Unum research helps point the way to better benefits education, communication and enrollment strategies

Benefits communication is more of an art than a science, but new research suggests a tangible tipping point where employees finally begin to understand and appreciate their coverage, which can have a positive ripple effect on their outlook and willingness to go the extra mile for their employer.

A recent Unum survey of 1,147 working Americans who had been asked to review their employee benefits from a variety of providers in the past year reaffirms previous years' findings that link communications to employee satisfaction and loyalty.1 Those employees who rated their benefits education highly were more than twice as likely to agree that their employer cares about their well-being than those who found their benefits education lacking. 


Barbara Nash, Unum's VP of Corporate Research, continues to be impressed by just how strong the correlation between an effective benefits education and employee satisfaction with their workplace has been since Unum's annual survey was first conducted in 2008. 


"We also have consistently seen that it really matters that employees have enough time to review their benefits materials," she says, adding that the more tools made available in different formats to employees the sunnier their outlook will be about their benefits and employment.  But the trouble is that "there really hasn't been much improvement in how employees view their situation with their employers since 2009," Nash explains, noting a slow but steady decline in morale. "Right now, employees are not feeling the love," despite fewer layoffs and salary freezes within the past year.


The power of a 3+3 benefits communication strategy


This collective body of research, whose key findings have been consistent through the years, led Unum to recommend a compelling "3+3" communication strategy featuring at least three weeks of benefits communication before annual enrollment and three methods of learning – hence, the numerical description. When these approaches are fused together, Nash says "that's when employees say they really understand their benefits and feel comfortable in their decision-making."  The fact is that people learn in different ways. Some are more visual, while others prefer to hear information explained or use interactive tools, according to Nash.


Value of voluntary benefits


One way employers can design a more competitive benefits package, especially during austere times, is through voluntary plans whose wide variety of products and coverage options appeal to an increasingly diverse workforce. Accident and critical illness insurance are examples of benefits that can help ease any financial impact of medical coverage gaps, including (but not limited to) employees who pay higher out-of-pocket costs for their health care. Employees who are offered voluntary benefits are more likely to indicate strong satisfaction with their benefits package than those who are not offered voluntary benefits (56% vs. 38%).


Nash says "the nice thing about voluntary benefits is that it allows employers to provide more options to their employees" without having to pick up some, or all, of the cost. And unlike employer-subsidized coverage, HR needn't be concerned about negative reactions among employees that can occur if a benefit is discontinued due to budget tightening. There's also the issue of portability: Employees who leave for another employer can always take those benefits with them.

However, employers are not always in synch with what employees value in voluntary benefits. For example, employees believe that critical illness insurance is as important as life and disability insurance, but only 19% of employees who had access to voluntary benefits said that their employer offered critical illness insurance as an option.

Among the top reasons employees selected for purchasing a new voluntary benefit offering:

• 41% cited the convenience of payroll deduction
• 33% said it's cheaper to buy through the workplace than on their own
• 28% said they felt more financially secure
• 22% thought their employer made a compelling case for purchasing such coverage
• 22% felt the benefits cost less than they expected; and
• 18% cited portability if they should change jobs.

Courting younger workers


The findings suggest that it's critical for employers to take benefits education more seriously, especially with younger generations for whom the information can be so new and difficult to understand.   Despite being known as an Internet-savvy group, Nash says members of Gen X and Gen Y are not heading to the Web to seek out more information about benefits. "If anything," she explains, "younger workers are going to turn to their friends and family members to help them if they need more information than what they get from their employer."

The danger, of course, is that they may not fully understand or appreciate their benefits unless the employer implements a benefits communication and education effort that provides employees sufficient time and tools to effectively make good benefits choices.


To learn more, visit unum.com/education.