Tag Archive for 'Benefits communication'

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Benefits Communication ROI: FSA Enrollment

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.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on November 23, 2010

Benefits Communication Can Ease Impact of Plan Changes

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.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on August 24, 2010

Mercer: Benefits Communication Foremost Solution in Turnover

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.

Companies are expanding again. The economy is picking up and so is hiring. Nearly all companies surveyed are hiring. In fact, only 3% are reducing their workforce. Nearly one-third (27%) of companies are expanding, up from 12% shown in the 2009 Unprecedented Times Survey. This is a clear sign of companies’ confidence in the economy.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on July 19, 2010

Benefits Education for Optimal Benefits ROI

A new study by UNUM demonstrates the power of effective benefits education.  Employers with highly rated benefits education had job satisfaction rates of 88% vs. 45% for those employers with fair or poor benefits education – a difference of 43 points!  Employers with effective benefits education programs enjoyed increased employee engagement, loyalty, morale and productivity – ultimately driving up the ROI of significant investments in the benefits themselves.

Here are some highlights from the study:

  • “What you say” is as important as “what you do.”When it comes to workplace satisfaction, the way that you communicate benefits may be just as important as the benefits themselves. In fact, those employers with poor quality benefits packages were able to improve workplace satisfaction ratings by 32 points with highly rated benefits education.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on June 23, 2010

GuideSpark announces monthly newsletter dedicated to financial wellness and benefits communications topics

Financial Wellness Update, GuideSpark’s new monthly email publication will be dedicated to providing Human Resources professionals with information, tips and best practices for implementing workplace Financial Wellness programs and establishing best-in-class Benefits Communications.

“Over the last two years, HR interest in effective approaches for helping employees understand their workplace benefits and solve their personal financial issues has grown considerably,” said John Wolff, Vice President, Business Development.  “This newsletter will serve as a platform for sharing what we’ve learned in a decade of experience helping employees in these areas.”

Sign-up for GuideSpark’s monthly newsletter here:
Financial Wellness and Benefits Communications newsletter

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Published by Barbara Navarro on April 14, 2010

GuideSpark announces Open Enrollment and New Hire Training modules

GuideSpark, Inc. announced two new modules for its online Benefits Learning Center solution, streamlining Open Enrollment communications and New Hire Training.
GuideSpark automates these key yet resource-intensive business processes to free up HR staff, reduce costs and allow employers to realize the full value of their benefits investments.
Each module provides a central online destination to access multimedia benefits education. The Open Enrollment module details benefits changes for the upcoming plan year, offers customized checklists of items to be completed and links to enrollment resources. The New Hire Training module educates new employees about their total compensation package, benefits enrollment procedures and orientation-related topics. Both provide a cost-effective option for using rich, engaging multimedia to educate and communicate with employees on HR topics.
Watch our new demo videos: New Hire Training and Open Enrollment

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Published by Barbara Navarro on August 31, 2009

GuideSpark Announces New Hire Training and Open Enrollment Modules

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.

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 31, 2009

GuideSpark unveils benefits and financial education web software

GuideSpark, Inc. unveiled its Web-hosted workplace financial education service, a comprehensive approach that helps employees make better use of their organization’s benefits and achieve financial security.
The GuideSpark Benefits and Open Enrollment Learning Center is designed to help employers grappling with how to effectively educate employees on workplace benefits. Engaging multimedia lessons provide in-depth and self-paced information about increasingly complex benefits offerings. GuideSpark provides anytime access to benefits education, and can be customized to support key HR events like open enrollment, new hire training and benefit program changes.
The company’s Financial Wellness Center helps employees avoid pervasive financial distractions that add stress, lower productivity and adversely affect health. GuideSpark experts point out that major employers are beginning to get the message: IBM, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Home Depot have already implemented financial education and planning programs for their employees.

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Published by Barbara Navarro on July 19, 2009

Five ways to leverage Web 2.0 to transform benefits communications

With studies showing nearly four out of five employers feel their employees do not understand their benefits, a different approach to benefits communication is needed, according to a new white paper by GuideSpark.

In a short time period, Web 2.0 technologies have transformed the way people learn and get information, yet have barely touched benefits communication. Lengthy text documents and static Web pages typify the ways companies attempt to educate their employees on increasingly complex benefit offerings.

Yet should companies care? In a new white paper, “Five Ways to Leverage Web 2.0 to Transform Benefits Communications,” GuideSpark experts Keith Kitani and Joseph Larocque discuss how many companies have failed to realize their investments in benefits, and ways they can use Web 2.0 technologies to transform benefits communications.

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Published by Barbara Navarro on July 14, 2009

New Solution for Benefits Communications and Financial Wellness

employee-benefits-open-enrollment-forms_smallToday, GuideSpark announced two core products focused on the issues of corporate benefits education and employee financial wellness.  Over the last 18 months, we’ve had a chance to meet with many employers – from small businesses to large enterprises, from Silicon Valley technology companies to retail chains to government organizations.  Not surprisingly, each of these employers carries a similar burden – how to reduce the cost of benefits while continuing to offer a competitive compensation package.

While many HR professionals concede that their employees have a poor understanding of their benefits package, most underestimate the impact of this situation on their bottom line.  Employees who don’t understand their benefits are more likely to:

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Published by Joe Larocque on June 17, 2009