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Benefits Plan Renewal: Why You Should Plan Early

Renewing your employee benefits often feels like a hassle. From added paperwork to out-of-control costs, benefits planning can be a headache for employers. Hence why so many companies only begin considering their benefits plans a couple months before open enrollment.

Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disappointment, if not disaster.

Having an updated benefits plan in place can mean the difference between retaining and losing your key employees, so it’s important to give this task the attention it deserves. It’s easy to put this off because it feels like something that will take time away from your main work, but if you plan ahead and don’t wait until the last minute, your business will experience several key advantages.

Save Money with a Proactive Approach

Waiting until right before open enrollment to consider your benefits plan will cost you. By holding off until the last minute, your company will experience:

  • Zero control
  • 40% or higher cost increases
  • Decreased (if any) data & insight
  • Increased employee turnover

All of these factors negatively impact your company’s bottom line. Rather, by planning ahead, you are taking back control of your company’s finances. Completely revamping and revitalizing your employee benefits package takes time, so it is vital that you take a proactive approach if you want to get the most out of your investment.

Give Yourself Time to Consider the Best Options

If you wait until a benefits renewal is looming to figure out what you’re going to do, your choices will be limited. When you start planning early, you can take your time and consider all your options. 

There are many advantages to giving yourself time to spare, including:

  • Time you can use to benchmark your plan against other high-performing programs.
  • Gaining a better understanding of the financial levers that are available to you that you previously didn’t know existed or didn’t have access to.
  • Understanding how to repurpose the money you’re already spending and see how to put it back in your plans in meaningful ways (9 times out of 10, there are things you’re already paying for, but you’re just not getting).
  • Your team will be better aligned around a long-term benefit strategy, with a plan to make it happen. We call it a Blueprint.

Instill Confidence In Your Employees

If you’ve ever wondered how the highest-performing businesses attract and retain top talent, look no further than their benefits packages.

Employees who are confident in their benefits plan—and their renewals—will be more likely to engage and stay with their employers. Ultimately, your employees know when you’re simply winging it. By coordinating early, you not only prove that your company has everything under control, but employees can trust that you have their best interests at heart.

This kind of support fosters loyalty and enables businesses to attract and retain top talent—which is precisely why the most successful companies consider their benefits farther out. 

Employer Takeaway

Any time you make important decisions at the last minute, you risk loss. This fact holds especially true when it comes to renewing your employee benefits.

Planning early gives you the control and time necessary to create a plan that both attracts and retains top talent, while safeguarding your budget. Take the proactive approach that ensures success and begin planning your benefits renewal plan today.

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