If your organization offers good benefits but you don’t communicate the value of those benefits to your employees, they are less likely to be satisfied. Here’s a surprising set of statistics:

A recent UNUM study shows that companies with above average benefits who did not educate effectively reported an employee satisfaction rate of 64%. Likewise, companies with above average benefits who did educate effectively communicate reported an employee satisfaction rate of 88%.

Companies with above fair to average benefits that did not communicate well had an employee satisfaction rate of 13% and companies with below average benefits with an excellent or very good benefits education strategy had had an employee satisfaction rate of 45%.

As benefit plan offerings become more complex, communication becomes more important. Especially when you consider benefits are one of the major differentiators determining the war on talent. The best communication plans combine one-on-one, web-based printed communication.

Delivering One-to-one Messages

“Communication is huge, and employers don’t have time. You want someone you trust to do it,” said Jen Daniel, Director of Benefit Advisory Services at Businessolver.

“Let us do your communication for you,” Daniel emphasizes to Businessolver clients. “This frees up HR staff time for functions that are more critical to your business.” Businessolver offers a variety of tools and services to help employers communicate about their benefit offerings.

Businessolver clients can have access to client-dedicated service representatives who are Life and Health licensed and also trained specifically to the client’s needs. Service Center reps also receive quarterly product training and industry updates. Additionally, Businessolver’s Benefit Advisory Services reps can educate employees about voluntary products via phone or live chat, offering employers an alternative to some of the high-pressure sales tactics sometimes experienced with face-to-face enrollments.

Web Interactions During Enrollment

Many of Businessolver’s educational tools are offered directly to the employee through the single source enrollment platform, Benefitsolver. The system’s communication tools are highlighted by a drag-and-drop Layout Manager that allows employers the ability to create a fully configured enrollment web page that can deliver messages and tools specific to each eligibility group. Tools including video special promotional callouts, RSS news feeds, surveys, personal health management tool, and an interactive enrollment counselor can put to use using the Layout Manager.

This system also includes decision support tools that includes Plan Comparison that allows employees to see many of the plan features side-by-side while they are in the enrollment process, and a Cost Estimator tool that allows the employee to estimate their usage of the various plan options and determine which plan is the best fit for their situation. Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs), plan overviews, network directory links, and any other documents or links employers may want to make available to employees to help educate them can be uploaded to a virtual library called the Reference Center. Benefitsolver also features a library of approximately 25 different java-based insurance and financial calculators that can be added to the employee’s home page or specific election page.

Employees can utilize each of these tools while they make their elections. This makes the online enrollment experience especially powerful for employers who want to differentiate to attract and retain top talent.

Getting a Handle on Printed Communication

While web-based and face-to-face communications do a good job of addressing questions head-on during the actual enrollment process, there is still considerable value in printed communication to help inform employees before and after their annual elections or changes.

Businessolver delivers a boutique approach to handling printed communication, addressing the specific needs of each employer. For instance, an employer may want to create an open enrollment package that includes the basics, including plan summaries and more, while others may want to include a flyer that notifies employees how to enroll, plan summaries, vacation schedule, a letter from an executive and more. In addition, a confirmation statement after enrollment may be as simple as listing an employees’ elections, but may also list a summary of the election, contribution amounts of the employee and employer, and more.

Businessolver’s internal fulfillment department can accommodate any standard or special fulfillment needs that employers may have. Fulfillment documents are automatically produced from the Benefitsolver platform, and include confirmation statements, annual notices, new hire packets and other necessary tools that help keep employees informed and happy.

There are many advantages to having satisfied employees, but presenteeism is one that many leaders don’t think about. Presenteeism is defined as lost productivity that occurs when employees are at work but perform below par due to any kind of illness. “Being stressed because they’re worried about their benefits, and whether something is covered, and thinking they can’t afford to go to the doctor, is a form of presenteeism,” Daniel said. When talent is what makes you better than the competition and benefits are your biggest differentiator, you can’t afford to ignore dynamic benefit communication tools.