Should I ask my employees what they want from their benefits?

Why employee input helps

Employees experience the plan directly. Their input can help reveal things that are hard to see from the outside:

• Which parts of the plan they value and use.
• Where coverage may not match their needs.
• How much flexibility and choice matters to them.
• Whether they understand the plan they already have.

One input, not the only input

Employee preferences are important, but they are one input alongside others. A well-designed plan also needs to reflect the business's objectives, what it can afford, what is sustainable over time and how much risk it is comfortable carrying.

Asking for input doesn't mean promising to deliver everything employees request. It means making plan decisions with better information.

Asking in a helpful way

• Be clear about why you're asking and how the input will be used.
• Keep questions focused and easy to answer.
• Share what you learned and what, if anything, will change.

The bottom line

Gathering employee input can lead to plan design that better reflects your people while still supporting the business. The appropriate approach depends on the circumstances of the business, its people and the specific plan arrangement.

FlexBEN can help facilitate an Employee Benefits Check-In to gather meaningful input from your team.