Show Me the Money when It Comes to Employee Benefit Programs

File 19:  In today’s file, the entire team is back in the studio.  They welcome Wendy Hall to discuss showing you the money.  She is an Employee Benefits Advisor for USI Insurance Services.  The group discusses the impact of taking an innovative approach to employee benefit programs.  There are ways to do this in a very, cost-effective manner.

Meet Wendy Hall

Wendy has spent many years in focusing in the areas of employee benefits and HR.  Her passion is helping employers create a motivated and engaged workforce through effective benefits plan, without breaking the bank.  The relative cost of benefits has a significant impact on the financials of most companies.  Wendy’s objective is to help employers control those costs while getting employees excited about the available benefit options.

Transparency Leads to Value with Benefits

Molley is a strong proponent of ensuring the total benefits package is delineated in an offer letter.  Ideally, that second page should go into great detail to help the prospective employee to easily see beyond the base pay.  Many employers miss out on the opportunity to showcase the value of the entire package.  It may be a lost opportunity to differentiate the offer from others that may be in consideration.  This tactic can also be applied to an annual review.

Wendy notes this is a common topic executives want her perspectives on during an engagement.  The arrive frustrated because employees or prospective employees are pursuing other options because they don’t fully recognize the value added by the benefits program and/or package.  She points out that it may be a case of the employer failing to effectively communicate the value of the various elements being offered.

On the other side of the coin, many employers overlook the possibility of asking what their workforces would like to see as part of their benefits.  Wendy points out that we have 5 different generations in the workforce, so a one-size-fits-all approach to benefits will typically fail.  Employees have different needs and wants, depending upon the stage of life they are in. 

Jamie recalls her first job.  She read through the benefits, but didn’t understand the difference between co-insurance and co-pay.  She didn’t understand how to make the optimal 401(k) selections.  To make matters worse, the company didn’t provide resources to help her think through these important options.

How Are Companies Beginning to Educate Their Employees about Benefits?

Wendy begins with insurance, because it’s typically