Search:

Articles

< Back to Articles

Marketing Benefits to Employees

by Elizabeth M. Rice

According to a 2005 study, more than two-thirds of employers feel that their employees don't fully comprehend the value and costs associated with their insurance benefits. At the same time, two out of five employees say they don't know which options are most appropriate for them and their needs, and they would like additional education and assistance with planning their benefits program. Clearly communicating and marketing employment benefits can greatly help both employees and their employers. Such efforts convey a message that the employer is attempting to help employees manage their health and well being, resulting in positive recruiting efforts and employee retention. We interviewed Arlene Lieberman, Principal at Barney & Barney, and Catherine Botello, Account Executive at Barney & Barney to learn more about the advantages of marketing benefits to employees.

According to Barney & Barney, most employees have a general overview of the benefits they receive but are not well versed in specifics. Issues such as cost sharing and the new consumer-driven health plans add to the confusion. While studies indicate healthcare premium trends are on the decline, employees are still experiencing increased copays, deductibles and premium contributions.

Barney & Barney recommends that companies communicate employment benefits in the following ways:

• Open Enrollment
  • Open Enrollment is an employer's opportunity to highlight their benefits program each year.
  • An employer's Benefits Broker/Consultant can facilitate this process by holding open enrollment meetings, interactive webcasts, and developing user-friendly communication pieces highlighting the benefit programs
• Highlight benefits in employee newsletters and offer "lunch and learns" to provide constant communication with employees.
• Develop and maintain a benefits portal within the corporate Intranet, providing a resource where employees can access up to date information regarding their benefit programs
• Implement an online enrollment / interactive benefits management system whereby employees can:
  • Access their account and view/update their benefits enrollment information.
  • Hyperlink to carrier and vendor websites
  • View list of FAQs to help employees understand how to best utilize their benefits, i.e. how to access a doctor and/or obtain a referral.
• Provide new hire orientation meetings for all newly eligible employees.
• Train your Human Resources team to ensure they can clearly communicate the value of the entire benefits package to your employees.
• Hold a Health Fair every one to two years. A health fair provides a venue for employees to interact directly with the carriers and vendors. It is a fun, non-threatening environment for employees to obtain information about health & wellness, prevention, and additional resources available through their health plans.
• On an annual basis, provide your employees with a benefit statement or hidden paycheck. This will provide them with the full value of their total compensation including salary, health and welfare benefits, 401(k) match, paid time off, vacation pay, worker's compensation costs and social security. If your company offers additional perks such as tuition reimbursement, these costs can be included too. From this benefit statement, your employees will see the actual compensation they are receiving from their employer.

Corporate America spends billions of dollars on health & welfare benefits each year. Nevertheless, challenges such as costs, timeliness of information, internal politics and changing compliance issues often lead companies to provide out-of-date, incorrect or partial communications, complicating or defeating their financial efforts. Employers cannot assume that employees have a full understanding of the benefits plan after one educational session or open enrollment meeting.

Both employees and employers can feel the negative effects of insufficient communication and marketing of employment benefits. Employers can face difficulty with respect to employee recruitment and retention. Employees, in turn may suffer from poor morale if they feel their company undervalues them, contributing to a negative work environment. Conversely, when a company shows it cares about its employees, both parties can greatly benefit from the advantages of open communications and a well-informed, strongly motivated staff.

According to Inside Personal Finance most workers are not aware that their employers spend 20% to 40% of the employees' wages on benefits. By simply taking the initiative and communicating employment benefits information, companies can create a happier, more effective corporate environment, thus increasing employee retention.