By Michael Rozum, Advisor at acumen
Did you know there are more Subway restaurants around the world than there are McDonald’s? Contrary to what many might think, recent statistics show that Subway has about 8,000 more locations than its competitor. I’m sure there are a number of business and economic reasons why this is true, but for me it comes down to choice. One of the reasons I enjoy Subway is because I can customize my sandwich each time I’m there and the idea that it was made just for me. Customization is present in nearly every aspect of our lives. When deciding what ringtone you hear when you get a phone call, to curating a running playlist comprised of your favorite songs, to ordering a pair of jeans fit to your specifications. We’ve become accustomed to personalizing every facet of our lives to fit our needs and desires.
The trend of customization has even made its way into the employee benefits arena. While 7 in 10 employers believe their current benefit offerings are meeting employees’ needs, only 53 percent of workers with benefits are satisfied with the benefit choices they receive. Employees with access to more benefits report a higher level of satisfaction. The disconnect may be partially explained by the fact that only 18 percent of employers survey their employees on a regular basis to find out which benefits they are interested in, while 34 percent admit to never doing so.* On the surface this seems quite obvious; of course, employees are going to be happier with more benefits. However, as you dig deeper, you start to see that employees are not requiring employer contributions to all of the benefits available, they simply need the offering of coverage.
*Source: Workplace Benefits Resource Guide, LIMRA, 2019
Acumen works closely with clients to help bridge that gap between employers and employees. Using our industry knowledge, employee input and benchmarking data, a broad scope of benefits can be implemented in the workplace. This allows employees the ability to customize their benefit package while keeping company cost within budget. These options also give employees the opportunity customize their benefit elections and to address the specific financial needs that are unique to their situation. In addition to insurance-specific products, acumen also relies on community partners to provide access to other important benefits including:
- Health Wellness Programs
- Financial Wellness
- Identity Theft Protection
- Student Loan Assistance
- Legal Service Plans
For more information, please contact acumen today!