Workshop Topics

Benefit Administration Vendor Roundtable

Who do you use now and why? What has your experience (positive or negative) been with vendors? What are things to consider when switching vendors? As Ben Admin vendors bring more services in-house (Eligibility audits, Total Rewards Statements, ACA reporting, Reimbursement Accounts, Transparency Tools, etc), do you find yourself leveraging the current relationship or adding more vendors?

Focus: Benefits Admin

Driving Benefits Engagement

Engagement is the holy grail for benefits education and something that all large organizations are striving toward. This interactive discussion will focus on identifying the key factors to driving engagement, including taking a consumer-marketing approach with your communications. You'll hear how others have successfully moved the needle and leave with tangible recommendations of where to prioritize future efforts.

Focus: Communications

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body: The Impact of Mental Wellbeing on Business Results

The World Health Organization recently announced that it is developing guidelines on mental wellbeing in the workplace and unveiled an expanded definition of “burnout”: a syndrome resulting from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, characterized by feelings of exhaustion, reduced effectiveness, and negative or disconnected feelings toward one’s job. Research proves that mental wellbeing adversely impacts worker productivity, safety and performance, and exacerbates the severity and cost of chronic illness. Yet stigma and access remain hurdles that prevent individuals from getting the care they need. This session will focus on the innovative ways organizations are attempting to address this issue.

Focus: Emotional Wellbeing

Bending the Healthcare Cost Trend

86% of health plan dollars are spent on individuals with complex conditions, while one-third of medical costs are considered unnecessary or wasteful. How are organizations managing their benefits design to maximize the value of their health care spend while optimizing health outcomes? In addition to plan design this session will explore cost containment strategies including condition management programs, exchanges, direct contracting and on-site/near-site clinics.

Focus: Healthcare

Behavioral Health and Disability

Over the past two years, we have seen an alarming increase in both incidence and duration of Behavioral Health (BH) related Short Term Disability claims, as well as an increase in the number of BH-related Long Term Disability claims. This session would focus on collaboration for employers on various aspects of BH issues with key objectives of: helping develop strategies to mitigate BH claim experience; driving appropriate treatment with appropriate specialists; analyzing corporate culture to determine additional causes beyond clinical; and introducing cutting edge techniques to help employees and employers manage behavioral health-related issues.

Focus: Physical Wellbeing

Financial Acumen for the Benefits Professional

What impact will proposed benefit plan changes have on Earnings per Share, on EBITDA, on other relevant financial statement metrics? How do stockholders and potential investors look at companies’ employee benefits? Where do risk management and benefit plan investment intersect? What should the Benefits professional know?

Focus: Professional Development

One Size Doesn't Fit All

In a multi-generational workforce, retirement plans can no longer have a single goal like ‘retirement income adequacy’. Today’s workforce continues to change the relationship between employer and employee by a desire to work differently and also concentrating on finances before any traditional retirement age. This session will explore how employers are adapting “wealth” programs, including conventional retirement plans, to address the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce.

Focus: Retirement

Your Benefits Strategy – What Should It Include?

Every benefits professional hopes to execute a well-designed benefits strategy that includes the basic benefit elements. An emerging trend in taking strategy to the next level is to make your strategy more inclusive and well-rounded. Given the extremely competitive labor market, your benefits strategy will need to address the needs of your diverse population in order to effectively deliver on your company's employee value proposition. For example, this workshop will explore how diversity and inclusion initiatives/programs can be considered when developing a comprehensive benefits strategy. In addition, there are economic and social determinants that can be effectively addressed within a strategy including gender, education, income, where people live, work, learn and worship. All have an impact on a person's needs and total wellbeing. Addressing these social determinants of health can be tricky and requires an employer to tread carefully. How can benefits professionals begin to think differently and outside of the traditional benefits ‘box’ when developing a comprehensive strategy? How should we go about ensuring that our strategy is diverse, inclusive and considerate of all of these factors.

Focus: Strategy

Analyze This – How Data is Driving Benefits Design, Delivery and Dynamic Engagement Strategies
Our workforces are diverse, multi-generational, and continually evolving against the backdrop of economic and societal factors and individuals' lifecycle needs and expectations. This workshop will explore how workforce analytics can:
- Inform the design of your benefits program through better insights into everything from your claims and program utilization, to workforce demographics (age, race, gender, etc.) that influence how your employees are likely to consume benefits
- Improve the operations of your programs by identifying pain points, uncovering common pitfalls and roadblocks to understanding
- Enable you to develop data-anchored personas and journeys that can help inform and support our engagement strategy
- Provide the necessary foundation to deliver targeted and personalized campaigns through any media (print, text messaging, online); and
- Quantify the value of investment in your programs and the benefits function for your various constituents and stakeholders.
Focus: Strategy/Ben Admin

Making Work Flexible While Getting the Work Done

Today’s workforce is looking for greater flexibility to support their work and life. This could be wanting time outside of work to focus on their personal passions, start/support their family or care for aging parents. Employers need to think creatively and grow their policies to meet these changing workforce needs. How can our benefits programs flex and stretch to support our employees? Hear from others and share your thoughts on flexible work policies, parental leave, caregiver leave, sabbaticals to recharge, graceful retirement transition and more.

Focus: Strategy/Ben Admin

Integrating Health & Wealth

Americans struggle with their finances and are looking to their employer to help make decisions about health care, finances and saving for the future. As benefits get broader and more complex, how do we help employees juggle all these competing priorities? This workshop will examine the close relationship between our health and wealth and show you how to create a more holistic view of wellbeing that goes beyond the typical silos around health care and financial benefits. You’ll learn from employers who have successfully integrated communications to drive smart behaviors across benefits.

Focus: Wellbeing/Communications