Most HR leaders know that a strong employee benefits program helps attract and retain talent. Fewer treat it as a living, breathing people strategy that requires the same year-round attention as performance management or culture-building.

That gap, according to Kara Hoogensen, senior vice president of workplace benefits and protection at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, is where significant employee loyalty and engagement is being left on the table.

"Value is the name of the game," Hoogensen told Insurance Business Benefits US, "but value isn't something that immediately comes. There has to be intentionality around how the value is provided."

The inclusion link HR leaders cannot afford to ignore

Principal's Work and Worth research found that employees who feel their employer's benefits program is relevant to their lives are 1.2 times more likely to feel included at work.

For HR directors already investing heavily in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, that is a significant finding and one that points to benefits design as an underutilized inclusion lever.

"If you feel like you're welcome and included in the workplace and that someone is actually caring about you in a way that transcends the workplace," Hoogensen said, "you're more likely to expend discretionary effort and energy towards the work that you're being asked to do."

The loyalty effect extends beyond the individual employee. The same Principal research found that workers show 22 percent more loyalty to their employer when they see their colleagues access and benefit from coverages such as accident insurance or critical illness protection, even if they never use those benefits themselves.

The multi-generational design challenge

With as many as five generations now sharing the same workplace, one-size-fits-all benefits design is increasingly inadequate. Hoogensen said the most effective HR teams are working with their benefits advisors to map the specific needs of each employee cohort and then building programs that offer meaningful choice without creating decision paralysis.

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