Bridge the Benefit Expectation Gap with Financial Well-Being

Do you know how your employees feel about their benefits?

Not how you think they feel — how they really feel?

Research indicates that companies frequently overestimate the impact of their benefits. A 2023 Aflac study on workplace benefit trends found that while 78% of employers believed their employees were highly satisfied with their benefits, only 59% of employees actually felt that way.

This nearly 20-point gap highlights a crucial point. When employers assume their benefits meet expectations without verifying, they risk overlooking issues that can undermine employee morale and ultimately impact the bottom line.

But bridging this gap isn’t just about boosting satisfaction or productivity. It’s about delivering a total rewards strategy that truly meets and exceeds employee expectations, leading to tangible improvements in employee well-being and overall quality of life.

Elevate total rewards without overextending your team

When considering how to bridge the gap in employee expectations, a crucial question arises: How do you enhance your employees' experience without making life harder — at least temporarily — for the HR and payroll teams doing the work.

You probably know the saying, “First, do no harm.” Well, it’s not just good advice for doctors; it’s also good advice for business leaders. Companies often work with a handful of vendors to offer a comprehensive benefits package for their employees. However, this can quickly lead to a complex web of vendor contracts, integrations, and platforms for HR and payroll to navigate. This can make measuring success difficult, and the plethora of apps and portals can be overwhelming for employees.

It’s a tricky balancing act: How do you deliver what your employees want in the way they want without overwhelming anyone?

It starts with identifying low-lift benefits that will have the biggest impact and can be delivered efficiently and cost-effectively.

Delivering better benefits doesn’t have to be complicated

When you’re clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, defining success becomes more straightforward. But it's also essential to define what we mean by well-being.

Traditionally, discussions about benefits have centered on physical and mental well-being. However, financial well-being is rapidly becoming a top priority for employees and employers.

According to Wagestream, employees are nearly five times more likely to feel loyal to an employer that prioritizes their financial well-being. In other research, 70% of employees identify earned wage access (EWA) — a benefit that allows them to access a portion of their pay between paychecks — as highly important. Moreover, companies offering EWA can recruit up to 27% faster.

These statistics underscore the critical role of financial well-being in bridging the gap between what employers offer and what employees expect.

To effectively bridge this gap, companies should focus on solutions that are easy to implement, cost-effective, and require minimal support. Examples include the aforementioned EWA, payroll cards that provide equitable access to banking services, and the ability for employees to automate bill payments directly from their paychecks.

But doesn’t a list of solutions like this risk overwhelming HR and payroll? Not if these benefits are digital-first and integrated into a single, streamlined package.

At OneSource Virtual (OSV), we’ve consolidated these benefits — and more — into a single app called myFlexWallet. Easy to adopt and included at no additional cost for our payroll customers, myFlexWallet is a win-win solution for HR, payroll, and the entire employee population.

The human impact of myFlexWallet

While improving engagement, productivity, retention, and recruitment are valuable measures of success, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention some of the real, tangible improvements a solution like myFlexWallet can bring to employees' lives. Well-being isn’t just a buzzword or jargon — it’s about enabling people to provide for their families, avoid debt, and build a secure future.

Through myFlexWallet:

• 86% of employees have reduced their reliance on payday loans
• 56% have reduced their dependence on credit cards
• 93% have reported an improved financial situation
• 55% are now able to save for the future

These aren’t just numbers; they represent significant, everyday improvements that have a lasting impact on people's lives. And with myFlexWallet, companies can provide these benefits without straining their budgets or overburdening HR and payroll.

For a specific example of how a financial well-being solution like EWA can make a difference, check out our conversation with Purple’s director of payroll. During a webinar earlier this year, she talked to us about how easy it was to get started and the positive impact it’s had on Purple’s employees and recruiters.

myFlexWallet is a win-win solution for companies and employees

In today’s competitive landscape, bridging the gap between what your company offers and what your employees expect is crucial. But how you bridge that gap is just as important. Adding complexity when a simpler solution is available can undermine your efforts.

For OSV payroll customers, myFlexWallet offers a streamlined, impactful suite of solutions at no extra cost and minimal effort for HR/payroll.

Learn more about how this empowering, digital-first solution can help you close the gap and empower your workforce.