Companies who are looking for better ways to ensure that their employees are healthy while effectively making their healthcare programs cost-effective can take inspiration from 2018’s best-performing employers, according to a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson.

“Plan sponsors should continuously look to advance their healthcare benefit programs,” said Julie Stone, Managing Director of Specialty Practices and Intellectual Capital at Willis Towers Watson. “Start by evaluating your current strategy and make changes to capitalize on cutting-edge benefit delivery innovations.”

The survey found about 48 companies who responded were able to manage cost trends and implement healthcare initiatives efficiently. Thus, they were found to be the best performers among the 351 companies surveyed globally.

Let’s take a look at the five major methods that companies who have effectively optimized both the quality of their employee healthcare plan and its cost:

Quality care using value-based designs

Tying payments to quality care and tangible healthcare outcomes is a major characteristic displayed by the best performers. Seventeen percent of the best performers use bundled approaches as opposed to just four percent of the high-cost companies. A holistic strategy towards healthcare, surgical episodes and using a combined approach of pre and post-procedural care into one. A smooth billing experience for employees and organizations is the hallmark of a high performing company.

Optimizing pharmacy expenditures

The companies that have a holistic healthcare experience have figured out that pharmacy cost is the highest and recurring. Employers are encouraging the use of biosimilars which cost less and are just as clinically effective as some of the other drugs available in the pharmacies for a higher cost. Employers can also use their influence effectively to curb the misuse of medicines and opioid abuse. Investing in employee education and ensuring that employees get the required treatment. This method not only helps in reducing pharmacy costs but also enhances the productivity of the employees.

Overall well being--a core company tenet

Millennials and Gen Z employees are the ones who are more focused on physical and emotional well being. In order to become an employer brand that continues to appeal to multiple generations of the workforce as the millennials and GenZers move up in their career, it is crucial for employers to renew their commitment towards promoting an active lifestyle. It all goes back to ensuring that employees remain productive, healthy and happy.

Best performing enterprises have also focused on promoting an inclusive culture and encouraging employees to take their individual well being seriously.

Empowering employees with benefits’ information

When it comes to healthcare, the cost is a major concern for employers. Since each employee would have a different set of healthcare needs, it is important that employers enable their employees to customize their benefits as per their requirements. About 59 percent of best performers offer their employees tools to personalize their decisions.

Make data your best friend

Getting leadership buy-in is critical when it comes to the employee healthcare equation. Using the available data to evaluate the success of your healthcare strategy can go a long way in making your strategy low-cost, optimal and at the same time beneficial to the employees. Evaluate the current programs that are in place by mining the data available and then redesign the strategies if required.

“Many employers have already adopted bits and pieces of these best practices, but to compete and succeed, top executives must design a vision for how their company--and its healthcare and benefit strategy--will evolve for the future,” said Stone in a statement.