Communication key to cost-cutting in 2021
HR pros say they will focus on educating employees about benefits rather than changing offerings.
In light of all other changes Americans have been dealing with this year, it’s perhaps not surprising that HR professionals aren’t eager to make changes to their benefits programs. HealthJoy’s 2021 State of the Benefits Experience Report found that human resources professionals will focus on education and communication as ways to cut costs in 2021, rather than changing up their offerings.
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In fact, communication is one area where HR pros say they need work anyway. About 60% of respondents said their communication strategies could be better. For example, respondents said they spend an average of nine hours per week — more than an entire workday — just answering questions from employees.
That could be a struggle for dispersed workforces. The tools that have allowed companies to keep going with remote workers are a double-edged sword. Now that all of their communication with coworkers occurs online or over the phone, they’re finding it hard to focus. There’s still an appetite for benefit fairs and lunches, but the pandemic will likely push these online. HealthJoy worries that could exacerbate communication problems for workers with “Zoom fatigue.”
Just 7% of pros have adopted text messaging for benefits communication, and 13% use chat tools like Slack. This is a missed opportunity, according to HealthJoy, as employees spend most of their workday on chat tools, “messages surface there far more quickly than in email,” and companywide messages can be easily pinned to the top of a chat.
Other challenges HR pros are facing:
- 89% of professionals say they’re prioritizing virtual medicine, even though utilization is only between 5% and 10%.
- The majority of respondents said they use a portal or website to centralize their benefits offerings for workers, but 40% said it would still take five or more websites for workers to access all of their benefits.
- 17.5% of professionals don’t think their workers know about their EAP offering, or don’t understand the full benefits.
- Employees with family coverage may not be taking advantage of all that’s available to them. 30% of professionals said it’s difficult to reach employees’ family members about their benefits.
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