Here’s another tidbit from our new video course: Transform Benefits Education with On-demand Video.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that we’ve touched on which benefits videos to start with to get the most interest and involvement from your viewers. Will it be your Consumer Directed Health Plan or your 401(k)? You will also have learned what to include in an Open Enrollment video, which is a powerful place to start engaging employees.
If you are incorporating benefits videos into your communications strategy, how do you decide which videos to invest in first?
GuideSpark has created a new video course to assist HR departments making the exciting leap into video communication. In this course, our director of Content Development and Video expert extraordinaire, Joseph Larocque, explains that topics which are more complex or require careful explanation are natural places to start. Good candidates are core benefits, Open Enrollment changes and tough messages such as a premium increase.
Benefits communication videos aren’t rocket science, but it can sure help to have some experience with what works and what doesn’t.
In his new video course–Transform Benefits Education with Video–Joseph Larocque, GuideSpark’s Director of Content Development and video expert extraordinaire, recommends including these five pieces of basic information:
As busy as it can be, open enrollment is a good time to reflect on the effectiveness of your company’s benefits communication. While everyone seems to agree that benefits communication on the whole needs improvement, many organizations are in denial about how critical that improvement is to their own organization.
Findings from the 2011 Aflac WorkForces Report highlighted the discrepancy between how companies and their workers view benefits communications:
What’s the question? Have you read the recent headlines?
Surely there are more options for proactive organizations than just waiting for the US Congress to work together to uncover ways to reduce both the country’s budget deficit and soaring health care costs. At the recent 24th Annual Benefits Forum and Expo in Dallas, two industry experts highlighted some key ways to reverse these trends.
New instructional video gives HR organizations a timely resource to develop customizable benefits communication videos for open enrollment
GuideSpark, delivering the latest web solutions for HR communications and training, introduces a video white paper to aid HR organizations in the development and launch of their own, customized benefits communication videos.
Engage employees with video and social media
Video and social media are the way to engage employees these days, says Brian Baker, Vice President at Aon Hewitt Consultants, in a recent interview with Benefits TV.
Baker discusses balancing the “tell” with the “show” by crafting benefits messages using video.
Aon Hewitt presents their four Cs to an effective strategy for employee benefits communications and change management-through-engagement. They recommend utilizing video and social mediums to disseminate communications that are:
Better education leads to higher FSA enrollment, which saves employers money on taxes.
Good benefits communication can raise employee Flexible Spending Account enrollment by 20% or more, a recent study found. The benefits of an FSA may be obvious to the seasoned HR Director, but not all employees – or employers – know how valuable these accounts can be.
Both employee and employer enjoy significant tax savings when FSAs are used. Employees save on federal and FICA taxes, plus any additional state and local taxes on medical items paid for through their FSA.
Over half (53%) of large U.S. employers are making changes to their 2011 health plans in order to accommodate the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health.
Providers face rising health care costs but still must supply the legally required amount of care. To do so, 63% of employers who are changing plan details have decided to raise the percentage that employees contribute to the premium, while 46% aim to raise out-of-pocket maximums. Another 61% will be offering consumer-directed health plans, or CDHPs, which are a proven method of increasing consumer flexibility while cutting costs.
Benefits communication used to engage and retain employees as economy improves
Mercer recently announced the results of their Attraction and Retention Survey, covering over 320 employers this year. These are their most valuable findings:
Better economy means higher employee turnover. As the economy and job market continue to improve, 62% of companies think employee turnover will increase as well. When employees have more options, they are less likely to be loyal unless their company puts effort into keeping them.
