As an employer, you must help employees understand their insurance and retirement benefits. These fringe benefits are an important aspect of attracting employees to your company. If you are fielding a lot of questions from your workers about their benefits, it may be time to take a more organized approach. You need to have a system in place to make sure that your workers understand what their benefits are and how to utilize them. Consider these five tips for helping your employees manage their benefits. These steps will make accessing benefits much more accessible for your employees.
1. Allow Access to Pay Stubs
Most companies use a paystub maker to calculate employees’ pay. On each pay stub, you should list how much the employee paid in insurance premiums. This way, they can better understand how much they are paying for health, vision, and dental coverage. This can help your employees determine if the value of these benefits is worth what they pay out each pay period. If your company offers services such as a health savings account (HSA), you should also list the employee’s contribution on the pay stub. This way, they know exactly how much is being funded to that account.
2. Make Your Human Resources Department Available
Your human resources department is the bridge from employees to benefit providers. The employees in this department should be available at all times to help answer questions about benefits. This department will also be the contact for all benefit providers. You must train all your human resources department employees on what type of benefits your company offers and how to explain them to others. When they are equipped to answer questions about benefits, you can feel confident that your employees have access to correct information.
3. Host Benefit Information Days
You should allow insurance carriers and benefit providers to host workshops for your employees. Over a single day or a few days, they can inform your employees about all the benefits they have to offer. They can also discuss changes to coverage with you so you can decide if their product still works for your company. You may organize this event every year or only when benefits change. It is important to have good communication with the company or companies supplying your business’ benefits. This way, you always have a contact to call when you have questions.
4. Provide Insurer Contact Information
Employees often like to manage their benefits on the go. For example, they may want to look at their health insurance information before going to a doctor’s appointment. You should provide contact information for all benefit providers to your employees. Many companies offer mobile applications for those wanting to keep track of deductibles and copays. You should provide a phone number for all insurance carriers, and make sure that the insurers send out member cards every year. This way, there will be no confusion when it comes time for your employees to use their benefits.
5. Make a List of Frequently Asked Questions
When dealing with benefits information, there will likely be questions that you hear multiple times. Because of this, it is helpful to have a list of frequently asked questions that you can distribute to all employees. This list might include questions about out-of-pocket costs for the employees and when benefits renew each year. Make sure all employees are aware of open enrollment so they can sign up for benefits. As you get more questions about your company’s benefits, you can add these to your list of FAQs.
Employers want to see their employees succeed. By offering insurance and retirement benefits, employers can help employees meet financial goals for their families. If you are an employer looking to make benefits information readily available for your workers, you must arm yourself with the information you need. Consider these tips for doing just that, and feel confident answering any questions that your employees may have about their benefits.
