5 keys for successful participation in voluntary benefits

Make it easy and seamless for employers. Carriers that can combine product, enrollment, billing and administration into a single, seamless package will be rewarded. While employers are often skeptical that one carrier can be excellent at every component of a bundled, end-to-end solution, the fact is that carriers will need to transform their capabilities and offerings, making each component the best in its class, to protect and enhance the employee experience.

Irrespective of target segment, employers will continue to value simplification more and more. Small employers do not have resources to dedicate to benefits administration, and therefore need very simple end-to-end systems and processes that can be managed easily. Large companies have multiple systems that already complicate their benefit environment and do not want additional complexity.

See also: Five voluntary trends to watch in 2014

Re-imagine, simplify and personalize the employee experience. Employee benefits are an extremely personal business. That explains why today's education-based, face-to-face enrollment meetings at the workplace, and the subsequent one-on-one meetings with employees, yield significantly better participation results than self-enrollment approaches.

Self-enrollment is certainly more efficient — and almost always necessary for large, geographically dispersed employers — but not nearly as effective as face-to-face meetings. Technology is now at a point where consumers can be treated like individuals. Replicating a face-to-face experience on a self-enrollment platform is now possible.

This concept of mass personalization will enable forward-thinking carriers to infuse every employee interaction with greater engagement and intimacy. The experience can also be designed to allow employees to navigate seamlessly among a portfolio of channels, such as digital and call centers depending on the employee's needs and preferences at any given time. 

Allow employees to enroll at any time. While linking voluntary benefit enrollment to the annual enrollment for core benefits ensures visibility and provides a window during which employees must act, health care sticker shock may dampen employee enthusiasm for voluntary benefits. In addition, employee needs do not always coincide with an annual, one-time enrollment period. Allowing employees to enroll at any time transforms what is often a static marketing process into one that becomes a direct-to-consumer opportunity for carriers. This capability is key to fully leveraging a broad portfolio. From life-event marketing to upgrading existing policyholders to enhanced plans, the ability to enroll any time can drive penetration and share-of-wallet.

The voluntary benefits business has the potential for being a meaningful growth engine for life carriers. At the same time, the workplace is the most efficient and effective channel for accessing the underserved middle market. Employees are enthusiastic about the opportunity to purchase financial services products through the workplace, and say they want more offerings and choices. 

Capturing this market, however, requires more than just investing in marketing, creative and digital capabilities. Insurers seeking success in workplace sales of voluntary benefits need both operational excellence and a realignment of the value chain that puts employee customers at the center of a coordinated effort. Carriers following this path have the potential to realize significant growth in the elusive middle market.