A HUB
International Employee Benefits study.
HUB
International recently undertook an in-depth study of over 400 senior level Human
Resource and Finance executives with 50 to 1,000 employees for an in-depth look
at pressing issues shaping their employee benefits programs, including cost
management pressures, employee health and productivity and ACA compliance.
The HUB Benefits
Barometer: SMB Perspectives and Priorities study provides
a window into the way small to mid-size businesses are coping with rising
health care costs and health care reform as well as the growing pressure to
align employee wellness with improved business performance.
HR and Finance executives report they
are currently adapting their employee benefit programs to meet compliance
requirements and manage rising costs, but many respondents said their business will
struggle to stay afloat despite their efforts.
Top Benefit
Concerns
Four key themes emerged from the study, each
touching on a different aspect of employee benefits and the pressure HR and
Finance teams are experiencing in today’s turbulent business climate.
- Employee
wellness and productivity is a top priority and two thirds of respondents are
already seeing a return on investment from their current programs.
Wellness and
productivity is top concern for 90 percent of organizations with 500-1,000
employees; 81 percent of those with 100-499 employees; and 78 percent of
organizations with 50-99 employees. - Respondents are reaping the
benefits of existing cost-cutting initiatives, but too many missed
opportunities are still leaving significant money on the table. The vast majority of HR and finance
leaders have revamped their plan designs, implemented a multi-year
planning process and offered voluntary benefits to reduce costs and keep
employees happy. But, additional cost management strategies such as referenced-based
pricing, self-funding and telehealth have only been adopted by a quarter
of the survey respondents.
- Employers
perceive themselves to be on top of ACA compliance issues, but nearly
two-thirds say that their business will struggle to stay afloat despite their
efforts to optimize plan designs and operations.
ACA
compliance is a worry for 69 percent of HR leaders in smaller organizations and
51 percent of those in the mid-size business segment. - Despite a solid working
relationship and common ground on major benefits issues, there are some
troubling disconnects between HR and Finance. As many as 97 percent of financial
executives are concerned about their HR partner’s long-term benefits cost
management strategies, while 93 percent worry that potential HR missteps
could result in executive liability claims. Similarly, 34 percent of
finance executives believe their HR teams are not on top of ACA reporting.
Connecting the
Dots
HR and Finance executives at small to mid-size businesses have already
taken many critical steps toward preparing their organizations to meet the
ever-changing requirements of the evolving corporate health care environment. The
goal now must be to connect the dots – from instituting more aggressive cost management initiatives to meeting ACA
compliance requirements and forging stronger partnerships between HR and
Finance teams. Read the complete summary of the study The
HUB Benefits Barometer: SMB Perspectives and Priorities.