by admin | Aug 10, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Open Enrollment
Amid the economic panic last year, workers were unwilling to sacrifice job security for a new work environment. Many workers felt it was foolish to re-enter the job market during a shut down. However, in 2021, employers have experienced high turnover rates and experts are now predicting a “turnover tsunami” in voluntary departures and resignations. Current projections estimate that 3.3 million Americans will leave their jobs by December in search of new ones.
Turnover is expensive: the processes of recruiting, hiring, on-boarding and training cost extensive time but is also a considerable investment. When an employee leaves, the company not only loses a valuable resource but also has to re-distribute duties to other team members in the interim of finding a replacement. The team members who absorb the additional responsibilities reach their own tolerance thresholds.
Employers are always looking for ways to sweeten the attain and retain talented employees. For any job offer, salary will remain a crucial aspect but benefits also play an important role in overall employee compensation. This year more than ever, employers have a unique opportunity to show employees how valued they are and may convince those who are seeking a new job to remain through their benefits. So, what are some of the top benefits employees are looking for right now?
This staple benefit is of the utmost importance to job candidates and typically includes coverage for their families. In fact, 46% of U.S. adults said health insurance was the either the deciding factor or a positive influence in choosing their current job. And 56% said that employer-sponsored health coverage is a key factor in deciding to stay in their current job.
The most common type of retirement benefits is the 401(k) plan. This allows employees to deduct a certain percentage of each paycheck to put towards retirement savings. Some businesses choose to match the employee’s deduction or up to a certain percentage.
Employers can offer short -term disability (STD) or long-term disability (LTD) insurance to their employees. If an insured employee is injured or has a lengthy illness, the benefit pays them during the period of time they are unable to work. STD pays a portion of an employee’s salary if temporarily become sick or are unable to work. LTD payments are paid to employees who have a permanent illness or injury preventing them from performing their duties.
Life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment insurance (AD&D) are important as employees look to the future and want reassurance in protecting their families.
Employers should also consider some perks that have become increasingly sought after. Perks are something that is in addition to the employee’s salary and benefits package that may sway an employee to value one employer over another. Some of the most valued perks in 2021 are:
Wellbeing and mental health provisions have taken on a new significance in the last 12 months. Employers can offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which helps employees to solve problems – whether those relate to finances or other non-work stresses. But employers are also offering more comprehensive mental health services such as counseling or therapy. 48% of employees indicated they had experienced high levels of stress over the last year and are looking for support for stress, burnout, and other mental health issues.
- Flexibility/Remote Work Options
Remote work and flexibility have always been popular among employees but their importance soared in light of the pandemic. Flexibility has been a key factor in providing for employees who have had changes in their life such as caring for a chronically ill loved one or those who suddenly had virtual school for their children. In fact, 76% of workers said they would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours.
This past year has served as a reminder that employee’s lives don’t just revolve around work. With pets and children crashing our Zoom calls, and other responsibilities – including eldercare and childcare – on many worker’s minds, it’s evident that employees have other responsibilities and priorities that distract us from work. During the pandemic, one in four women considered leaving the workforce or scaled back their work role because of added family caregiving pressures.
Many employees don’t understand the benefits they chose during open enrollment – which means some employees may be looking for a new job for benefits or perks they already have! Now more than ever, it is critical for employers to start communicating early about open enrollment. Getting the word out about open enrollment and available benefits will help employees weigh the advantages of guaranteed perks and benefits with searching for a new job. Giving employees more time to understand their benefits is crucial to employee retention and contentment.
by admin | Oct 26, 2020 | Benefit Management, Human Resources
With many enrollments being forced to go virtual this year, you may feel at a disadvantage. But, there are actually plenty of reasons to believe a virtual open enrollment could be even more effective for you and your clients.
IMPROVED EDUCATION
People only tend to remember 10% of what they hear and only 20% of what they read. However, people actually recall 80% of what they see. As you prepare your virtual enrollment presentations, make sure you work on integrating images to communicate your message. An image has a higher chance of evoking an emotional response in a person than a set of words, written or spoken and with that emotion comes retention. Leverage every opportunity to use graphs, charts, and images to relay your message.
GREATER REACH
As you communicate with your employees regarding education on benefits offerings or deadlines for enrollment, use a form of communication that is natural for most people—text messaging. Texting for employee communication results in a 98% open/read rate and a 45% reply rate. Compare these percentages to basic email open rates of 20% and a reply rate for email of only 6% and you’ll plainly see that texting has a far greater reach. So, if it worries you that virtual enrollments will result in less communication, don’t let it!
Another great way to leverage this time of virtual open enrollments for the good is to get online with your enrollment paperwork by posting it all via an online portal or company intranet. Employees can read through the information at their leisure from anywhere—phone, tablet, or laptop. They can also easily share it with family members who can read it at their convenience. More people will be able to digest the information than if it had only been available at a physical enrollment meeting.
OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION
Work on creating a solid foundation of communication for the entire year by introducing it during Q4’s virtual enrollment meetings. Use your company’s social media to stay in contact by posting educational infographics, animated videos on health and wellness topics, and invitations to webinars. Then, by the time 2021’s enrollment period approaches, your employees will be conditioned to look at your social media for company announcements and you will be set up for success as you post info on your different channels.
Even though open enrollment looks starkly different than in years’ past, it does have its benefits. Improved communication, a greater reach, and new, open lines of communication are all byproducts of this innovative, virtual environment. What a great surprise!
by admin | Aug 20, 2020 | Open Enrollment
Open enrollment season is upon us and many companies are choosing to host “virtual benefits fairs” instead of the traditional “walk and talk” fairs. Open enrollment meetings have turned into live streaming events or recorded webinars. Incentivizing employee participation in these areas can come in a variety of ways but the newest trend is gamification.
Gamification has been defined as “behavior modification using technology.” It involves rewarding employee behaviors that help accomplish a company’s goals and objectives through playing some sort of competitive game. For example, company ABC is having their open enrollment meetings online. They want all employees to watch the overview presentation by the HR department as well as view the enrollment resources. Through gamification, the company creates a series of milestones on a virtual gameboard. Different departments are challenged to work their way through the milestones and the first team successfully completing the game wins. The winning team receives bragging rights and a cash reward. Another option for this same contest is that the individual earns a reward for progressing through the gameboard. This example isn’t tied to a team-driven competition, but instead an incentive for the individual to complete the open enrollment process.
WHY GAMIFICATION WORKS
It’s been reported that 75% of the total global workforce in 2025 will be made up of millennials. That’s three out of every 4 workers who are very engaged online. Gaming in general has a large appeal to this age group so tying it to workplace objectives results in higher participation on the whole. Additionally, the act of accomplishing a task releases dopamine in the brain. This is the neurotransmitter that causes you to feel excited and your brain likes that! In fact, your brain will begin associating euphoria with completing, what one previously thought was “boring”, work. This is called the “reward cycle” and can be achieved through gamification in the workplace.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT GAMIFICATION
Don’t go into this season with the expectation that gamification will solve all your past issues. It won’t. But what it will do is, perhaps, achieve some pretty big behavior changes like increasing the education level of your employees about what benefits they receive with their plan. What it won’t do is make enrollment delays disappear! So, how do you get started? There are great online sources that offer packages to fit your objectives and goals for your company. FinancesOnline has compiled a list of the top five most popular gamification software companies. Beyond that, you can simply make a “wish list” of open enrollment tasks you want your employees to complete and set an award for achieving those milestones—it doesn’t have to be big—make it a tshirt or a department happy hour with a shaved ice truck! Don’t forget to create a simple gameboard either online or in person for everyone to see the challenges and the rewards.
Most Popular Gamification Software
- Tango Card. An all-in-one gamification platform that helps organizations deliver incentives to customers, employees, suppliers, and partners. Our Tango Card review offers a detailed walkthrough of the product’s capability.
- Influitive. A customer-centric gamification solution designed to help businesses reward their loyal customers. This Influitive review offers a comprehensive tour of the product features.
- Badgeville. A reliable gamification software that bundles a customer loyalty program and employee incentive system into a single platform. Our Badgeville review will help you learn all about this powerful solution.
- Hoopla. A powerful incentive platform that leverages live game mechanics to invigorate burnt-out employees working in fast-paced environments like telemarketing and call centers. This Hoopla review details its full capability.
- GetBadges. A reliable gamification software designed to help software development teams incentivize teams during product development stages. This GetBadges review will walk you through the product’s features.
This is the perfect time to start something new for your open enrollment period because the landscape of the traditional office is all something new. People are learning to expect the unexpected so jump on board and offer them a new way of being rewarded for completing enrollment tasks. But, remember, if an employee isn’t already motivated to work towards a goal, gamification isn’t going to make them start. Gamification only amplifies existing motivation.
by admin | Oct 23, 2019 | Open Enrollment
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
No, it’s not Christmas—it’s Open Enrollment!!
When the autumn leaves fall and the weather turns cooler, we know it’s time to start thinking of open enrollment hype and meetings and meetings and meetings. So how do you change normal and ordinary communication about employee benefits and change them into rockstar communication? We have some tips that may help!
COMMUNICATE EARLY
People need time to process all the information you share about their employee benefits. Once they have received the info, they typically need to ask questions, compare/contrast plans, and weigh decisions. By communicating with your employees early, you give them plenty of time to make their choices without feeling rushed by a short deadline.
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
HSA, FSA, PPO, HMO, LTD? What? You can see how your employees can get confused with all the terms and plan names that get presented to them during open enrollment. The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) suggests creating a glossary of common terms for enrollment meetings. Another way to clearly communicate benefits is to think ahead to the common questions asked each year and make a FAQ sheet with the answers.
COMMUNICATE FREQUENTLY
Did you know that it takes 8 times to read something before you retain that information? Think of all the material that gets shared at open enrollment meetings. There is no way that an employee would be able to retain that info in one sitting. So, communicate about your benefit plans all year long. Do trivia contests with prizes in your company newsletter about different benefits topics. Use multiple channels to frequently communicate such as print, digital, and animated videos!
COMMUNICATE PERSONALLY
Share “real life” examples of a sample employee with specific health issues and how they can utilize their benefits. This helps your audience think of additional situations in which they could see themselves needing some of the insurance products offered in your meetings. Host small Q & A sessions after larger meetings to allow for more personalized attention. When you communicate personally, you are able to explain the value of the benefits to your employees better.
By focusing on these communication techniques, you will reap the rewards of a well-informed and connected employee when they are choosing benefits. Plan ahead, speak with a clear message, personalize example situations, and repeat, repeat, repeat. Here’s to a great open enrollment season!
by admin | Apr 25, 2018 | Benefit Management, Benefit Plan Tips, Tricks and Traps
Curious about when you should notify a participant about a change to their health care plan?
The answer is that it depends!
Notification must happen within one of three time frames: 60 days prior to the change, no later than 60 days after the change, or within 210 days after the end of the plan year.
For modifications to the summary plan description (SPD) that constitute a material reduction in covered services or benefits, notice is required within 60 days prior to or after the adoption of the material reduction in group health plan services or benefits. (For example, a decrease in employer contribution is a material reduction in covered services or benefits. So is a material modification in any plan terms affecting the content of the most recent summary of benefits and coverage (SBC).) While the rule here is flexible, the definite best practice is to give advance notice. For collective practical purposes, employees should be told prior to the first increased withholding.
However, if the change is part of open enrollment, and communicated during open enrollment, this is considered acceptable notice regardless of whether the SBC, SPD, or both are changing. Essentially, open enrollment is a safe harbor for all 60-day prior/60-day post notice requirements.
Finally, changes that do not affect the SBC and are not a material reduction in benefits must be communicated and summarized within 210 days after the end of the plan year.
By Danielle Capilla
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
