Employees have access to moreemployer-provided benefits and services than ever before. Fromtypical health insurance and 401(k)s to wellness and employeeassistance programs, employers are increasingly using theirbenefits and human resources services as a powerful tool foremployee recruitment, retention and corporateengagement.

While brokers and their clientsare constantly reviewing and updating their benefits offerings tobest serve their employees, those same employees are often unawareof those benefits, much less how to make them a part of their dailylives or find them when they need them. This poses a critical issuefor employers, as it inhibits their ability to realize the greatestreturn on their investment — both from a financial and corporateculture standpoint.

Consider wellness programs as anexample. For years, employers and brokers have focused theirattention on programs designed to help employees improve theirhealth and well-being. While these initiatives have made adifference in some employees' lives, too often they fall well shortof their intended goals.  

One of the primary drivers behindthis underutilization of benefits is that employees make suchdecisions with family members, but the families themselves havelittle to no access to learn about and use all of the variousservices and benefits available to them. Employees and theirfamilies are much less likely to use a program if they have tovisit one website to access wellness challenges for employees (thatgenerally exclude family members), but then have to go to anotherto utilize chronic condition management programs. Such disjointedeffort and friction not only limits the employer's return on theirbenefits investments, it also means employees are not realizing thetrue value of their own total compensation offered by theiremployers.  

A new approach to the managementof HR benefits and services is emerging, one that prioritizesemployee access and utilization: HR dashboards. This technologycentralizes benefits and services within one location for employees(and, when applicable, their family members) to access quickly andeasily. While much of today's HR ecosystem tends to be siloedamongst various platforms and providers, dashboards create a singlepoint of access for all benefits and services.

Furthermore, employers areutilizing HR dashboards to incorporate every aspect of the HR benefits and servicesecosystem, essentially leveraging the dashboard as a“one-stop-shop” for all things HR within their workplace. It isboth informational and transactional. From employee orientation,open enrollment, record management,  employee handbooks,training, compliance and content distribution to newsletters andannouncements, if the dashboard is properly promoted by leadershipand offers practical, useful services for staff, it has been provento engage employees with their benefits, as well as their corporateculture.  

It is also important to considerthe dashboard's location and point of access, especially within amulti-generational workforce. Younger employees in particular willlook to engage with their HR services and benefits where they spendthe majority of their time — on theirmobile/smart phones or device.  This also means employersmust deploy it as a native mobile app for iOS and Androidenvironments.

More experienced or senioremployees may use their mobile devices as well, or they may prefera web-based dashboard accessible via their computers and tablets.Neither approach is better or more effective than the other, butboth are needed to help employers maximize benefits utilization byengaging each segment of employee population within their preferredchannel.

An HR dashboard should also be anextension of the employer's brand and culture. The dashboard,delivered as a branded app and/or web-service, should feature theemployer's logo and use their company colors to convey thecompany's values and mission. This will keep the employertop-of-mind whenever employees access the platform and use itsservices, further fostering a strong corporate culture throughoutthe organization.

Even with a properly branded HRdashboard however, it is still necessary for employers to craft athoughtful execution strategy. Just as employees should be educatedon their overall benefits, they will also require education,encouragement and a compelling reason to use the dashboard eachday. Whether this education comes in the form of blogs, bulletinboard posts, newsletters, or announcements, employers will want toensure everyone from the C-Suite down to production or linemanagers are using the dashboard, delivering useful content andservices and promoting its benefits to employees.

From a recruitment and retentionstandpoint, employees are increasingly seeking employers that offerrobust benefits packages, and a branded modern app with centralizedHR dashboard can help employers distinguish themselves in a crowdedfield. Likewise, by providing direct access to the benefits for theemployees' families, employers underscore their commitment to theirwell-being.

When it comes to driving benefitsutilization, it often is all about ease-of-use and a frictionlessprocess. Ultimately, it is the quality of services offered that iscritical to long-term success and employee retention, but thatcannot be fully appreciated if it is not readily accessible toemployees in the first place. Those employers that go a stepfurther to provide easy access to services will be betterpositioned to cultivate a more engaged, loyal workforce. 

Dinesh Sheth isfounder and CEO of Green Circle Health, the provider of the GCHPlatform, a patented web- and mobile-based service for employers tomaximize benefits utilization, reduce healthcare costs and betterengage and communicate with employees and their families. For moreinformation, visit www.greencirclehealth.comand follow them onTwitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.