Sun Life SVP suggests employees want more support from employers for their 'health journey'
Marie Chantal Côté is acutely aware of what employees now want in their healthcare benefits. The Senior Vice-President of Group Benefits at Sun Life, says employees are starting to look for two things from their employer-sponsored plans: support for their unique health journeys and help navigating the complex healthcare system. Offering coverage those supports could make a huge difference for attraction and retention.
“Employees are looking for solutions in their plans that help them on their own health journey,” Côté says, while emphasizing the importance of recognizing diverse needs. “The health journey of a trans man in Vancouver might be very different than the health journey of a cisgender Indigenous person living on a reserve in Quebec.” That’s why she believes modern benefits need to account for these differences, while offering support that’s tailored to each individual employee.
While benefits around mental health, weight management and disabilities continue to be used heavily among claimants, employees are also looking for guidance on navigating their benefits and available resources. The already complex health system becomes even harder to navigate when layering in private benefits, says Côté. “What do I need? What do I have access to? If I’m suffering from a mild episode of depression or a recurrence of schizophrenia, my journey will be different. What’s available in my plan and how do I navigate that is becoming more complex [for employees].”
Mental health remains a top priority for employees and the stigma surrounding it is another challenge employers must address, says Côté. “Employers can do a lot in terms of providing the right solutions but also removing stigma,” she says, highlighting that creating a psychologically safe environment - where employees feel comfortable discussing mental health and accessing tools like therapy or pharmacotherapy - could be critical to the workforce.
But should the onus fall to the employers’ responsibility? Côté points to a 2020 Sun Life study in partnership with Ipsos that found the No. 1 reason employers offer benefits plans do so because they want to help keep their employees healthy. “The attraction, retention, all of the competitive angles came second and third,” she notes. “In our Canadian society, we're now at a place where physical, mental and emotional health is a part of one's health journey.”
One solution employers are responding with, Côté highlights, is the utilization of a mental health coach, which she describes as an effective way to address both individual needs and navigation challenges. For Sun Life, the mental health coach is done through a partnership with CloudMD, a Vancouver-based healthtech company, where licensed healthcare practitioners assess someone’s situation and direct them to the most appropriate resources, whether it’s the employee assistance program (EAP), paramedical services, or public system options. She notes that such tools are particularly effective in helping employees take the right steps in their healthcare journey, ensuring personalized and seamless access to services.
For employers concerned about the cost of offering robust benefits plans, Côté frames the issue as an investment in the health and productivity of the workforce. “Employers want healthier employees, and benefits are seen as an investment, not just an expense,” she says.
Despite the focus on innovative solutions, Côté cautions against overlooking resources like the EAP. “EAPs have been around for a long time, and we sometimes assume everyone knows what they are and how to use them,” she says. However, with five generations now sharing the workplace, there’s a need to educate employees about existing benefits. “We need to make sure people know what’s available so they can leverage it,” she adds.
Côté emphasizes that employers who can keep in tune with their employees needs and wants will give them the edge they need to stay competitive. “Canadians depend on us to pay their claims quickly, reliably, and with empathy. They’re often facing challenging health events, and how we respond matters,” Côté says. “Employers want to support the mental health of their employees and employees are looking for that support. It's a perfect equation for us to enable that.”
