Jan 11, 2019
Comparability.com is a somewhat addictive website that asks online users to answer questions about their workplace. In one survey, employees estimate the value of their benefits including “healthcare, PTO etc.” The most common answer is that workers say that the value of their benefits is less than $500 a month.
That doesn’t come close to what large employers pay for just health care benefits at $15,000 per-employee annually, according to the National Business group on Health. The cost for small employers (fewer than 200 employees) averages $6,486 for single coverage and $17,615 for family coverage a year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Clearly, many employers are not doing a great job of communicating the value of their benefits. And it’s not for a lack of trying. Educating employees about their benefits is a high priority for 65% of employers. Nearly two in five employers have budgets devoted to benefit communications.
Twenty-five percent of those employers were planning to increase those budgets in 2016, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Despite prioritizing benefit communications, only 19% of employers say their employees have a high level of understanding when it comes to their benefits. Employers who were surveyed say that most participants don’t read the materials or don't understand them, and don’t perceive value in their benefits. Employers say that these communication strategies have been most successful:
- 81% communicating by life stage
- 79% communicating year round
- 75% leveraging word of mouth
- 74% communicating in multiple languages
- 73% communicating to different generations
- 72% simplifying complicated benefit communications
Contact your LISI Regional Sales Manager for effective benefit communication strategies.
