DOWNLOAD OUR FULL REPORT HERE.
Mandates. The Great Resignation. Supply chain disruption. Hybrid workforces. The last year presented challenge after challenge for employers and their advisors alike. And, then the page turns upon the new year. We surveyed over 13,000 benefits leaders in the brokerage and employer space, asking them to weigh in on what they expect in 2022 as it relates to benefits and employee-focused issues. Here is an overview of their responses.
What best describes your role?
We went to the source of folks responsible for plan design – benefits brokers, employers and the teams they enlist for plan design. Of the survey respondents:
36% were Employer
42% were Brokers
22% chose Other
Of those who responded, here’s what group size looks like.
While the bulk of employers and brokers worked with smaller groups, our respondents still represent a wide range of sizes.
For Employers, the average employee headcount represented
54% 500 and under
10% 501-1000 employees
27% 1001-5000 employees
and 9% 5001 and above
For Brokers, the average client size was
60% 500 and under
26% 501-1000 employees
9% 1001-5000 employees
and 5% 5001 and above
As you plan for benefits in 2022, which driver is the most important to you?
The past two years have forced employers and advisors alike to re-evaluate how benefits are administered. Tightening purse strings and the looming promise of The Great Resignation have forced a shift in what drivers are now important in plan design.
Our respondents weighed in with their top three as:
#1 Innovative or Data-driven Solutions
#2 Cost Containment
#3 Employee Satisfaction
Do Covid-related resources continue to be relevant to you moving into 2022?
There’s no escaping Covid, yet. When it comes to importance and weight of the issue, here’s what employers and brokers have said:
55% said Yes
28% said No
18% said Unsure
Looking ahead into 2022, rank the following issues according to how you anticipate your time will be spent?
Now that we’ve gotten semi-used to the “fruit basket turnover” that has been the past few years, employers and brokers seem more confident in how to spend their benefits-related time. Determining what’s important to protect the population, here’s how they imagine their time will be spent.
Employers and brokers chose
#1 Remote work (cyber security, productivity, morale), followed by
#2 Return-to-work issues (office safety hybrid, sick leave, etc.)
The list of 8 choices also included:
Vaccine mandate
OSHA compliance
Mental health
Financial wellness
Disease specific solutions
Implementing virtual/app related services
However, time allocation doesn’t always correlate to importance.
When asked to identify which of these items were most important as they looked across their plan members’ needs, respondents kept their first choice the same, but mental health became the second issue.
25% of all employers and brokers chose mental health as #2 issue
With that said, we asked respondents to give their parting thoughts, sharing what additional topics they plan to explore as they move into 2022.
Some of the most consistent themes include:
Innovative cost reduction strategies
Solutions that are validated but are also least disruptive
Direct Primary Care integration
More tele-related solutions
and a big one…..Transparency reporting.
Want to have a source of solutions at your fingertips to address all of these issues?
Sign up for The Granite List today by creating a free profile.
