The role of healthcare in attracting and keeping top talent.

In today’s fiercely competitive job market, salary alone is no longer enough to attract or retain top talent. A recent Voya Financial survey revealed a powerful shift in employee priorities: nearly three in four Americans are willing to accept a slightly lower salary in exchange for better health care benefits. This trend underscores a critical reality for employers—offering comprehensive health benefits isn’t just a perk, it’s a strategic necessity. 

As healthcare costs rise and financial pressures increase, companies that overlook the importance of robust health benefits risk losing valuable talent and facing retention challenges.

What Makes a Strong Healthcare Benefits Strategy?

A strong healthcare benefits strategy supports both employee well-being and key business goals. It goes beyond basic coverage to provide meaningful value to the workforce. Here’s what sets a strong strategy apart:

• Clear alignment with business goals: Supports retention, cost control, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

• Personalization: Offers flexible options that reflect the diverse needs of employees and their families.

• High-quality provider access: Ensures networks include trusted, reliable healthcare professionals.

• Digital-first tools: Makes it easy for employees to access care, manage plans, and get support online.

• Integrated care approach: Connects physical, mental, and preventive care to improve overall outcomes.

• Leadership involvement: Treated as a priority by leaders, not just a compliance task.

Strategic benefits drive both employee satisfaction and cost reduction—a dual ROI. To stay competitive and ensure employee satisfaction, here are four key strategies employers can implement to enhance their healthcare benefits offerings:

1. Make your benefits heard: Communication that drives activation.

Many employees are unaware of the full range of benefits available to them or struggle to understand how to access and use them. A clear communication strategy is essential, especially during open enrollment periods. Employers should make it easy for employees to find information, understand their options, and activate the benefits that suit their needs. 

Health navigation solutions like Rightway play a vital role in this by streamlining communication and offering personalized care navigation. Employees can easily navigate their benefits, access the right information, and receive support from expert health guides who guide them to the smartest benefits decisions.

2. Digitize the experience: Make accessing benefits effortless.

Employees increasingly prefer to access and manage their benefits digitally. Offering mobile apps or online portals where they can easily find details about their health plans, wellness programs, or other benefits can significantly enhance the user experience. 

Rightway offers a cutting-edge digital platform that allows employees to access all their healthcare benefits in one place. With an intuitive app, employees can find healthcare providers, manage appointments, understand their coverage, and even chat live with Rightway’s dedicated clinical guides. 

3. Empower employees to make cost-smart healthcare decisions.

One of the biggest concerns for employees is the rising cost of healthcare. Employers can offer tools and resources that help teams manage these costs more effectively, such as providing access to cost comparison tools for medical services or offering financial wellness programs to educate employees on how to optimize their healthcare spending.

Rightway addresses this challenge head-on by offering employees cost transparency tools and personalized guidance to high-value care decisions. Through the platform, employees can compare prices, explore lower-cost alternatives, and receive personalized support in finding affordable care options, helping to alleviate the financial burden on both employees and employers.

4. Mental health is the new must-have benefit.

In recent years, mental health has become a top priority for employees. Offering benefits that support mental well-being, such as counseling services, stress management programs, and flexible work options, can make a significant difference in employee satisfaction and retention. 

Rightway’s clinical teams include a mental health specialist to guide and support members when dealing with behavioral health needs. They can also provide education on various treatments, curate a list of in-network providers who can provide virtual or in-person care, and direct members to third-party mental health point solutions in their plan.

Unlock the full value of your benefits investment.

Employers dedicate significant time and resources to crafting comprehensive benefit packages, but maximizing their value is crucial to unlocking their full potential. It’s not enough to simply offer healthcare benefits; clear communication, digital accessibility, and ongoing support are essential to ensure employees understand and utilize them effectively.

Care navigation solutions like Rightway help employers enhance the value of their benefits by offering members a way to seamlessly manage and access their benefits. When employees feel supported in their well-being, businesses benefit from higher satisfaction, productivity, and retention, making healthcare benefits a key driver of long-term success.