Shopping for Success with the Right Benefits and the Right Technology
In an industry that sees consistent upheaval and turnover, competitive benefits are key to attracting employees and keeping them happy.
Businessolver recently released its 2025 Benefits Insights report, which explores the leading trends shaping the benefits administration landscape. And while no two employees’ health and benefits needs are the same, our data shows us that 8 in 10 employees are confused about their benefits. This confusion has cascading effects—especially for hospitality and retail HR teams—as 33% of their employees say they would go into debt to cover an unexpected medical expense.
Ensuring employees understand the offerings available to them, AND what’s best for their unique needs remains crucial. Because as every HR professional knows, helping an employee select the right benefits is the first hill to climb—getting them to activate on those benefits is the next.
Striking a balance between the two is essential, especially in an industry that experiences high turnover rate—approximately 74% annually.
Top 3 Health Care Benefit Administration Trends
Healthcare HR leaders must rethink their benefits strategies to ensure programs remain appealing to employees while driving tangible returns. This means understanding both “must-have” benefits and “value-add” options, crafting offerings that increase employee satisfaction without breaking the bank.
According to the data from out 2025 Benefits Insights Report, performance benefits (must-haves) include:
- Mental Health and Wellness Programs
Mental health benefits have become a top priority for employees. Programs such as online therapy, wellness apps, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are highly sought after, helping employees manage stress and burnout in a high-pressure industry. Flexibility, including wellness days or mental health-focused PTO, is also gaining traction.
- Caregiver and Family Support
Today, one in five U.S. adults is a caregiver, which is up from one in seven in 2015. For many hospitality and retail workers, juggling caregiving responsibilities outside work can be difficult. Benefits such as flexible schedules, family leave policies, and child/eldercare support services help reduce stress and absenteeism, and in turn, overall cost.
- Financial Health Benefits
Understanding and enrolling in financial wellbeing resources remains a top challenge for retail and hospitality employers. Only 27% of Gen Z understand HSAs, with only 19% understanding FSAs. Millennials aren’t doing much better. And with the largest concentration of hospitality and retail workers falling within Gen Z and Millennials, those numbers are telling.
With a wide range of financial literacy, being able to understand savings tools like 401(k)s and HSAs, financial wellness programs are increasingly effective value additions—as they offer employees peace of mind while ensuring long-term loyalty.
Top 4 Tools To Meet Your Employees Benefits Needs
However, even a well-rounded benefits program isn’t enough anymore. Employees must actively understand and engage with their benefits to maximize their value. Studies reveal that 86% of employees are confused about their benefits, which may lead to underutilization, dissatisfaction, or financial struggles.
And as a disengaged workforce directly impacts retention and overall employee satisfaction, finding ways to address this “benefits literacy” gap is critical. Enter innovative benefits administration technology as the catalyst to ensuring health care employees activate and engage with your organization’s benefit offerings.
- AI-Powered Solutions and Around-the-Clock Access
For hospitality and retail employees, who often work after hours or on weekends, seamless and accessible tools are redefining this gap.
AI technology is revolutionizing benefits support by offering immediate, user-friendly assistance. Employees no longer need to call in or email HR for support during administrative hours—they can simply access benefits information and resolve issues anytime through AI assistants, such as Sofia, and mobile apps. According to Businessolver’s 2025 Benefit Insights Report, through AI-powered support:
– Employees were able to access benefits support 24/7.
– 89% of all chats were resolved instantly with 82% staying resolved after 7 days.
– Nearly 10 minutes were saved for employees in call and chat times (43% increase from 2023).
– $3 million saved annually with AI self-service and automation tools such as document verification and cognitive search.
– 36% of employees overall logged into their benefits 4+ times after enrollment. This number goes up even higher when HSA and FSA accounts are also managed through our platform.
Simply put, these tools aren’t just providing support for busy retail and hospitality workers 24/7.
- Mobile-Friendly Platforms
As a majority of hospitality and retail workers fall into the Gen Z and Millennial demographic, it’s essential for them to be able to access their benefits via a mobile device. A mobile app allows employees to check coverage, connect with care providers, and receive tailored updates on-the-go—essential for a highly mobile workforce.
- Data-Driven Personalization
AI-powered analytics track how employees interact with their benefits, enabling HR teams to identify gaps and refine offerings in real time. In 2024, 90% of Businessolver clients used AI-powered reporting to get real-time insights across their entire benefits program, from employee satisfaction to utilization.
And on the employee experience side, users are more than twice as likely (129%) to elect a right-fit, cost-effective health plan and a savings vehicle when decision support is in play at enrollment. These personalized experiences, driven by claims data and usage patterns, ensure employees see relevant benefits and feel supported not just during AE but those critical life moments afterwards as well.
- Benefits Communication and Literacy
A 2024 study found that 43% of employees receive benefits communications only once a year—or not at all. Technology bridges this gap through year-round communication channels like SMS, push notifications, and email campaigns with targeted content, helping employees fully understand and activate their benefits.
How PacSun Streamlined Their Benefits
Using these tools yields tangible results for organizations. One of Businessolver’s retail clients, PacSun, experienced significant success by championing similar benfits and tools for their employees.
Added Financial Stability: 20% increase in voluntary benefits enrollment with our Pinnacle Partner, Aetna.
Improved Employee Support: 99% of AI-supported chats stay resolved after 7+ days, helping employees with their benefits questions, right when they need it.
Increased Benefits Literacy: 35% of employees use decision support at enrollment, ensuring confidence in election.
What should retail and hospitality HR professionals focus on in this evolving benefits landscape?
- Conduct a Benefits Audit: Evaluate your current benefits to identify gaps, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement.
- Prioritize Employee Education: Launch initiatives to boost benefits literacy, such as on-demand tutorials, webinars, and accessible FAQs.
- Invest in the Right Benefits Administration Technology: Adopt AI-enabled platforms that streamline benefits access and provide year-round employee support.
- Monitor and Measure Impact: Track adoption, engagement, and ROI metrics for your benefits programs. Use these insights to refine offerings and demonstrate value to senior leadership.
- Read the Report: Check out the full 2025 Benefits Insights Report to get all the entire scoop and start forming an action plan with your team.
Today, Businessolver supports benefits for over 450,000 employees in the retail and hospitality industry with configurable tech to meet every employee’s unique needs. Together with our clients, we’ve learned that by focusing on personalization, AI-driven insights, and workforce-centered strategies, HR leaders can balance rising costs and competition while demonstrating unmatched value to the employees who contribute so greatly to their organization’s success.
