We all know the deal – every renewal season, benefits professionals around the country spend countless extra hours working with their brokers/consultants. We function together like a well-oiled machine; making decisions with account executives for employee benefits packages, drafting benefits guides with communications partners and finally going through open enrollment.
Viewpoints from Jodi Perry
I have dedicated my career to employee communications and I can say with confidence that most employees do not read what I put together for them.
I get it – I really do. There’s so much information for employees to absorb and the one thing they want to know most is how much they’re going to pay for their benefits. Honestly, that’s the first place I look in my employee benefits guide.
A huge part of successful employee engagement is a year-round approach.
Enter the secret weapon – the total compensation statement (TCS). As your broker/consultant we know how much you’re paying for premiums. On the flip side, most employees think they’re footing a significant portion of the bill when, most likely, that is not the case.
I put together around 50 or so TCSs a year. This may sound like a great number, but I have 260+ clients.
So why isn’t everyone using these statements? It takes a lot of time to compile the data and if your team is strapped for time, this piece will most likely end up on the back burner. The total compensation statement is the one year-round communication piece that I feel is so, so important.
Numbers do not lie – they tell a powerful story.
$6,000 a year for family medical may seem like a lot, but what your employees are often unaware of is that you pick up the remaining $20,000 a year towards their family’s medical benefits. And this number doesn’t even include the other benefits that are not purely voluntary.
I advise my clients that they should almost always include benefits that are not being taken advantage of by employees on their TCS.
Tuition reimbursement is a big one that employees forget about (or never knew about). List all the items that you are willing to pay for each employee. You value them and they should know that!
In a job market that is so hot, it is vitally important to engage and retain your employees. Our Communications & Engagement team can help you keep them informed all year.
View our Communications & Engagement Insights
EPIC offers these opinions for general information only. EPIC does not intend this material to be, nor may any person receiving this information construe or rely on this material as, tax or legal advice. The matters addressed in this article and any related discussions or correspondence should be reviewed and discussed with legal counsel prior to acting or relying on these materials.
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