With Canada’s workforce in the midst of multiple significant demographic shifts, group benefits plans will need to evolve to meet the changing needs of workers, according to Shelley Sjoberg, assistant vice-president of group product development and support at Canada Life.
Speaking during Benefits Canada’s 2024 Healthy Outcomes Conference, she pointed to Statistics Canada data that shows the workforce is more culturally diverse than ever before, with 31 per cent of working-age Canadians born in another country — well up from fewer than 20 per cent in 1991. Millennial and generation Z employees already make up half of the workforce, she noted, and that’s expected to rise to two-thirds by 2031. Meanwhile, older employees are, in greater numbers, continuing to work into what would have been thought of as their retirement years.
“Fundamentally, all generations are different. We have to reflect that in our benefits plans and really consider that different cultural backgrounds, different generations and different ages have different needs — and our one-size-fits-all approach to benefits is probably needing to change.”
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Sjoberg recommended plan sponsors use engagement surveys to learn about employees’ stressors, what they want from human resources or their benefits plans, evaluate the success of wellness or benefits initiatives, as well as for richer demographic data, such as ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation.
That information, paired with health and disease trends that show up in benefits claims data and health risk assessments, “can really inform what’s needed to support the individuals in our workplaces,” she said, such as add-on wellness programs that target common conditions within the employee population.
Plan sponsors may not even need to add new coverage to address common issues, said Sjoberg, noting there are often very effective benefits within the plan that are under-utilized because they aren’t well known among employees.
“We’re not telling people what they have when they need it. We’re not relating my life situation to what I have so that I can see myself in it. It’s not always about the shiny bauble; it’s about really ensuring what you have is effective for what is needed in your population.”
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Sjoberg stressed the value of flexible and modern access to care, such as virtual care and virtual pharmacy platforms that can help employees address minor health issues quickly and, in particular, support those in rural communities or an employee assistance program that has both a 1-800 number and an online or app presence for ease of use.
New benefits such as family-building support and coverage for gender affirming care can allow employers to support the diverse needs of employees, she added. “It is a game-changer for people today to have these kinds of benefits and it’s thinking outside the box of what are people’s needs and how can we show up to support those different kinds of needs that aren’t in our traditional benefits plans.”
However, she acknowledged that plan sponsors may be concerned about balancing the desire to meet a wide range of needs with ensuring plan sustainability. Initiative such as enhanced generic substitution and controlled formularies are “low-hanging fruit” that can keep drug plan costs under control, she added, and investments in well-being initiatives likely have positive downstream impacts on reducing disability and drug claims.
While there are still privacy and consent issues to address, Sjoberg said being able to leverage data to deliver more personalized care and communications that reach employees at the moment they need them could be a “huge differentiator” for plan sponsors in the future.
Read more coverage of the 2024 Healthy Outcomes Conference.