Helping Employees Choose Benefits Wisely

It's not enough to just offer great benefits to your employees and to make them aware they exist. The third leg of the stool is being available to help educate your workers on the ins and outs of each benefit and give them the knowledge they need to make wise choices in this arena.

Here are 5 key ways you can help your employees choose their employee benefits wisely:

1. Provide Access to Health Insurance Experts
As health insurance is the number one benefit that workers look for in choosing a job (and choosing to stay where they're at), it almost always makes sense to offer high-quality health coverage to workers in a discounted group plan.

But there are so many complexities when it comes to health insurance, and even the terminology can be confusing to non-experts. Be sure employees can quickly reach out to an agent, consultant, or HR staff member for more information on when to choose high versus low deductible plans, how to calculate likely out of pocket costs, and what options they have for lowering their monthly premiums.

2. Talk About Creating an Overall Insurance Strategy
Be sure to provide fliers and discuss in meetings with workers the basics of how different insurance types can "cooperate" to create the fullest possible protection. Explain carefully how health, accident, and disability insurance each cover their own spheres and yet sometimes slightly overlap.

If you offer multiple insurance types, including dental, vision, and indemnity - aside from the three mentioned above, all employees may not be able to choose all offerings. Thus, they can benefit from expert guidance on how to determine which insurance option is more important (and more expensive were they to get it without a group discount.)

3. Provide a Wide Spectrum of Offered Benefits
In general, you don't want benefits to be mandatory except where legally required. While there are a few major benefits that almost everyone will want to include in their benefits package, people's different lives and situations will cause them to value many benefits to a greater or lesser degree than their coworkers.

Including carpooling or transportation reimbursement, the paying off of workers' student loans, free child care, paid vacation time, and investment opportunities. Each of these options will appeal to different subgroups of workers and can even be a determining factor for some to accept or keep their job with you. 

4. Pension Plans Should "Ice The Cake"
When you've done everything else to compete effectively for the loyalty of the best workers, you can present a pension plan opportunity as the veritable "icing on the cake." Think about it, once it's a great place to work - why not stay? And if you stay, why not prepare for retirement?

But it is very important to communicate with workers early and often about pensions. And anyone who has been with you three years or more or who occupies a management position receive special brochures and encouragement to get started on their pension.

5. Rely on Professional Benefits Consulting
You may need to reach out to professional benefits consultants to get the kind of detailed information and advice you need, so you can pass it on to your employees. But thankfully, benefits consulting today can be both affordable and convenient. You can even have consultants talk directly to employees if you wish.

For more helpful advice on equipping your employees to "get smart" about choosing the best employee benefits, contact Summerlin Benefits Consulting today!