How to engage employees and make it pay

As employee benefits enrolment season approaches, there's some good news for employers seeking cost-effective ways to help boost engagement in the workplace.

A study from Unum  reveals the strong connection between the quality of the benefits education employees receive and their perception of their employers. "Employers are looking for ways to show employees they care without breaking the bank, and effective benefits education can be a low-cost, high-impact way to affect worker satisfaction," said Bill Dalicandro, Unum's vice president for enrolment.

The findings come at a time when industry research is revealing the degree to which employee engagement has suffered in the unsteady economy. The percentage of organisations with falling engagement scores tripled in two years, with the most significant dips occurring this year, finds a new survey from Hewitt Associates.

And some 31 percent of human resources managers say morale and employee productivity are their biggest concerns over the next six months, according to a survey released in July by ComPsych Corporation, a provider of employee assistance programmes.
"Offering employees effective benefits education can help make the difference in their satisfaction," Dalicandro said. "Even if employees don't have a particularly good benefits package, those who say they have a strong understanding of their benefits coverage are dramatically more likely to consider their employer a very good place to work."

Unum's survey of 1,106 adults who are employed full time was conducted online by Harris Interactive. The results show that the right tools are a critical part of the benefits education process. Employees consider one-on-one and group meetings, online tools and printed materials among the most valuable benefits communication methods. But over the last two years, their access to those materials fell markedly:

 The percentage of employees who received printed information or brochures dropping from 70 percent in 2008 to 51 percent in 2009.
 The percentage of employees who were offered a chance to attend a group meeting about benefits where they could ask questions dropped from 52 percent to 36 percent.
 The percentage who had access to a one-on-one meeting with a benefits adviser fell from 38 percent to 22 percent.

Between 2008 and 2009, workers came to value their benefits even more, according to the research. But across every age group, fewer employees said they had received excellent or very good benefits education. In 2008, 39 percent of workers gave their benefits education positive ratings. In 2009, that number dropped to 29 percent.

At the same time they saw less access to information about their benefits, 45 percent of employees reported they had seen changes in their benefits packages, including 31 percent who said they are paying more for benefits, and 9 percent who reported at least one benefit was discontinued.

"As the benefits landscape is shifting, it is more important than ever to give employees the right tools to understand their benefits choices and to communicate what's available to them," Dalicandro said. "It's an approach that benefits everyone."