Keynote Address
Thomas Rajan, The Work of Leadership
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 Administration
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
Coping During (and After) COVID
Prior to COVID-19, the World Economic Forum projected that the burden of mental illness would cost the global economy $6 trillion by 2030. The global pandemic has only exacerbated emotional health and wellbeing, resulting in increased anxiety, depression and 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. Considering these challenging times, supporting and providing actionable solutions for employees’ emotional health and wellbeing is more important than ever before. This session will focus on the innovative ways organizations are attempting to address this issue – during and after COVID.
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: Heallthcare
Behavioral Health and Disability
At a time when leave is increasing complex designing a leave strategy that supports your business and employees is critical. In this session we will explore leave and disability absence management strategies, compliance, condition management, return to work, and accommodations.
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? When companies refinance their debt what difference do employee benefits make? 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 elements. An emerging trend in taking strategy to the next level is to make sure your strategy is more inclusive and well-rounded. It 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 employers consider diverse segments of their population when crafting their strategy and plans as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives/programs that can be considered, in addition to addressing health equity and social determinants of health. 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? We will also explore how the twin pandemic of COVID and racial inequality has impacted our thinking.
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
Making Work Flexible While Getting the Work Done
All organizations were disrupted due to the pandemic and offered greater flexibility in their work life policies to support their employees. This could be providing additional time to manage their family needs, including children at home and caregiving for aging parents. Employers thought creatively and grew their policies to meet these changing workforce dynamics. What has worked well and how can our benefits programs continue to 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
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