"Employees must first be aware of the benefits, and really understand them to appreciate the value of those benefits," said Lori High, president of Prudential's Group Insurance business in a statement. "And, for benefits to have a positive effect on an employer's recruiting and retention results, they must be thoroughly explained and promoted throughout the organization."

Additionally, those who give high marks to their benefits communications are also more favorable toward voluntary benefits. Forty-nine percent say that offering voluntary benefits increases the overall value of their benefits package, compared with 33 percent who rate communications as somewhat effective and just 20 percent of those rating it less than effective.

Over the past two years, most plan participants and employers have not expressed total satisfaction with their benefits communication. In fact, only 27 percent of employers rate their company's benefits communications as "highly effective," up slightly from 21 percent in 2007. Thirty-eight percent of plan participants rate their company's benefits communications as "highly effective," a modest increase from 35 percent in 2007.

"Benefits budgets are under pressure so it's important to understand the value of the total benefits package and the financial investment made by the company," High said. "Brokers can play an important supporting role in improving the effectiveness of benefits communications and education."

Plan participants most prefer group meetings/seminars held during the work day (52 percent), followed by e-mail received at the workplace (45 percent), mail received at home (43 percent), and one-on-one meetings held during the work day (33 percent).

Least preferred are individual or group meetings/seminars held during non-work hours (7 percent and 5 percent, respectively).