Tell'em, Tell'em Again, and Tell'em What You've Told Them

by Doug Griffith

Unfortunately in today's world of direct mail, billboard, radio, TV, Email, and Internet marketing, sometimes we miss the important stuff. You'd think with all the microphones, telephones, cell phones, mobile phones, and headphones communication would be a breeze. However, today's society is bombarded with so much information from newspapers, magazines, flyers, and newsletters (like this one) that most of us have to see and/or hear something ten times before we begin to take notice.

Communication is more than simply giving information; it's providing information in such a way that it creates interest and an environment that promotes learning on the part of the recipient. We all know how difficult it is to truly communicate and yet many companies make almost no effort to communicate their benefit programs to their employees.

In the June 15 issue of Employee Benefit News the article titled "Benefits Confidence" gave some interesting statistics. In a recent survey done by EBN, 71% of those surveyed said that benefits were very important in deciding to accept a job. The article also stated "employers that inform employees of the value of their benefits have higher rates of satisfaction". Many companies are not getting enough bang for their buck simply because their employee's don't fully understand their benefits and the dollar value associated with those benefits. Yes, there is an added cost to communicate in an effective way to your employees. However, it’s minimal compared to the actual amount spent on benefits. With the average cost of benefits over $14,000 per employee per year, a fraction more could ensure that the company gets the maximum benefit from those dollars.

Contact BusinessPlans to discuss how we can help you to communicate with your employees.