Benefits communication

Scope

Employees who are eligible for company benefits, like health care insurance, should be included in ongoing benefits communication.

Regulatory citations

• None

Key definitions

• None

Summary of requirements

Benefits can influence turnover and productivity indirectly by having a positive effect on employee buy-in to their company. Companies continue to spend millions of dollars annually on benefits without employees even realizing it. If for no other reason, then for this reason alone, an employer should be doing everything possible to educate its employees on the value of the benefit plans, as well as how they operate. Employee turnover and lost productivity — both expensive in themselves — can have a great impact on the overall profit of the company.

Two of the most common areas in employee benefits that employees are at a loss when it comes to understanding, are health insurance plans and retirement plans. Just the terminology alone can be overwhelming to them, or to anyone not familiar with benefit plans.

Medical plans. Employers need to:

• Educate employees in a way that is clear, concise, and easy for employees to understand.
• Develop communications designed to influence opinions and change behaviors — to drive the right employees to the right plans.

The ultimate goal is to contain health care costs for both organizations and their employees and to help them become good healthcare consumers.

If available, online tools for healthcare education can offer:

• Health care selection information,
• Medical cost estimators,
• Consumer Drive Health Plan (CDHP) modeling,
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) calculators,
• Needs analysis,
• Educational tours of doctors/hospitals,
• Claims status of personal account,
• Account balance (if applicable, i.e., Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)), and
• Current, reliable information on medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Many insurance carriers can now provide a system of unbiased health information and tools that enable users to assess health risks, evaluate treatment options, and learn how to live healthier. Ideally the system would be highly visual, interactive, and consumer-friendly, making it very informative to employees and family members. The content would be current, well-researched, physician-reviewed, and unbiased.

Retirement plans. If available, online tools for retirement plan education can offer:

• Daily valuation of account balance,
• Retirement planning modeling,
• Investment options,
• Prospectus information,
• Beneficiary designations,
• Investment election,
• Deferral percentage, and
• Pension calculator tools.

When it comes to retirement plans, the goal is to increase participation and assist employees in attaining their goal of being able to retire with a comfortable nest egg.

Methods. Technology now makes benefits communication a bit easier by providing the means to do this. However, it is up to the employer to take advantage of the new technology and use it to its fullest potential. If these electronic advances are not available to an organization, then paper-based information and enrollment can also be used.

There are a number of vehicles that can be used to accomplish this goal. They include:

• Newsletters,
• Group meetings (either by employer or vendor),
• Individual meetings (usually by vendor for those interested),
• Announcement letters and fliers for new plans or changes to existing plans,
• PowerPoint presentations,
• E-mail communications,
• Posters,
• Weekly “lunch & learn” sessions,
• Side-by-side chart showing employee/employer contributions to plans, and
• Total compensation statements.

It can be a bit overwhelming for employees to look at their benefit options for the first time and have to make decisions that will affect their medical and financial future. Imagine how relieved they would be to have been educated in advance on how their benefits plans work and the various options they will have to choose from. Open enrollment period is the prime time to implement this, but don’t let it be a one-time only attempt. Employee communication and education should be an ongoing process for a company. A little preparation goes a long way.