This article was first published in Harvard Business Review and is available via subscription.
Employees don’t always make decisions that are in their best long-term interests. The time and effort required to understand an opportunity and comply with administrative processes, not to mention the psychological costs of social stigma or uncertainty, often dissuade people from applying for benefits or enrolling in skill-building programs. But leaders can significantly increase engagement without altering their offerings.
To improve participation, authors Julia Dhar, Kristy Ellmer, Lukas Ferner, Jason Guggenheim, Cass Sunstein, and Sana Rafiq propose that leaders pursue several steps, including comparing offerings with high and low take-up rates to identify the differences; understanding the attitudes, preferences, and biases of target beneficiaries; and minimizing the take-up cost by clearly communicating the benefit and making the process as convenient as possible. By offering opportunities using a more behaviorally informed approach, executives and policymakers can help more employees and the organization.