Bridging benefits knowledge gap produces the greatest business return

This article discusses the importance of benefit communication. I have found that many employees do not understand their benefits therefore the employer does not get the maximum return on their investment. For this reason, Legacy Benefits & Insurance Services provides benefits communication services to all of their clients.

Employee Benefit Advisor-April 14, 2009-Ninety percent of employers surveyed by Colonial Life agree it’s important to their business that employees understand and appreciate their benefits, but only 21% think their employees actually have a good understanding of them. Bridging that gap by communicating the value of an employer’s benefits program will improve corporate performance, reports the South Carolina-based firm in a new white paper.

In "Benefiting the Bottom Line: How a Strong Benefits Communication and Education Strategy Helps Drive Business," Colonial reports that employers can expect to see real corporate payoffs realized when they implement strong benefits communication and education programs.

According to the Colonial report, a well-designed benefits communication program can lead to decreased turnover, enhanced recruiting, increased enrollments, reduced benefits administration, more engaged and loyal employees and improved productivity.

“Strong communication may be the single most important investment an employer can make in a benefits program,” says Tom Gilligan, senior vice president of marketing and branding at Colonial. “Communication outweighs even the richness of the benefits package when it comes to how much employees value their benefits program,” he adds.

Other findings in the report included:

• 90% of employers said having one-to-one meetings significantly improves employees’ understanding of their benefits.

• 85% of employees feel happy about their benefits enrollment when their employer gives them all the resources needed to make informed decisions.