Top Tips to Keep in Mind When Choosing an All-in-one HR Platform

For companies looking to scale their human resources (HR) and meet employee expectations in the new remote work environment – an all-in-one HR platform with access to benefits and employee wellness programs seems like the best next step. Most employers recognize the value of integrating disparate HR systems and services within one centralized service; however, having an integrated system can create a seamless experience for employees, improve how HR decisions are made, generate helpful workforce analytics and more.

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Employers offer many benefits and invest a considerable amount of time and money promoting them. Since most benefits are inherently siloed and are difficult to understand and access, employees don’t truly engage with these resources, resulting in not understanding the true value of what is being offered by their employers. Any HR and benefits effort is viewed as an inconvenience for employees and leads to wasted resources for employers. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing an all-in-one HR, benefits, and wellness platform provider:

Accessibility:

Having a great platform, is well great, but only if employees actually engage with it. Employees will participate with their HR services and benefits only when they need to and when the access to it is most convenient. For some employees that means on their mobile/smart phones, on the go or from the web, or on their work desktop, etc., so the platform must be accessible through iOS, Android and PC environments.  Not one approach is better or more effective than the other, but they are needed to help employers maximize benefits utilization by engaging employees within their preferred channel.

Usability:

The employee facing platform and services has to be as easy to use, intuitive, and engaging as any successful consumer app. If users cannot determine how to navigate the platform in a few minutes, they won’t return – limiting overall engagement with company resources.

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Family Engagement:

It’s crucial to choose a provider that offers services focused not only on your employees but their family members as well. Most often employer provided benefits, and health and wellbeing decisions are made with family members but the members themselves have little to no access to learn about and use the various services and benefits available to them. Employees and their families are more likely to use a program if they have easy access to them. Any wellness programs and challenges that include family members will have higher participation and greater success with behavioral change. If only one person is focused on wellness without support from members of their household, the program’s long-term efficacy can certainly be called into question.

 Communications:

An HR platform that includes integrated communication capabilities can be a gamechanger for the employee experience. Having a comprehensive infrastructure for both the internal communications team and HR staff will generate greater engagement with company programming, benefits and more. Having multiple communication channels such as email, in-app messaging, texting, push notifications, surveys, bulletin board, user steering and more, allows targeted personalized communications to attract employees and their families with the corporate culture. This will help employees further participate with and understand organizational news, services and priorities, regardless of if they are remote, widely dispersed or together.

Robust Offerings:

It’s not enough to offer employees one single platform, employers should also integrate them with robust and helpful offerings. Make sure the provider is able to bring digital and live support for holistic wellbeing, chronic condition management for diabetes, blood pressure, obesity, asthma, pain management and more. They should also integrate programs for wellness assessments, wellness challenges, wellness checklists, digital learning and more. Additionally, offering support for benefits selection and guidance can differentiate the user experience.

 Brand Culture:

While employers typically invest heavily in building company brand value for their customers, they also need to do the same for employees and their families to attract and retain talent. A powerful app for all employees can build the company brand and culture resulting in, loyalty and satisfaction. The platform should incorporate not only the company logo and color scheme but also carry organization specific content and messaging to convey the company’s values and mission. This keeps the company brand top of mind for employees when using the app and services.

With the right platform, over time a company can create workflows that improve employee productivity. It’s important for employers to carefully consider the features they are selecting. They should leverage a platform that gives them flexibility and offers configurability. From employee orientation, open enrollment, record management, employee handbooks, training, compliance and content distribution to newsletters and announcements and more, if the dashboard offers practical, useful services for staff, employees will be more inclined to engage with their resources, as well as their corporate culture.  Additionally, having a branded modern app with centralized HR dashboard enables employers to distinguish themselves among competitors. Employers who are looking for an all-in-one HR, benefits and employee wellness service platform provider are on their way to providing a positive experience and driving productivity while taking their overall engagement to the next level.

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