Your Benefits Broker Can Help Max Your Mental Health Benefits ROI. Here's How.

Mental health is health. And mental health benefits are no longer a nice-to-have — they’ve become an essential piece of an effective employee benefits package.

But when you’re building a mental health benefits package, you want to do it right. There’s where your benefits broker steps in.

Here’s how your employee benefits broker should take the lead on optimizing your mental health benefits plan, ensuring your employees get the full value, and creating a healthier workplace.

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1. Keep you up-to-date on new mental health benefits, services, and vendors

The mental healthcare space is changing fast. To put it in perspective, mental health startups secured $5.5 billion in funding in 2021  — that's a 139% leap from 2020!

In such a rapidly changing environment, it can be easy to fall behind — and risk offering outdated or ineffective

That's where your benefits broker comes in, acting as your personal guide through this ever-evolving world. They will:

• Keep you informed on the latest in the mental health space
• Recommend new services tailored to the needs of your employees
• Introduce you to potential vendor partners who can help enhance your mental health benefits offering

By staying ahead of the curve, you can ensure that your employees have the support they need to feel their best.

2. Ensure you’re getting the full value of your plans

Managing a benefits plan can feel like a balancing act — you need to provide valuable services while keeping costs in check. Your benefits broker should serve as your partner, finding ways to trim expenses without compromising the quality of your mental health benefits plan.

Here's how your benefits broker can help you cut unnecessary costs:

• Examine your current offerings and pinpoint any redundant or underused services.
• Negotiate contracts with vendors to secure the best prices for the services you need.
• Maximize the value of existing partnerships, so your team doesn’t overlook key features of your current plans, such as complimentary therapy visits.

By collaborating with your benefits broker, you can optimize your mental health benefits plan, making it more cost-effective and impact-driven.

3. Advise your team on how to address mental health with sensitivity

Opening up about mental health can be challenging. It requires sensitivity and understanding. (And, of course, you don’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing.)

But with the right guidance, your team can learn to approach these conversations with care and empathy. Your benefits broker should help with this, offering tips and tricks on how to tackle mental health concerns with sensitivity.

Here’s how your broker can help:

• Provide easy-to-understand resources, workshops, or training sessions to help your team get up to speed on mental health issues.
• Advise your team on designing inclusive policies that make everyone feel welcome and supported, no matter what mental health challenges they face.
• Empower your managers by giving them the tools they need to spot and support employees who might be struggling. It’s critical for employees to know that the company supports them in utilizing their mental health benefits and perks — including taking mental health days when necessary.

By teaming up with your benefits broker, you can create a workplace where mental health concerns are handled with care and understanding.

4. Help your employees understand how to use their benefits

You can have the most robust mental health benefits plan in the world — but if your employees don’t know how to use it, it’s ineffective by default.

Your benefits broker is here to ensure that every team member knows how to make the most of their benefits, like a friendly user manual that speaks their language.

Here's how your benefits broker can help your employees understand and use their benefits:

• Clarify the details of your plan, explaining it in jargon-free language that everyone can understand.
• Help your team develop a thoughtful communications strategy to help employees understand their benefits and guide them (and their dependents) through accessing their plans.
• Offer resources like handy guides, FAQs, or even workshops to educate your employees about their benefits.
• Provide always-on employee support, so when employees run into issues or have questions on their mental health benefits, they can get the answers they need.

With your benefits broker's support, your employees will become pros at using their mental health benefits.

Working with the right broker is key to your employee benefits ROI.

Beyond mental health, your  broker should be able to provide clear direction on all employee benefits packages, helping your employees stay informed and get the most out of their coverage.

That's why it pays to invest in a knowledgeable and experienced benefits broker who can meet you where you are and help you make the most of your plan.

Looking for the right broker for your small to midsize business? Talk to one of our benefits experts.‍