As November fast approaches, you are likely beginning to receive important communications about Open Enrollment. If you’re like many employees, you may have already decided to just stick with your current elections – after all, they seem to have worked out well enough. This year, more than others in the past, taking a passive approach to Open Enrollment may be an expensive decision.
Archive for the 'Benefits' Category
Page 3 of 3
For nearly 30 years, employees have been coached that the best way to save for retirement is to take advantage of tax deferred investing, most prominently through their 401(k) plans. This strategy has always been anchored in the hope that lower tax brackets await us during our retirement years. But current economic realities are causing many in the financial community to question whether tax deferred saving remains a healthy long term strategy for employees.
It’s been well documented that effective corporate health wellness programs have produced positive results for employees and employers over the past twenty years. Probably the most studied, extensive and longest running program is Johnson and Johnson’s “Live for Life”(now called the “J&J Health Wellness Program”) which was rolled out in 1979. Incredibly, due to both financial incentives and a corporate culture that actively promotes healthy behavior, 90% of J&J’s US employees have participated. And considering this includes a pool of 45,000+ employees, the statistics derived from the study are significant.
Today, GuideSpark announced two new modules for its Benefits Learning Center solution. These modules automate and streamline New Hire Training and benefits communications for Open Enrollment. As companies continue to prioritize doing more with less, many employers are looking for more efficient and effective ways to deal with these resource-intensive processes.
Consider for a moment the staff time and dollars go into facilitating New Hire Training and Open Enrollment each year. Many companies we’ve met with offer half-day New Hire orientations on a near weekly basis. Not to mention the time and effort that goes into the creation of the stacks of paper that employees receive on their first day. Open enrollment presents a similar situation. Each year, HR staff offer a collection of live seminars to explain benefits changes, often preceded by brochures, mailers and the like. Despite all of this effort, nearly 80% of employers believe that their employees do not have a good understanding of their benefits.
I visited my childhood pediatrician until age 28. Why? Well, I trusted his judgment and there was just a huge amount of peace of mind that came with dealing with a physician who had first-hand experience with just about every entry in my medical history. Dr. Blair was never once in the network of doctors offered by my medical plans and therefore I had to pay 20% more for care. Fortunately for me, it was only 20%.
Today, GuideSpark announced availability of a new white paper on the ways to leverage Web 2.0 to transform benefits communications.
It may surprise you to learn that over 50% of employed Americans received a majority of their financial and health products from their employer, making employer-sponsored benefits a critical aspect of an employee’s overall financial wellness.
If there is one statistic that encapsulates the problem that GuideSpark is attempting to solve with our Benefits Learning Center solution, it is this one: “4 out of 5 employers believe that their employees don’t have a good understanding of their benefits.”
Amazing, isn’t it?
