Empowering the Greatness of HR was our 2019 Vision theme. As Businessolver was founded by HR professionals, we know the important role HR plays within organizations.

This year, we focused on giving HR and benefits professionals the tools and insight they need to feel empowered to do even more within their organizations and drive forward key strategic business initiatives that transform and inspire.  

We ended this year’s Vision tour in Chicago last week and had a jam-packed two-day learning and leadership extravaganza where we unveiled a few new segments, like the first-ever Compliance Quiz Bowl. Two brave teams, the Regulation Renegades and the Compliance Conquerors, went head to head and tested their knowledge on the latest HR regulations for some fun prizes.

We also announced a major product innovation, unveiling the launch of the MyChoice ^SM Recommendation Engine Benefits Insight Report, which shed a light on the emotional state of the American workforce when electing their benefits.

It wasn’t all work and no play, though! Attendees enjoyed a fun evening at the new Chicago social darts club, Fight Club, complete with engaging, high-tech darts, slo-mo replays, craft cocktails and creative food stations. Competition and networking was enjoyed by all.

Here are some more key takeaways in case you missed it!

The importance of empathy continues to grow

The importance and visibility of empathy as a core workplace value continues to grow, with mental health awareness and benefits topping the list. Our 2019 State of Workplace Empathy study illustrated that mental health benefits are linked to a culture of empathy in the workplace. Across all audiences, companies that offer mental health support are seen as empathetic. For example,

• 90% of employees said companies should be doing more to address the overall well-being and needs of its employees.
• 90% of employees said companies that have programs in place to address mental health issues are more empathetic to their employees.
• 91% of employees believe that companies that offer individual mental health benefits to their employees are more empathetic than companies that do not. Ninety-six percent of CEOs agree with this statement.

The key takeaway? Employers can no longer ignore empathy and its impact on the bottom line.

The power of the hashtag

The workplace is changing. In the era of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements HR needs to be agile in its responses to culture trends and how they affect workplace environments. Furthermore, HR needs to be able to keep a pulse on future movements, so they can practically and tactically anticipate trends and have a plan in place that addresses their employees’ needs with empathy and compassion. Our keynote speaker and HR influencer, Carol Harnett, tackled this complex topic in her presentation, Redefining What Core Benefits Mean in the #Hashtag Era.

MyChoice Recommendation Engine Benefits Insight Report

Employers are spending about a third of their compensation dollars on benefits, and those benefits are more complex than ever before. There are more choices, and employees have more skin in the game as a consumer mindset, high-deductible health plans and rising costs challenge them to better manage their healthcare finances. But the challenge is, do employees actually know what their benefits are and how to use them? Not quite.

The data in the report reflects 500K employees who engaged with the MyChoice Recommendation Engine during the 2019 annual enrollment period. The responses reveal several key points that provide a context for how employees make their benefits decisions.

To learn more get the report here.

The power of leveraging supplemental insurance products

Guest speaker Scott Degraw of Allstate dove into the specifics of how organizations can use supplemental benefits, or voluntary benefits, to help increase engagement and fulfillment for their employees. Read his guest blog here for more information.

If you attended Vision, we hope you had as much fun as we did! If you missed us, there’s always next year. In the meantime, you can check out our recap blogs of Vision Charlotte and Vision Scottsdale to get the full picture of Vision 2019 tour.

See you next year!