PEO WORKSITE BENEFITS
Employers are turning to PEOs to help bridge the growing care gap for their workforce. How can PEOs take employee engagement to the next level?
The numbers don’t lie: Small businesses that work with PEOs report 20% higher employee happiness, 30% more employee engagement, and 40% higher employee satisfaction compared to businesses without PEO support1.
This finding from MetLife’s 8th annual EBTS PEO Advantage Report comes as no surprise. However, the same study also found that while 90% of small business employers say their workers feel cared for, only 59% of employees agree.
This gap in perception is both a challenge—and an opportunity—for PEOs to add value both to their clients and their organizations. Closing this gap would be a boon to talent retention for small businesses, which would, in turn, heighten client trust (and revenue growth) for PEOs.
Seeing as benefits directly affect employee well-being, it’s natural for PEOs to consider expanding benefits to satisfy unmet employee needs. In addition to providing crafted benefits packages to satisfy worksite needs, we also recommend taking three additional steps to enhance your benefit offerings to make them more effective:
1. Streamline and simplify benefits
PEOs often expand benefits based on client feedback, but more options don’t always improve outcomes. A benefits plan with 10 options for life insurance, four for dental, and six for disability may seem comprehensive, but such complexity may overwhelm employees, leading to confusion and, ultimately, lower participation rates
When reviewing benefits, prioritize maximizing employee participation by selecting options that align with industry needs, locations, and affordability. For instance, a PEO serving startups should focus on foundational benefits like life, dental, and vision insurance. On the other hand, PEOs serving more established companies should opt to provide a comprehensive suite of benefits to meet more diverse needs.
Additionally, consider streamlining benefit offerings by consolidating them under one provider. Doing so will not only minimize the administrative burden but also often result in better rates through bundling.
PEOs should aim to provide value and clarity, not complexity. By thoughtfully curating their benefits portfolio, PEOs can ensure that employees have access to the coverage they need without feeling overwhelmed by choices
2. Maximize member out-of-pocket savings
One of the most pressing concerns for employees today is the financial strain caused by out-of-pocket expenses. These costs can significantly affect employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, as employees often find themselves choosing between immediate needs and preventive care.
Minimizing this frustration is a surefire way for PEOs to make a meaningful difference in the lives of worksite employees. MetLife’s dental benefit, for example, can deliver big savings thanks to network discounts that average 35%–50% below community average charges. This is significantly better than the industry average of 25%–35%2. What’s more, it features comprehensive cost protections to prevent dentists from inappropriately billing patients for dental services at the point of claim, further protecting the integrity of discounts and ensuring that employees receive the full value of their benefits
While the effects of this improvement may not be immediately obvious, worksites will likely see significant improvements in employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention in time, as employees accrue savings and experience less financial stress.
| Service | Dentist's List Price |
Insurance Covers® |
Member Out-of-Pocket Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | $112 | $112 | $0 |
| X-rays | $152 | $152 |
$0 |
| Filling | $196 | $179.60 | $16.40 |
| Root Canal | $1345 | $1212.60 |
$132.40 |
| Crown | $1399 |
$1052 |
$347 |
Hypothetical3 savings example when visiting a participating dentist4.
3. Improve benefits communication
Employee benefits communication can fall short because it’s often overlooked. And it shows: 34% of employees do not feel their employer’s benefits communications are easy to understand; 61% of employees want to be more informed on benefits5.
To address this challenge, we encourage PEOs to partner with MetLife’s dedicated PEO communications team to develop comprehensive, multichannel engagement strategies encompassing various touchpoints, including intranet updates, targeted emails, informative newsletters, and direct mail postcards. Previous engagements have seen increases in employee enrollment, response rates, and engagement by 200% to 600%6.
This collaborative approach not only enhances the effectiveness of benefits rollouts but also reduces the workload on PEO sales teams, allowing them to focus on core responsibilities while ensuring employees are well-informed about their benefits options.
Develop multichannel engagement strategies with dedicated support from the MetLife communications team
Opportunity awaits
Addressing the employer-employee care gap requires more than simply expanding benefit offerings. It involves improving often-overlooked aspects of benefits programs, such as communication, efficiency, and cost savings. While individual PEOs may have unique needs and portfolios, these three elements are common to all and demand closer attention to strengthen service delivery and client outcomes.
More than ever, PEOs are now positioned to elevate their role further by helping clients get more value from their benefits programs. This initiative can significantly enhance their clients’ recruitment and retention efforts while helping PEOs build and sustain trust with their worksites.
