Benefits Communications Survey: employees want more direction
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-01-2018-0003 |
| Date | 09 April 2018 |
| Pages | 99-102 |
| Published date | 09 April 2018 |
| Author | Justyn Harkin |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Benefits Communications Survey:
employees want more direction
Justyn Harkin
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of 2017 ALEX Benefits Communication Survey is to explore what employees
think of the ways their companies talk to them about their benefits. Specifically, the survey focuses on
whether employees understand the benefits communication material that is put in front of them, and it
tries to provide insights on how employers can help employees improve their ability to make informed
decisionsabout their healthcare options.
Design/methodology/approach –The survey was conducted online from February 24 to March 17,
2017, by Harris Poll on behalfof Jellyvision. It included 2,043 US adults (ages 18þ)who were employed
full-time, eligible for company-provided benefits and did not currently have health insurance through
Medicare, Medicaid or the VA. Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity,
region, education, income, maritalstatus, household size and propensity to be online for aligning them
with their actual proportionsin the population. Results of this research were compared withJellyvision’s
April 2016survey of 2,105 employed adults.
Findings –Of the employees whose companies offer health insurance benefits, approximately half
(49 per cent) say making health insurance decisions is ‘‘always very stressful’’ for them, and 55
per cent say that they would like help from their employer when choosing a plan. One in five
employees (21 per cent) say they often regret the benefit choicesthey make during open enrollment.
Further, while 89 per cent say they generally understand their options, only 59 per cent can actually
identify the different elements involved in the full cost of their health care. In terms of communication
preferences, 65 per cent of employees prefer to look over benefit enrollmentinstructions outside of
working hours.
Originality/value –Jellyvision commissioned this study to provide employers with valuable insights
about how employees process and respond to benefit communications. The data can help employers
understand the sources of enrollment-related stress and critical gaps in health insurance and benefits
knowledge, which can lead to poor decision-making and regret among employees. The survey also
reveals employeecommunication preferences, which employerscan use to optimize their content, drive
engagement,and empower employees to make more informedbenefit enrollment decisions.
Keywords Employee engagement, Benefits, Benefits communication, Open enrollment
Paper type Case Study
If there is just one thing I would like HR people in charge of benefits to know about the
2017 ALEX Benefits Communication Survey (ALEX 2017 Benefits Communication
Survey), then it would be that more than half of the nation’s employees (55 per cent)
say they want help from their employerswhen making decisions about health insurance.
Open enrollment can be a scarytime for people who are not thinking about health insurance
and benefits all the time, and getting a helping hand from a trusted source can go a long
way toward making folks feel confident about their choices (and maybe that can help
employees feel a little extrawarm and fuzzy about their jobs).
Now our survey offers some other fascinating insights about the way people process
information about their benefits and respond to communication from their employers, and if
you’d like to stick around, I’ll walkyou through some of the highlights.
Justyn Harkin is Employee
Communication Specialist
at Jellyvision, Chicago,
Illinois, USA.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-01-2018-0003 VOL. 17 NO. 2 2018, pp. 99-102, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jPAGE 99
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