Is your Benefits Package Biased?
It most likely is. Here's why…
According to Willis Towers Watson, “today’s benefits appeal mostly to the highly paid," but even those workers have trouble engaging with their benefits. From the 40,000 employees WTW surveyed for their 2019/2020 Global Benefits Survey, The average rating for benefits packages was very low (NPS of negative 25%).
The data shows that individuals who feel their benefits meet their needs are ~2x more likely to list their benefits package as a top reason to stay with their company. This translates to real loyalty!
The reality is that the diversity of your people, their personalities, their cultures, and even their geographic locations are rapidly evolving. Their needs are broader than ever before, so employers need to be more flexible than ever before.
After digging into this space for the past few years, reading dozens of research reports, interviewing hundreds of People leaders, benefits brokers, and most importantly, employees, our team at JOON is confident that flexible benefits are fundamental to fostering an inclusive culture.
Why subsidize ClassPass alone, when many employees live in areas that don’t have any of their network studios?
Why give all your employees Pet Insurance when only a small group of employees have pets?
Why do only 5% of employees use your EAP (Employee Assistance Program) when a quarter of the team is burning out and requesting mental health support?
Has your HR and leadership team been designing benefits packages that include what they would want or packages that reflect the geographic and economic diversity of your workforce?
The research shows that when you give your employees flexibility and freedom of choice in their benefits package, 70% will say that package meets their needs. That’s up from the mere 36% when no choice is given.
Many companies are transitioning from underutilized, expensive, and even canceled (on-site) benefits to programs that work for every employee. Flexible benefits can create cost savings and be more effective at boosting engagement, morale, and supporting employee wellbeing.
The research we’ve conducted, data we’ve collected, and all the lessons we’ve learned along the way have led us to our unique approach at JOON :)
Automated reimbursements: Our card-linked approach allows employees to use their own credit/debit cards and automatically get their purchases validated and reimbursed. Some of our competitors have opted for an extra card means, which means extra friction and less engagement for something that was intended to be easy to use for your entire population.
Totally customizable: Every benefit category (e.g., health and wellness, food, family, education, etc.) can be tailored to meet your team’s needs, and you can adjust your program’s allocation and categories whenever you need to! JOON is open to any vendor whereas other platforms are restricted to a limited marketplace of brands.
The human touch: Our employee success team goes above and beyond to help our members align their JOON benefit with their wellbeing and lifestyle goals. In an increasingly digital world, we believe it’s more important than ever to deliver personalized care and delightful support.
Whether you decide to use JOON or not, I recommend the move towards a more flexible benefits package.
Yesterday’s benefits might have been overlooked by employers and employees alike, but today’s benefits can be easy to use for employers and employees with inclusive options that are meaningful, equitable, and accessible to all.
There’s been a lot of discussion around “Bias” in recent months, says JOON Co-Founder Jonathan Shooshani. Jon wanted to share learnings around how they've encountered bias in the benefits space and why they think it’s more important than ever to overcome inequity by incorporating flexible benefits that are inclusive, meaningful, and accessible to all. Grateful for all the interesting conversations with thought leaders in the people operations, employee wellbeing, and benefits space that have helped inform Joon's opinions and perspectives.
JOON (joon.io) is on a mission to maximize the physical, mental, and financial health of the ever-changing workforce.
JOON makes it easy for employers to design a flexible wellbeing program that meets the diverse needs of their team. Employees get the freedom to choose wellness and lifestyle options that are meaningful to them while JOON automates the reimbursement process and eliminates any of the administration burden.
With JOON, wellbeing categories like fitness, food, mindfulness, women's health, family care, education, donations, and student loan repayment can all be covered under one roof.
Jon is a social entrepreneur that has been working at the intersection of health, wellbeing, and technology over the past decade. Jon is the Co-founder and President of JOON, a flexible and individualized employee benefits platform.
He’s passionate about the future of work, building businesses that help people lead happier and healthier lives, and creating greater access and affordability to wellbeing. Previous to JOON, Jon worked with a variety of purpose-driven companies and health food brands.
JOON’s platform was built on the principles of behavioral science. Jon and his co-founder, Sebastian, have worked with the behavioral economist Dan Ariely and his team at Duke to integrate research that helps people align their intentions with their behavior into their product experience. Jon also enjoys cooking, spending time in nature, practicing yoga and cycling.
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