Employee Benefit Trends to Watch in 2024
Written by: AEIS
When it comes to employee benefits, one of the most important things to understand is that your workforce is constantly changing - as are their needs. If you asked someone in 2010 what their ideal employee benefits package looked like, they'd probably give a wildly different answer than someone in 2020. The same is true if you polled a group of 30-year-olds versus 50-year-olds. You need to make an effort to fully understand both your current and prospective employees to get a sense of what they're looking for and what you can do to give it to them.
Keeping up-to-date with all the employee benefit trends to watch in 2024 is a big part of how you do it. Not only can this help give you an indication of where things are today, but they can also provide clues as to where the field itself may be headed. That can help you get there before any of your competitors, turning benefits into yet another opportunity to attract the best people into your organization.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine exploded in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's something that has absolutely not gone away even though things are more or less returning to normal. Thanks to telemedicine, employees don't need to travel as much for routine health visits or to consult with their doctor. They're more likely to be proactive about their health, which makes them healthier over all. This means fewer sick days and a more productive workforce.
To that end, supporting telemedicine is a good idea and offering this type of flexibility can be a great way to attract the right type of attention.
Mental Health Focus
Especially given everything going on in the world over the last several years, it should come as no surprise that mental health has become an increasingly large focus for organizations of all types and in all industries. Employee burnout rates are on-the-rise, in part due to people becoming disengaged with their working environments and in part because people are just more stressed out than ever before.
Because of that, people are taking a more proactive look at their own mental health, and they're increasingly attracted to employers who are willing to do the same. Note that this doesn't just mean offering benefits packages that include mental health coverage. It means creating the type of work environment that people want to participate in and that they don't find toxic. It's about helping them maintain a positive work/life balance. All these things make a great deal of impact, especially when it comes to separating yourself from your competitors.
Pay Transparency
Another major trend to be aware of in employee benefits for 2024 has to do with pay transparency. For the last year, there have been a number of states that are considering legislation that will require businesses to "regularly communicate to their employees what the pay range is and where they fall in that range" for a position. While Hawaii is the only such state that has a law passed at the moment, that could easily change moving forward.
Because of that, this is the type of thing that employees will begin to expect, and you'll want to do whatever you can to get ahead of that. The more transparent you are about this and related topics, the more employees will trust you. That can only help retention.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
While it's true that making an organization-wide effort to be more diverse isn't necessarily an "employee benefit" in the strictest sense of the term, it's still something worth paying attention to. Studies have shown that Millennials and Gen Zers in particular are not only attracted to companies that are making an open effort to focus on diversity, but that are also meaningfully tackling issues like pay equality as well.
The more willing you are to speak about what you're doing to address diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns, the more likely you are to attract the attention of a younger generation of workers that you'll need moving forward.
Personalized Benefits
Another critical employee benefit trend to be aware of takes the form of personalized benefits. Workers are no longer swayed by "one-size-fits-all" packages. Businesses are finding a great deal of success with giving their employees as much choice as possible in terms of how a customized benefits package is constructed. It encourages participation and long-term engagement as well.
Employer Takeaways
In the end, remember that while these employee benefit trends to watch in 2024 may be relevant today, that isn't a guarantee even a year from now. The needs of your workers will always reflect where they are in their lives. Their priorities will naturally change. Therefore, while it's important to be aware of the trends that are making a big impact, you must acknowledge that they're also just one small part of a much larger story.
Don't chase trends and hope they bring you the results you're after. Start with your workers and find out what they want and need, along with what they like and dislike. At that point, you'll have the insight you need to work your way back to the trends that you should be embracing that make the most sense given your situation.
At AEIS, we understand that trying to keep up with the ever-changing world of employee benefits trends can quickly become a full-time job - which is problematic, since you already have one of those monopolizing a lot of your time. On the one hand, offering the highest quality benefits package you can is your opportunity to both attract and retain the top talent you need to remain competitive. On the other hand, things move quickly, and you're already (correctly) focusing the majority of your attention on running the most successful business possible.
That's why our team of trusted, trained, passionate professionals will come in and learn as much about your organization and its goals as possible. We'll stay abreast of all the latest employee benefit trends to watch in 2024 and beyond so that you don't have to. All this so you can rest easy knowing that things are being taken care of by those who are every bit as invested in your success as you are.
If you'd like to
find out more information about the top employee benefit trends to watch in 2024, or if you'd just like to talk to someone about
your business' own needs in a bit more detail, please don't delay -
contact AEIS today.
We're here to help.
Schedule a free phone consultation today.
P: 650.348.6234
E: team@aeisadvisors.com
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