Ways to Introduce Employee Benefits To Your Team
When looking at potential jobs or deciding whether it’s worth it to stay at a current position, employees will prioritize their employee benefits more than most other aspects, potentially even salary! Employee benefits, when done well, help workers ensure the health of their family, plan for the future via retirement, and also give families a means of protection should they get hurt or disabled.
Because these are some of the most delicate and important considerations in any employee’s life, effectively and efficiently communicating the details and any chances about these employee benefits need to be a top priority for employers. Employees don’t want to be caught off guard because they were unaware of any changes, and you want them to be readily available.
Here are a handful of tips and best practices to keep in mind when it comes to relaying your employee benefits policy:
Document all employee benefit policies in written form for all to see
An employee benefits plan won’t help your employees if they’re unaware of what they are and if it’s unclear how it works. Make sure all company policies regarding employee benefits are written out and made available.
Keep Employee Benefit Documents in a central location
Often, employees will be handed a hard copy or emailed a version of these documents when they first join the company, but keeping track of those pieces of information can be a lot to ask over the years. Make sure to have a central digital repository for relevant employee benefits documents, so no matter where an employee is or when they need the information, they know right away where they can go to find the latest version of those documents.
Designate a central person or department to answer questions
Even with a central location, employees are going to have questions and concerns naturally. There must be a designated person or department where they can go. Whether that’s a single human resources (HR) manager, a whole HR team, or just the boss in a small business, making sure the employees know someone is always available for urgent questions and needs that come up will go a long way towards making your employee benefits policy effective.
When updates occur, make sure to communicate, allow for questions, and solicit feedback
Changes to an employee benefits policy could have a huge impact on employees as they’ve already made plans with an existing policy. Any changes that you bring to employee benefits must be communicated early, effectively, and often so that no employees are caught off guard. Be sure to communicate this in different formats to ensure the message reaches every employee: send an email, hold a conference call, check-in personally, etc. Employees will have questions and concerns about these changes, so you need to be ready for them.
Keep regular touchpoints
Make sure employees know that there will be regular communications about the employee benefits as they come up. It might be that every year, you hold a meeting to discuss the employee benefits, even if nothing significant changed that year—because even the lack of change is a piece of information your employees will want to have.
Employee benefits are critical to the daily lives of your employees. If you have any questions regarding employee benefits for your organization, contact Schechner Lifson today!