Effective Communication is the Key to a Successful Benefits Package
Educating employees about their benefits can be a tough job. The challenge is to take a large volume of information, that is often complex and confusing, and present it to the employee in a format that is condensed and easy to understand. Effectively communicating with employees about their benefits must be a year round effort and should not be confined to blurbs of information only during open enrollment periods.
The goal is to give the employee enough information to help them make an informed decision about the benefit choices available for themselves and their family, but not so much information that they throw up their hands in despair. A “Summary of Benefitsâ€, which provides a brief description of each benefit in a consolidated, quick glimpse form, is a good tool to highlight available benefits; and, although they are great during the open enrollment period, they should be made available to employees year round. They are particularly good for introducing new employees to the benefits available to them.
Another great tool for ongoing communication of benefit related material is a website dedicated to providing information and resources related to the benefits offered on a year-round basis. A good benefits website will have summary information of each of the benefits, as well as links to resources that will provide more in depth information as needed. This is also a good place for employers to post required plan information, such as plan documents, summary plan descriptions, etc. Claim forms and important contact information can also be made available via the website.
Other items that can be useful in communicating with employees on issues that relate to their benefits are:
- Mass email notifications
- Employee Benefit Surveys
- Group Meetings/Benefits Fairs
- Premium/Benefits Calculators
By using a variety of communication methods, a greater number of the employee workforce will have access to employee benefit information that is useful. Some employees will prefer to go online and read about their benefits and utilize the links provided to obtain more in depth information. Others will relate better to printed material that is tangible and can be reviewed at their convenience.
The actual verbiage used is as important as the communication vehicle chosen to deliver the message. It is easy for benefit professionals to sometimes forget that industry concepts and terminology can be completely foreign to the average employee. The challenge is to make an effort to present information in everyday language and define terms as needed. The usage of industry terms and acronyms should always be clearly defined.
An added advantage of good employee benefit communication is it gives the employer an opportunity to remind their employees of their total compensation package, which includes the benefit dollars the company spends each year on the employees’ behalf. Most employees see their compensation simply as the dollar amount printed on their paychecks. It is important to remind employees, at least periodically, of the benefits they receive that are either provided by the employer at no cost or the cost is shared by them and their employer. Employer contributions to the employee’s benefit package can be detailed using a “Hidden Paycheck†Benefits Statement. This statement would list all the benefits available to the employee, indicate those for which the employee is currently enrolled, and breakdown the cost of the benefits by the portions paid by the employer and those paid by the employee.
A competitive benefits package creates an employer of choice environment which will translate into a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining the most qualified employees in your industry. However, simply creating an outstanding benefits package is not enough to get the job done. If employees are not aware of the benefits available to them, or fail to understand the advantages the benefits offer them, the efforts have been in vain. Effectively communicating and educating employees is crucial to the success of any benefits package.
