Employees may not understand the true value of their benefits if you don’t tell them
By:Bill Zolis
One thing that often strikes me when I talk to people in the industry is that there are quite a few employers who offer terrific benefits plans, but who may not be getting full value for their investment.
The reason? They’re not promoting their benefits as well as they could be to their own employees.
We’ve talked frequently in this blog about the reasons that employers give for offering the comprehensive benefits plans. There is what I think of as the “overall” reason, which is basically that “we care for our people, and we want our benefits plan to reflect our commitment to their well-being.”
There are also specific reasons for offering benefits, with pretty clear goals and objectives: to provide a competitive recruitment package; to strengthen the case for retention of key staff; to encourage workplace wellness; to enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty; to improve commitment and productivity – to name just a few.
In each case, for each reason, there is a direct line between the benefit and a goal the plan sponsor wants to achieve.
But, not to put too fine a point on it, achieving those goals is going to be a lot harder if plan members don’t know about the benefits that are available to them, or if they don’t really think about their benefits, or if they just don’t make use of some of the benefits that are offered.
One thing that has come up a few times in my recent conversations with clients concerned specific benefits that were not being used very much by their employees. Interestingly, it was different benefits at different workplaces, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just a case of a benefit that people don’t want. When a client tells me that utilization of a particular benefit is surprisingly low, we have to ask ourselves what’s going on.
First of all, they’re paying for a benefit and not getting full value because of low utilization. Second, they’re not getting credit from their employees for providing that benefit – so the retention and wellness goals are not lining up. And third, and perhaps most important, they have employees who could benefit but who are missing out.
There are a number of things plan sponsors can do in terms of educating employees to help maximize their return on investment for benefits – both in terms of dollars spent and positive outcomes in the workplace.
– Raise the prominence and profile of benefits in the workplace. In workplace events, or reports or communications with staff, make sure that benefits are mentioned, any changes are announced, and positive stories are shared. Place benefits news on bulletin boards and information portals.
– Own it. It seems remarkably simple, but talking and thinking in terms of “our benefits that we get” is considerably more impactful than “your benefits that you get.” Nothing wrong with celebrating our benefits now and then.
– Always include benefits in any calculation or discussion of total remuneration. Make sure that any discussion of wages or salary, and any reports to employees about their remuneration include the value of benefits.
– Make benefits a key part of the recruitment strategy. In the competition for top talent involves many factors, with total pay and benefits a big part of the equation.
– Include benefits in the new-employee orientation process. Aside from providing information on benefits and how to access them, the new-employee orientation should also share the workplace culture regarding benefits – they’re here for us, they’re a part of our workplace wellness strategy.
– Develop a communications plan. Make sure that benefits get mentioned more often than just at new employee orientation. There are many ways to communicate, from individual print reports to newsletters, social media and internal channels such as e-mail.
– Plan educational opportunities. One effective way to provide training and information is by doing it regularly and in small doses. For example, an e-mail from HR to all staff can start, “A member of staff has asked us about vesting, and it may be that other members of staff have similar questions. Here’s how vesting works…” Another possibility is to invite your benefits advisor to host an information session for employees.
– Communicate the dollar value of benefits. It’s human nature not to think about the cost of something we don’t have to pay for ourselves, or even to start thinking of it as free – and therefore worth very little. Make sure your people know that benefits do cost real money.
– Educate employees about benefits. Think in terms of “this is what we’re doing on your behalf.” A big part of the message should be “Here’s a benefit that we, as plan sponsor, think is useful and important. That’s why we are providing it and paying for it. Here’s how you can use it to your best advantage.”
– Identify benefits that seem to be under-utilized. A regular review of reports from your benefits provider, along with in-house information, will give you a good idea of what’s being used and what’s not being used. Then ask yourself why.
– Simplify the procedures for accessing benefits. Ensure that all employees are up to speed. It’s one thing to provide instructions and resource materials at the time of hiring – and it’s important to do so – but many people won’t get around to using their benefits for months or longer. Make sure that they know where to go for detailed information, and that the information they find there is accurate and simple to use.
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I really appreciate comments, ideas, suggestions or just observations about the blog or any other topics in benefits management. I always look forward to hearing from readers. If there’s anything you want to share, please email me at bill@penmorebenefits.com.
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