More than 90 percent of employers who responded said it was important to their business that employees understand and appreciate the value of their benefits. Only 21 percent of employers think their employees have a good understanding of their benefits. Nearly 5 percent think their employees know nothing at all about their benefits.
"These findings are critical for all employers, but we aren't surprised," said Tom Gilligan, senior vice president for Colonial Life. "Employers who have implemented a benefits communication plan have been telling us for years how important that has been for the bottom line.
"Employees who have been properly educated about their benefits tend to stay on the job longer than those who don't understand their benefits," Gilligan concluded, pointing to other surveys about employee benefits.
Research has shown that employee loyalty and morale are directly tied to the benefits they receive. The more employees know about those benefits, the more likely they are to be happy in their jobs.
In a research study conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global consulting firm that specializes in employee benefits, employees gave higher marks to employers who provided fewer benefits but explained them well, rather than a richer array of benefits they didn't understand.
In similar studies conducted by MetLife, workers indicated that benefits were one of the primary reasons they are loyal to their employers. Employees ranked benefits second only to salary as the most important factor in determining how long they stay on a job.
Colonial Life asked employers about the methods they use to communicate with employees and found:
- 90 percent of employers said having one-to-one meetings would significantly improve employees' understanding of their benefits but only 58 percent of employers offer them
- 80 percent use employee group meetings to explain their benefits
- 44 percent have employees enroll for benefits using the Internet
- 40 percent of employers require employees to self-enroll for their benefits
