Benefits decision support: the tool you need in 2022

Benefits Decision Support

With employers and employees everywhere concerned with the state of the economy, there’s one thing on everyone’s mind: how to save on costs. Fortunately, there’s one tool that can empower HR teams to drive savings across the organization: decision support. Going into 2022, it’s critical that employees choose the right benefits plans for their health and finances. Decision support tools can increase enrollment across plans, and prevent wasted investments on both the employer and employee side.

Back to Basics: What is decision support?

Decision support is a term used to describe a type of software that helps users make better decisions by providing them with the necessary information and tools to do so. It is designed to help users make more informed decisions by providing them with data-driven recommendations, modeling different scenarios, and identifying risks and opportunities.

Why is decision support important for employee benefits?

Having to make decisions on benefits can be a daunting task for employees. There are often many options to choose from with different scenarios to work through, and it can be challenging to know which ones are the best for an individual and their family's needs. Research shows that 63% of employees are unconfident when choosing their benefits—which is the most important financial decision employees make each year.

Employees often don’t feel properly educated to confidently make these decisions, this leads many individuals choosing plans that don’t align with their health and financial goals.

Choosing benefits that fit your current needs, while also considering risk management of any potential future circumstances that may come up can be a complex balancing act.

Decision support tools can help employees by providing them with personalized recommendations

By taking into account factors such as an employee's age, location, job role, family status, healthcare needs, salary, and others, decision support tools can sort through the benefit packages available and provide employees with a tailored list of benefits that would be the most suitable for them.

Advantages of Decision Support Tools

Here are some of the advantages that benefit decision support software can have for employees and employers:

Advantages for employees

• Better understanding of benefit options available. When it comes to benefits, employees often don't know what they don't know. They may be unaware of the many different options that are available to them or of the potential implications of enrolling in certain benefits. Decision support tools can help educate employees on the different variables they need to take into account and provide them with all the information they need in one place.
• Time-saving. Employees often spend a significant amount of time researching and trying to make sense of the different benefits options available. This can be a frustrating and time-consuming task for anyone that's not an HR professional. Decision support tools reduce the amount of time employees spend on benefits decisions by providing them with personalized recommendations.
• Improved match between employee needs and benefits enrollment. By providing employees with personalized recommendations, decision support tools can help ensure that employees are enrolling in the benefits that are most likely to be used and valued. This not only leads to better use of the benefits budget but also greater employee satisfaction.

Advantages for employers

• Improved benefit enrollment rates. When employees have the information they need to make informed decisions, they are more likely to enroll in the benefits that are right for them. This leads to improved enrollment rates and helps ensure that employees get the most out of their benefits.
• Increased satisfaction with the benefits package. When employees are actively involved in making the best decisions for themselves, they are more likely to be satisfied with their benefits package and the open enrollment experience.
• Reduced costs. Giving employees the tools they need to make the best decisions can help reduce costs for employers. By making sure that they are only paying for benefits that are effectively going to be used, employers can maximize the payout on their benefits budget and put their money where it's going to make a difference.
• Improved employee retention. When employees are satisfied with their benefits package, they are more likely to stay with the company. In fact, 90% of employees say that benefits impact their decision of whether to stay at a job or leave for a new one. This, in turn, saves the employer money in terms of turnover costs.

Nayya Decision Support

Nayya offers AI-driven decision support to deliver the right personalized recommendations to employees.

The right decision support tool should enrich, not replace, your existing tech stack and benefits experience. Nayya is seamlessly integrated with some of America's largest carriers, brokers, HCM, and benefits administration tools, offering employees an all-in-one experience. It guides employees through the enrollment process, provides the education they need to make the right choice, and bundles all the recommended benefits into one easily digestible “menu” of plan suggestions.

Nayya can empower HR teams to do more with less—enabling both the business and employees to get the absolute most of your benefits packages.