In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we asked dozens of benefits leaders to share their stories, including their thoughts on the current landscape and their visions for the future of employee benefits. We’re publishing their interviews every week on my LinkedIn page as part of our series, Insights From Industry Leaders. Below, four of them explain why benefits communication matters.
“Our work particularly focuses on communicating the value of health to senior business leaders. This cannot be done effectively unless the communication is put in the language (and in the metrics) that senior leaders understand. This has been one of the biggest challenges—and problems—when benefits professionals try to convince senior leaders to support their programs. They fail to communicate what they do and its value in the right terms that truly resonate with their leaders.”
—Thomas Parry, President, Integrated Benefits Institute
"Most employees do not see the value of employee benefits until they use it. For example, when the employee or a family member gets sick is when the employee would typically find out how much they need to pay or not pay. It’s important for us as benefits professionals to communicate the benefits and the value they bring to employees’ total rewards. It’s not all about the paycheck, but also the ‘hidden’ paycheck as we sometimes refer to benefits. Companies spend billions on employee benefits. These numbers are worth communicating to employees."
—Diana Andersen, EVP and HR Corporate Benefits Director, Zions Bancorporation
“Clearly communicating benefits is key. Would you have a big party and not send an invitation? Or make that invitation 45 pages long, with lots of paragraphs? Of course not. Like a simple party invitation, benefits communications should give you the facts in a simple format—with clear information about what you need to know, what you have to do, and when you have to do it.”
—Jennifer Weinstein, Director, Health and Benefits Strategy, McKesson
“Unfortunately, most people don’t think about their benefits until they need to use them. It’s so important that they are aware of what’s available to them.”
—Melanie Miller, Director, VP, Compensation and Benefits, Ardent Health Services
Want to know how these leaders got their start in benefits, and what keeps them there? Read the full interviews on my LinkedIn page. We’ll be posting new profiles weekly, so be sure to check back for any you may have missed.