Ask 100 CEOs the same question, and you’ll likely get 100 different responses. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the greatest challenge facing their business. Then, the answer is near universal: attracting and retaining top talent.
To be competitive, employers are increasingly offering a wider range of employee benefits. However, this can generate more questions than answers:
Which benefits are best for recruitment and retention? How do you select an offering that connects with all employees? And, why is it that identity protection consistently ranks among the top employee benefits?
To find out, we spoke with Vita Duncan, Director of HR at InfoArmor — an organization that has been leading and innovating the employee identity protection industry for more than 12 years.
They’ll be at #SHRM19, and swinging by their booth (#2866) is an absolute must. Read our Q&A to discover why.
Q. Why is identity theft protection becoming an increasingly important benefit for recruitment and retention?
I think it’s a combination of factors.
In 2018, nearly 75 percent of organizations increased their benefits offerings to retain employees. Around 80 percent of employees say they would prefer additional benefits to an increase in pay. We have the most diverse workforce in human history, and HR is under increasing pressure to offer benefits that resonate across all demographics.
When you factor in all of the data breaches, security incidents, and hacks, identity protection is a logical choice. Not everyone has student loans to forgive or pets to insure — but they do have identities to protect.
ROI is another major factor. Employee identity protection is a relatively inexpensive benefit that delivers huge results. It’s hard to find an offering that both CFOs and employees love. That’s one of the reasons PrivacyArmor is so special.
Q. Can you tell us about the products and services InfoArmor offers?
I think what we really offer is peace of mind. PrivacyArmor, our employee identity protection benefit, is just one of the ways we do this.
We monitor employees’ credit profiles, scour the dark web for their personal and professional data, and we even protect linked financial accounts and social media profiles. If an employee’s identity becomes compromised, we have certified experts available 24/7 to restore their identity.
This can save an employee hundreds of hours, and it helps improve workplace productivity, decrease absenteeism, and reduce other risks associated with employee disengagement.
Q. How are people responding to your identity protection benefit?
The response has been overwhelming, from both our clients and participants. InfoArmor currently protects more than 2.2 million lives at 3,000 plus clients. This includes around 30 percent of the Fortune 100.
We’re really proud of those numbers, and we’re even prouder of our results. InfoArmor has a 97 percent satisfaction rate among the victims we help. For those facing advanced cases of identity theft, that number actually increases to 100 percent — the highest of any provider.
Q. What sets InfoArmor apart from other identity protection providers in the workplace?
One word: innovation.
We were the first identity protection service built around the needs of employers. As a result, we lead the industry when it comes to onboarding and implementation, ongoing account management, and solving some of HR’s biggest problems.
PrivacyArmor features are just as innovative. Our dark web monitoring — which combines proprietary technology, artificial intelligence, and a robust team of human operatives — is the most sophisticated on the market.
By discovering security incidents and data compromises first, as we did with the now infamous Yahoo breach, we can protect our clients and their employees better than anyone.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve got some really exciting features in the pipeline, including the Allstate Digital Footprint.™ This is going to be a gamechanger in the world of privacy and data protection.
Q. How does identity theft impact the workplace?
Before I answer this question, I want to praise SHRM for your reporting. You were among the first to highlight the connection between identity theft and the workplace. With up to 50 percent of identity theft cases originating at work, employers and employees can both benefit from identity protection.
It can take hundreds of hours to restore a compromised identity, and that often leads to a lot of missed work and increased employee disengagement. In fact, 63 percent of victims experience difficulty concentrating.
Employers are really seeing the impact identity theft has on their employees’ lives, as well as their company’s bottom line. I think that’s one of the reasons so many organizations have embraced PrivacyArmor.
Q. What do you wish more HR professionals knew about InfoArmor and identity threat protection for the workplace?
If your readers take away just one thing from our interview, I hope it’s this: you are making a difference.
HR professionals are rarely given the credit they’re due. But when you look at the numbers, they’re having a tremendous impact on reducing identity theft and protecting their employees.
More companies are offering identity protection to their employees than ever before, HR workers are getting better at avoiding phishing scams, and we’re seeing organizations do a better job at training their teams.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot we can’t control. Just one data breach at a credit bureau exposed the personal information of more than 80 percent of working adults. We haven’t even seen the real fallout from that.
As you know, identity theft isn’t something that happens overnight. Thieves often wait years before exploiting a victim’s information. That’s why it’s so important employees actively monitor their digital footprint. The sooner they detect potential identity theft, the quicker it can be resolved.
Q. Can you tell me more about the digital footprint?
Sure!
When your employees go online, post to Facebook, or subscribe to a newsletter, they leave behind a record of their activity. These impressions form their digital footprint, and it reveals a lot more about a person than you might think.
Here’s an analogy we often use:
Imagine you’re walking on a beach. Each step leaves behind a distinct impression. These tracks show exactly where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. They also paint a pretty clear picture of where you’re headed. If you were to do this every day, like most of us do, the impressions really add up.
There’s never been a good way for people to view and manage this data. That’s why we created the Allstate Digital Footprint. PrivacyArmor Plus members will be able to review the items in their digital footprint and start taking control of their data.
Q. Wow! Is this something we can learn more about at #SHRM19?
Absolutely!
We’re trying to share this information with as many people as possible. InfoArmor was founded on a pretty revolutionary mission: to transform the security of humankind. This means arming everyone with the knowledge they need to protect their employees, whether they use our service or not.
Q. Where can we find InfoArmor at #SHRM19?
We’ll be at Booth #2866, and we’d love to answer any questions attendees might have. For those unable to attend, they can check out InfoArmor.com.
Thank you InfoArmor and we look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!
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