increase financial wellness
There’s plenty of room for financial wellness initiatives in 2020, according to Mercer, as its survey revealed only 29% of HR leaders have a health and wellbeing strategy in place, even though 61% of employees said they trusted their employer to look after their wellbeing and 48% of executives labeled it a top concern.
Offerings could range from group training sessions or one-on-one consultations to online resources or classes aimed at helping employees budget, save and manage debt, or even buy their first home. They might also help establish emergency funds, automatically enroll staff in retirement plans and open benefits up to all family members.
Mission: Money outlines six steps to establishing a financial wellness program — starting with deciphering the root causes of money woes. For some, it might be credit card or student loan debt, while for others it could be health care or retirement plan savings.
That information, coupled with an organization’s business objectives, is what employers should base their offerings on.
Above all, Lloyd says every initiative should build financial confidence, as opposed to unwittingly tearing it down. That means placing less emphasis on where an employee started and more on celebrating what they’ve achieved.
“It doesn’t help to say to somebody, ‘We did a financial literacy test and you scored 35%,’ when everybody knows 35% is bad. That can actually make somebody feel a lot worse about things,” Lloyd said. “Avoid getting into that situation where people think they’re a failure and want to avoid this topic. Rather, ensure that whatever we do in the financial wellness side is empowering and makes people more confident to keep on engaging with financial issues.”
Crucially, as employee needs, business objectives and markets change, so should financial wellness strategies. “Financial wellness is not something we’ve had 30, 40 years of success with, so you have to be prepared to try something new,” Lloyd said. “There’s a very good chance something’s not going to work, and you change it. That’s the process.”
SOURCE: Lean, R. (30 April 2020) "How COVID-19 could be a financial wellness springboard" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitspro.com/2020/04/30/how-covid-19-could-be-a-financial-wellness-springboard/
U.S. Health Care Is in Flux. Here’s What Employers Should Do.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought uncertainty in many areas of day-to-day lives and is now bringing uncertainty into health care. Read this blog post to learn more.
Emergencies naturally draw our attention — and our resources — to the present. The U.S. response to Covid-19 is no exception. Yet the problems exposed by the pandemic point to the urgent need to prepare now for the next waves of this crisis, including new clusters of infection and new crises of debt and scarcity. They also highlight the opportunity to develop a more resilient health system for the future. Employers can and should play a central role in this effort.
For employers, this period of exceptional economic strain has exacerbated the longstanding challenges of managing the health care costs of their employees. The future course of the disease and economy may be uncertain. But businesses that are rigorous in the way they purchase health care benefits, leverage digital health technologies, and partner with hospitals and physicians will be able to better manage an expected roller coaster in health care costs and premiums.
Dealing with Covid-19 itself is expensive: Covered California estimated that the costs to test, treat, and care for Covid-19 patients this year will be between $34 billion and $251 billion; America’s Health Insurance Plans predicts the cost will total $56 billion to $556 billion over a two-year period. Yet the total costs of U.S. health care this year will likely drop due to the postponement or cancellation of regular clinical services and elective procedures due to the virus. According to one estimate, Americans may spend anywhere from $75 billion to $575 billion less than expected on health care this year. Another actuarial firm projects that self-insured employers may see a 4% reduction in their employees’ health costs this year.
Nonetheless, health insurance premiums for employers are expected to rise in 2021. An analysis by Covered California projected that nationally, premiums will increase between 4% and 40% — and possibly more. Recent filings with the District of Columbia’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking related to the individual market and small groups for 2021 show that Aetna filed for an average increase of 7.4% for health maintenance organization (HMO) plans and 38% for preferred provider organization (PPO) plans, while UnitedHealth proposed an average increase of 17.4% for its two HMOs and 11.4% for its PPO plans.
What explains this projection of higher premiums in 2021? Will second and third waves of Covid-19 lead to more expensive intensive-care unit and hospital stays? Will patients flood clinics for the hip replacements, cataract operations, and other “non-urgent” services they delayed during the lockdown? Will hospitals try to charge commercial insurers more to compensate for their losses in 2020?
The answer to all these questions is a definite “maybe.” Ironically, the fundamental reason rates are expected to rise is the cost of uncertainty itself. And the situation may only get murkier if the pandemic resurges.
Even if premiums stay as they are, employers may still be unable to afford them amid plummeting revenues. Before Covid-19, premiums for employer-sponsored plans had been consistently outpacing inflation. In 2019, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the average annual premium for employer-sponsored health insurance was a whopping $20,576 for a family of four (and $7,188 for an individual) — a 54% increase over the previous 10 years. That dwarfs the average inflation-adjusted increase of 4% in wages in the same 10-year period from 2009 to 2019.
Given these rising costs, employers should look beyond 2021. They should not seek a short-term fix by raising copayments, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs for next year. While this strategy may initially reduce spending on health care, studies show that it will disincentivize employees to seek preventative treatment. In fact, families with higher deductibles are less likely to take their children to see the doctor, even when the visit is free. Over time, this leads to worse health outcomes for employees and their families, which also means much higher costs.
Here are three strategies that can help employers weather the inevitable ups and downs of 2021 and beyond and improve employee health:
1. Manage health care benefits like all other purchases.
Business leaders, especially the CEO, need to make it a priority to understand the health care benefits business. Employee health benefits consume more than $15 million annually per 1,000 employees, and employers should treat costs with the same rigor and expertise that they assess other major expenses. Whether it’s through their broker, insurance company, or consultants, businesses should examine these costs closely and understand where they are deviating from benchmarks and why. A car manufacturer should not overpay for care anymore than it overpays for steel.
For example, when employees experience a common ailment like uncomplicated back pain, do their doctors tend to order MRI and back surgery, driving up costs unnecessarily in an overeager fee-for-service model of treatment? Or do they follow more cost-efficient, preventative guidelines that lead with rest and physical therapy?
By challenging providers with these types of questions, large employers such as Walmart and Boeing have redesigned their employee benefits plans to encourage employees to seek second opinions and have even gone so far as to allow them to expense travel to medical centers that offer better care at lower costs. Employers may also find that forming alliances or joining cooperatives can expand the scale of their data, help them identify and exploit opportunities for improving the quality and cost of treating specific conditions, and enhance their purchasing power for health care.
2. Leverage technology.
The Covid-19 pandemic will open unprecedented opportunities for employers to leverage technology that helps employees seek, manage, and receive health care over the internet. During the emergency, public and private insurers lifted provider restrictions on telehealth, and the increasing willingness of both clinicians and patients to use digital technologies is changing the landscape of health care, especially for those who have chronic conditions that require ongoing monitoring. Given that Medicare is likely to sustain these changes, employers should work with their private insurance partners to ensure continued coverage of telehealth for their employees.
Virtual chronic care solutions are also gaining traction. Take people with type 2 diabetes, who now comprise about 10% of all Americans and whose care costs more than $325 million per year. Technologies like a Bluetooth-enabled continuous glucose monitor (CGM) obviate the need for daily finger pricks and glucometer checks for monitoring blood sugars. (Verily, the company I work for, is developing a next-generation CGM with Dexcom.) This technology, when paired with a smartphone app that records meals (a quick photo of the food is sufficient), exercise, and medications, can help individuals understand the impact of their actions on their health. Onduo, a digital health company managed by Verily, combines this technology with telehealth and chat features to connect employees to health coaches and physicians. It offers a virtual diabetes clinic on demand.
Amid a burgeoning marketplace of digital health offerings and innovations, employers should shop and negotiate for health care solutions with the same rigor they shop for their business needs. They should challenge vendors to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of their programs to produce better health and improve productivity, presenteeism, and quality of life for their employees. They should even consider demanding money-back guarantees like some health systems now provide.
3. Partner with hospitals and physicians.
As health systems struggle with their own financial crises, this is a good time for employers to partner more closely with hospitals and doctors. If the CEOs of businesses have much to learn about health care, perhaps health care has much to learn from these CEOs. Whether it’s lessons in improving operations from a manufacturing plant or ways to deliver better customer service from a retail perspective, employers can offer their own industry-specific expertise to help hospitals and medical facilities practice safer, more efficient, patient-friendly, and cost-effective care. For example, Intel shared its expertise in supply chain and “lean” management to improve clinical care in metropolitan Portland, Oregon. Most hospitals and health systems have a community advisory or governance board. By serving on these committees, employers can begin to understand — and perhaps even improve — the care their employees and their families receive.
Employers’ actions must be decisive precisely because the future is so uncertain. By partnering with the health systems that provide care for their employees, establishing clear expectations for high quality and low-cost care, and leveraging telehealth and virtual care solutions to achieve these goals, businesses can help their employees better weather the ups and downs of Covid-19. In doing so, employers can build a more robust and affordable model for the good of their businesses, the economy, and the health of millions of Americans.
SOURCE: Lee, V. (15 June 2020) "U.S. Health Care Is in Flux. Here’s What Employers Should Do." (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/06/u-s-health-care-is-in-flux-heres-what-employers-should-do
SHRM: Employers Consider Safety Precautions for Return to Workplace
As employers begin to look at what lies ahead in regards to returning to the workplace, they also have to begin looking at what precautions they need to consider in order to keep the workplace safe for everyone involved. Read this blog post to learn more.
Nearly half of organizations surveyed have not announced a return-to-work date as COVID-19 restrictions ease in some parts of the country, but a majority of HR professionals think setting even a tentative date is a good idea.
The findings from new Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) research released June 9 illustrate how U.S. employers are considering a phased return of employees, staggered start and stop times, health precautions, and physical changes to their worksites.
Setting a return date is a good idea, two-thirds of HR professionals said, because it eases job-security concerns among staff, especially for those in physical and service industries such as health care, retail and education. Employers that have established a date prefer employees to return on or before June 30, according to more than three-fourths of HR professionals.
Much of what an organization decides to do depends on its size and industry.
Large employers—those with 500 or more employees—were less likely to have announced a return date. This was especially true in knowledge industries. However, organizations in those industries—finance, consulting, engineering and administrative services companies—also were more likely to let employees continue to work from home and determine when they want to return to the worksite.
Industries where the work is more physical—construction, manufacturing and transportation—were more likely to have already reopened their physical locations and to implement an alternating work schedule.
Other strategies include:
- Staggering the start and stop of employees' workdays as well as break times so as to reduce the number of workers in one location at the same time (75 percent).
- Reducing the number of customers permitted on site at one time and taking measures such as counting the number of people as they enter (78 percent).
- Limiting the number of employees or customers on site at one time (81 percent).
The research is based on a SHRM survey that collected responses May 13-20 from a random sampling of 1,087 SHRM members working in HR. Academicians, students, consultants, people who are self-employed or retired, and HR professionals who were furloughed or laid off were excluded from the sample.
“This research gives a glimpse into how COVID-19 has changed the world of work, and what workplaces will look like once we return,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, SHRM's president and CEO. “Workers should expect to see more masks, fewer handshakes, marked floors, more barriers, and greater flexibility—especially when it comes to remote work.”
Among employers implementing a phased-return plan, one-third intend to do so by specific departments or functions. Others are first bringing back employees with lower health risks or those in leadership positions. The length of the phased return also varies, from two weeks to more than three months.
"Getting back to work takes a lot of work," Taylor noted, "and HR professionals have played an essential role in drawing up plans that drive organizations forward and protect public health.”
SOURCE: Gurchiek, K. (09 June 2020) "SHRM: Employers Consider Safety Precautions for Return to Workplace" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/shrm-employers-consider-safety-precautions-for-return-to-workplace.aspx
How to Help Your Team Advance
With many managers wanting to help their employees expand their skill set and talents, they are continuously working side by side with their employees to define their goals and achievements. Read this blog post to learn more.
Working for a company that invests in career development is often a top priority for employees, and if the company doesn't provide those opportunities, employees will take their talents elsewhere. A 2019 iHire survey found that 51.7 percent of professionals voluntarily left their job in the past five years. One of the reasons professionals cited for quitting was the lack of advancement opportunities (reported by 11.7 percent of respondents).
Managers can help combat this talent drain by working with their direct reports to define the employees' career goals and then help them achieve those milestones. "If you want the best team and want them to perform at their highest level, you have to invest in developing them," said Iris Drayton-Spann, SHRM-CP, vice president of human resources and organizational development at WETA, a public television station in Arlington, Va. "Then they will bring their 'A' game."
Investing in your team doesn't necessarily mean paying for high-priced training programs. There are plenty of low-cost and free development opportunities managers can offer employees, such as suggesting certain trade publications to read, or introducing them to a staff or board member who is a subject matter expert or thought leader in a field they want to pursue, said Jody Fosnough, SHRM-SCP, a senior consultant and executive coach for Right Management, a leadership development firm in Fort Wayne, Ind. The key is to find out what skills each team member is looking to develop or what type of position he or she hopes to grow into.
Ask Thought-Provoking Questions
Drayton-Spann carves out 45 minutes every two weeks to talk with her four team members individually about their goals, training needs and anything else they want to discuss about their work. It's up to each employee, though, to set the agenda and tone for the meeting.
"Some of the meetings are casual, some are very formal," she said. "I listen to them, they ask me questions, and then I ask them questions. It gives them ownership over their career development. It's not me telling them what to do." If they make a commitment to work on a project, meet with a mentor or look into a professional membership organization, Drayton-Spann follows up with them at the next meeting to see if they completed the task and to figure out what the next step will be toward their milestone.
To help employees set realistic goals, Fosnough said, managers need to ask more pointed questions than simply "What do you want to do?" Ask employees questions that force them to think critically about their strengths:
- What's a compliment you received about your work?
- What recent problem have you solved?
- How have you surprised others on your team?
- What are you most proud of this month?
These questions will help employees to consider why their colleagues value their work and help them see what types of roles they should gravitate toward in the future.
Find In-House Opportunities
One of the best ways to help team members advance is to invite them to work on a stretch assignment—a task outside their job description—that allows them to learn new skills or interact with colleagues they normally wouldn't have access to, Drayton-Spann said. Instead of telling an employee to take on a new project, Drayton-Spann asks the employee to work with her on a project. She also takes time to explain how the project would benefit the employee's career. Perhaps the worker will learn a new skill or have an opportunity to interact with members of the C-suite, she said.
In addition to stretch assignments, managers can offer plenty of other in-house opportunities to help employees grow into a new position, including cross-training with another department, telling other managers at the company about an employee's strengths, and allowing an employee to shadow someone who holds a position he or she is interested in growing into, said Kimberly Coan, a 20-year HR professional in the Dallas area. Job shadowing allows employees to learn what skills they might need to develop and the type of training they should focus on. And sometimes it reveals that a position they're interested in isn't actually a good fit for their skills, she said.
Career development can also focus on soft skills and help the employee gain confidence. For instance, an employee once asked Coan how to become more comfortable interacting with company leaders outside his immediate department. Coan encouraged him to invite a regional director out for coffee and ask the director how to best help the employee's department director do her job.
If an employee asks to participate in a specific training program, make sure it's appropriate for the employee's goals, said Andrea Raggambi, CEO at PerforMore Coaching and Consulting, a leadership development firm in Falls Church, Va. Often employees will want to earn a certificate or participate in a training program because they heard another colleague just completed the program.
"Sometimes they see their colleagues do certain things, and they think that is the correct career path for them even if it's not," she said. Ask the employee to explain why he or she believes the training will help achieve his or her career goals, how it will have a positive impact on the team, and how it will help advance the company's overall mission, Raggambi said.
Keep Plans Flexible
Keep in mind that not all employees will be interested in advancing their career. Some employees are content staying in the position they have, and managers need to respect that, Coan said. There might be reasons outside of work that influence their decision not to pursue a promotion. For instance, they might be taking care of an aging parent or sick child. But, Coan said, keep in mind that just because employees aren't interested in career development today doesn't mean they won't be interested in three months or a year from now.
Employees' goals can change. Raggambi recommends asking employees to revisit their career plans every three to six months. Managers should always ask, "Does this career plan still look good for you? Are you still excited and energized by this?" It's important to allow employees to reassess their plans and make adjustments.
SOURCE: Rabasca Roepe, L. (09 June 2020) "How to Help Your Team Advance" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/people-managers/pages/developing-your-employees-.aspx
Companies prioritize learning and development in the wake of coronavirus crisis
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, many employees are still working remotely, which may cause a lack of learning and development in their careers. Many companies are now prioritizing their employees learning and development. Read this blog post to learn more.
As the coronavirus pandemic creates uncertainty within the workforce, more employers are investing in learning and development as they seek to keep their remote employees engaged and promote strong mental health. Indeed, 66% of learning and development professionals say that their roles within their organizations have grown substantially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, according to a recent LinkedIn Learning report.
Of the 864 development professionals and 3,155 workplace learners — employees who interact with learning content provided by their employers — surveyed, 68% of learning and development professionals say employers have been placing a larger emphasis on launching learning programs designed to teach employees new skills with an eye on boosting internal mobility.
“The appetite for learning coupled with the fact that the needs of remote employees have shifted, has created a spotlight on L&D to develop and deliver the sorts of engaging and relevant learning experiences that employees want and need during this challenging time,” says Mike Derezin, vice president of LinkedIn Learning.
To that end, companies are investing in technologies including virtual instructor-led training (VILT) — live training done digitally, and online learning — recorded digital learning content. The report found that 66% of learning and development professionals expect to spend more on VILT than they did last year, with 60% saying the same for online learning. Furthermore, the report says that developing the right mix of VILT and online learning — blended online learning — will be essential going forward.
“Blended online learning is especially beneficial for employees during a time where they feel isolated because it’s a form of social learning,” Derezin says.
The LinkedIn Learning platform has seen a 301% rise in enrollment and a 153% increase in courses shared between members and their networks in March and April, compared to January and February of this year.
“We’re also seeing instructors engaging more, and companies tapping subject matter experts to create learning moments. What’s more, social learning drives up learner engagement and helps learners remember content,” he says.
About 75% of the professionals surveyed by LinkedIn expect social learning, including online learning groups, to increase over time and play a large role in their organizations.
Employers are placing strong emphasis on reskilling the workforce. Since the coronavirus hit the U.S., nearly 43 million Americans have filed for unemployment, having lost their jobs when businesses were forced to close down in an effort to promote social distancing.
“Employers are still focused on keeping high-value employees, even when faced with the task of moving them into new positions as a result of changing business dynamics,” Derezin says.
One employer that took this approach was tech retailer Verizon. When the company had to close down some of its retail locations it allowed many of those employees to apply transferable skills to other areas of the business. Verizon gave employees a choice of career paths and then implemented personalized learning, with the goal of enabling these workers to close any skills gaps before moving on to new roles.
“By offering online tools and training, Verizon was able to help brick-and-mortar employees work from home and contribute in roles like customer service,” he says.
The LinkedIn research also shows that 69% of learning and development professionals feel responsible for their employees’ mental health and well-being. Over the last several years, employers have become more focused on supporting employee mental health as it is a strong attraction and retention tool, and as employers realize that supporting employees is about work-life integration, rather than work-life balance.
PayPal has had success with practices that support employee mental health, like holding more frequent all-hands meetings, promoting company-wide access to its executives, and conducting weekly wellness surveys.
As employers and employees navigate the new normal of the workplace, managers are expected to become more active in curating content that will help build up the skills of their workforce. In March and April managers were spending twice the amount of time on learning and development than they did in January and February.
“With the rise of AI, remote work, and widening skills gaps, the value of an always-on learning culture has never been more clear,” Derezin says. “By supporting learners in the moments that matter to their present and future careers, you’ll not only have happier employees, but retain them.”
SOURCE: Del Rowe, S. (05 June 2020) "Companies prioritize learning and development in the wake of coronavirus crisis" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/news/companies-prioritizing-learning-and-development-in-the-wake-of-coronavirus-crisis