Four tricks to get more from your benefits data
Using data in the best way is a relatively new process for HR, unlike finance functions where data has always been one of the main decision-making processes. So here are four ways to think like an finance director to draw out truly meaningful information to help your programme’s success, and support the business agenda.
1. Ask far better questions
Better questions can now be answered through real-time data analysis tools. So how about discovering how many people took a benefit within a division, compared to other benefits or other divisions and other demographics? Do employees in one business unit engage in a different way to others?
How does this link to the communications strategy? And if changes are made to the campaign, what does it say about the campaign and it’s style – and whether people are reacting? How many took a benefit in one period in comparison to another, alongside other data factors such as population or eligibility changes? The ultimate question is, of course, whether the benefits programme is impacting overall strategic objectives.
To complete the picture, if you and your consultant can access data sets through a portal, then you can both work to meet strategic objectives quickly and proactively. And even better – measuring the impact against the wider market provides a truly comparative understanding.
2. Segment by attitude
We all understand that flexible benefits help people because we’re individuals. The evolution is for communications to be flexible for the same reason.
Understanding more about individuals from the outset allows you to engage and communicate in different ways, not least by helping people think differently about their benefits, helping them get the information they need, in the level of detail they require. The right information helps to understand the make-up of the populations, the effectiveness of different approaches and offers more personalised communications.
3. Managing risks to impact broking
Good data is key for understanding and managing risks in your organisation. For instance, if data shows that existing benefit structures aren’t achieving what is necessary, then you can proactively redesign them, rather than making reactive, short-term changes. Analysis may also show that certain investments can address key areas of risk, as well as help build a business case for investment. Another clear benefit? A precise picture of risk drives better performance which improves underwriter confidence to achieve lower, sustainable pricing.
4. Employees are consumers too
Consistent management information can increase your consumer-based approach to provide personalised content about things that will interest them. It’s not just about age or location, it’s about the people.
In summary, gathering and understanding sophisticated data is not long out of its infancy for benefits programmes, but to be able to create a clear picture that provides both direction and potential cost savings is the only way ahead to support the organisation and employees. There are people and tools to help.
The author is Dom Manley, UK Technology Product Owner at Aon.
This article was provided by Aon.
