When it comes to your company’s benefits package, how you communicate about it to your employees is even more important than the benefits you actually offer. Don’t believe us? Here’s the proof.
According to a recent study by Towers Watson WorkUSA, when a company with an above-average benefits package failed to communicate well with its workforce, only 22 percent of its employees said they were satisfied with their benefits. On the flip side, when a company offering below-average benefits did a great job of communicating with its employees, a whopping 76 percent reported satisfaction. That’s huge!
So, since it’s obviously so important to get that communication piece right, here are the top five ways employees botch their benefits communications and consequently diminish employee satisfaction (and how you can avoid making those same mistakes).
- Boring information: Let’s face it. Much of what’s communicated about benefits just isn’t that interesting to most people. So since you can’t up the cool factor of the content, find some other way to make those meetings fun.
- Varied learning styles and preferences: Your communication about your benefits package should be just as diverse as your workforce itself. Offer multiple channels and styles to meet the various preferences of your employees.
- Small communication budget: Don’t scrimp or cut corners when it comes to investing in your benefits communication. It’s worth a few extra dollars to make sure your employees understand the thousands of dollars that’s being invested in them.
- Language that’s too technical: Instead of being so concerned with getting the terminology right or keeping things overly professional, use plain English when communicating about benefits.
- Too much in one sitting: Employee benefits are a lot to understand, even for CFOs and HR professionals. Don’t expect your average employee to be able to take it all in with just one meeting. Break things up into more digestible bits, and give it all time to soak in.
Another important thing to consider is that, while tech is great, there’s often no substitute for good ole human interaction. Employees like having access to online tools and a benefits portal. But they also like the ability to have a conversation with a real live person when necessary, whether by phone or face-to-face.
Don’t have the time or resources to invest in your benefits communication? Ask us how we can help.