5 Key Questions to Ask Your Benefits Broker This Planning Season

As spring heralds renewal, it's an opportune time to evaluate and strategize your employee benefits. Engaging with your benefits broker or consultant is pivotal in aligning offerings with both company objectives and employee needs. To help optimize this conversation, consider the following five essential questions for your upcoming meeting:​

1. How can we effectively manage and reduce healthcare costs?

Understanding your broker's strategies for cost containment is crucial. Ask about their methods to negotiate favorable terms with insurers, implement wellness programs, or introduce alternative plan designs that balance cost and value. This proactive approach ensures sustainable healthcare expenses without compromising employee satisfaction. 

2. What is your approach to ensuring compliance with evolving regulations?

The landscape of benefits regulations is continually shifting. Ask your broker about their resources and processes to keep you compliant with current laws and prepared for upcoming changes. This may include in-house compliance experts or partnerships with legal advisors. ​

3. How do you tailor benefits strategies to align with our organizational goals and employee demographics?

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it. Explore how your broker assesses your company's culture, values, and employee demographics to customize benefits packages that enhance engagement and retention. This ensures that offerings resonate with your team's specific needs and preferences. ​

4. What tools and support do you provide for benefits communication and employee education?

Effective communication is key to maximizing benefits utilization. In addition to the support that your Nayya CSM offers and the full suite of Nayya-led emails, ask about your broker's strategies and tools for educating employees about their options, such as workshops, digital platforms, or personalized counseling. Clear communication helps employees make informed decisions and appreciate the value of their benefits. 

5. Can you provide insights into industry trends and benchmarks to keep our benefits competitive?

Staying informed about market trends ensures your benefits package remains attractive. Ask your broker for data on industry benchmarks, emerging benefits, and innovative solutions that could enhance your offerings and position your organization as an employer of choice. 

Preparing for the meeting

To make the most of your discussion:

• Review Current Benefits: Assess the effectiveness and utilization of existing plans to identify areas for improvement.​
  
  
• Gather Employee Feedback: Understand employee satisfaction and preferences regarding current benefits through surveys or focus groups.​ We shared this survey in last month’s edition to help you collect this your employees thoughts - Click here to access your ready-to-use Benefits satisfaction survey.
  
  
• Set Clear Objectives: Define what you aim to achieve with your benefits strategy, such as cost reduction, enhanced employee well-being, or improved retention.​
  
  

We hope these questions help get your creative juices flowing and help foster a productive conversation with your benefits broker, leading to a strategic plan that supports your company goals and employee well-being.

Curious about other questions you should ask?  Check out these resources

7 questions Benefits Advisors should answer

5 questions to kick-start your benefits planning

Key questions to ask your Benefits Broker

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