More than 19.5 million. That’s how many results pop up when you search for “identity protection service.” Certainly, there’s no shortage of products on the market, but sorting through all of the information to determine what features are most important to employers can be overwhelming. Luckily, we’ve done the hard part for you. Check out our list of the most desired features below.
Identity protection features employers want for their employees
Monitors more than credit
Employers want their employees to have more protection than traditional credit monitoring provides. Of course, the identity protection service should also monitor an employee’s credit score and report, but those services alone are not enough in today’s digital age. Businesses want a solution that can minimize risks by immediately notifying employees of suspicious account activity, including:
New applications for credit cards, wireless carriers, and utilities
Unauthorized account access, compromised passwords or login credentials, and password resets
Fund transfers, high-risk banking activities, and public record alerts
Address changes
Protects social media accounts
If an employee’s social media account is hacked, the resulting posts, connections, and communications can destroy the reputation of both the employee and their company. In addition to slandering the victim’s organization, hackers can use the hijacked credentials to collect physical addresses, passwords, and other sensitive data they can use to open new accounts or exploit existing ones.
Criminals can also use an employee’s social media account to phish co-workers, clients, and even the company’s C-suite. Therefore, employers are looking for an identity protection solution that monitors an employee’s social accounts and will notify the employee if their social media posts contain vulgarity, reference violence, include explicit content, language around grooming, or any other reason to believe their profile is compromised.
Of course, employees aren’t just worried about protecting their own social identities. They’re looking for a solution that will work for their entire family, especially their little ones. This is one of the reasons employers prefer identity protection that includes a family option.
Assists with identity restoration
We have all become targets of identity thieves and cybercriminals. As a result, businesses are looking for an identity protection service that offers comprehensive identity restoration assistance.
It can take hundreds of hours over many months to repair identity theft alone. Employers understand this can have a tremendous impact on their company’s bottom line, in the form of lost productivity, missed work hours, and employee disengagement.
Any serious identity protection service should come standard with certified advocates to assist with the restoration process. These representatives should be available 24/7 and willing to handle the most time-consuming and tedious portions of restoration. That way, employees can focus on what really matters — their friends, family, and career.
Protects employees finances
Finally, employers realize their employees perform best when they have peace of mind. Employees need to know that their finances, identity, and privacy are also protected. This is why companies tend not to consider identity protection solutions that don’t offer identity theft insurance.
Identity theft insurance should be a core component of any identity protection service, and the policy should cover an employee’s lost wages, legal fees, medical records request fees, CPA fees, child care fees, and more.
Identity protection features companies need
Easy, seamless onboarding
Employers want benefits with an easy onboarding process and seamless integration. The identity protection service should provide a seasoned implementation leader to consult with the employer and any critical third parties throughout the implementation process. Additionally, they should furnish comprehensive implementation guides, manage meetings, and provide meaningful product education for both the business and its employees.
Superb, ongoing support
To be effective, an identity protection service must provide excellent customer service. Employers want to work with companies who have a high NPS (Net Promoter Score) achieved over a meaningful period of time. Employers also want clear communication long after the onboarding process, including critical utilization data, product updates, and employee education opportunities. Additionally, they prefer dealing with ONE dedicated account manager or client relationship advisor, who becomes familiar with their individual circumstances and evolving needs.
Flexible benefits structure
Not every business is capable of offering an employer-paid plan, so a quality identity protection service should include employee-paid and hybrid payment options as well. Equally important, the service should be competitively priced and affordable for most businesses.
If you’d like more information about what businesses expect from an employee identity protection program, reach out. We’d love to help you select the right plan for your clients or company.
