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Tag Archives: Benefits
Reinforce Coverage Eligibility—Now
Quick Summary: With graduation and other age limits, young people currently covered by their parents’ health plans could lose their eligibility for dependent coverage under your company’s benefit plans. A gentle reminder to your employees, plus some helpful guidance, may be in order. Continue reading
5 Ways to Help Employees Understand Coverage Choices
Quick Summary: A lot has been written about the need to provide employees with benefits information so they can make educated benefits decisions. That’s a given. But as you prepare for your next open enrollment, remember that knowing the details isn’t the same as understanding them. Helping employees interpret the information should be part of your communication plan. Continue reading
First Job? Newbie Employees Need Help Making Decisions
Quick Summary: It’s a whole new world of decision-making for those just entering the workforce. They’ve never chosen medical coverage, thought about retirement plans, or considered whether they need life insurance. How will they make good decisions? Your guidance can make all the difference.
Posted in All Things Benefits, Workplace Communication
Tagged Benefits, Stress Management
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Who Has the Most to Gain from Your Company Wellness Program?
Quick Summary: The workplace represents an ideal setting for the delivery of health and wellness programs, and building and sustaining a corporate culture of health is a critical component in implementing an effective program, according to The Vitality Group, a provider of incentive-based wellness solutions.
More than Free: Lunch-and-Learn Programs that Last (Part 2)
Quick Summary: Fill employees’ plates year-round by staging lunch-and-learns that complement the wellness big picture at your business. How can managers maintain the momentum after a successful lunch-and-learn program?
Posted in Promoting Wellness Program Events, Workplace Communication
Tagged Benefits, Stress Management, Wellness
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More Than Free Lunch with Benefits: Host Engaging Lunch-and-Learns (Part 1)
Quick Summary: Do more than serve lunch-with-a-speaker. Employees will come back for second and third helpings if educational events focus on their needs and give them reason to act.
Posted in Promoting Wellness Program Events, Workplace Communication
Tagged Benefits, Stress Management, Wellness
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All a Twitter When Using Social Media for Benefits Communication
Quick Summary: Regardless of your feelings about social media, they’re a fact of modern life. If you use these tools to communicate benefits information in your workplace, exercise care. There are definite dos and don’ts to keep in mind.
Posted in Communicating via Social Media
Tagged Benefits, Communication, Social Media, Wellness
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To Target Employees of Any Age, Use This Chart
Quick Summary: Employees pay attention to different benefits messages at different life stages. Workplace communicators should consider basic age profiles when creating (or editing) messages that can resonate with each individual.
Posted in Connecting with the "Generations"
Tagged Benefits, Communication, Social Media
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Make a Wellness Culture Shift
Quick Summary: Wellness at the workplace is more than a task—it calls for a company culture shift. Where to start? “Senior level buy-in is a critical first step,” says Ginny Hridel, a wellness program coordinator for the Council of Smaller Enterprises in Ohio. Measuring the potential value of a program will inspire the change, she adds. “Wellness has an impact on all other costs: health insurance, workers’ compensation, absenteeism, just to name a few.”
How Do You Spell Relief: 7 Action Steps to Lower the S-T-R-E-S-S Level at Work
Quick Summary: Increased productivity and controlled health care costs are reasons to smile. But is your workforce paying too steep a price? Will those gains disappear as heightened employee stress takes its toll? Here are a few ways to keep your smile from turning upside down.
Posted in Promoting Wellness Program Events
Tagged Benefits, Communication, Stress Management, Wellness
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Health Care Reform: Communicating When You Don’t Know the Answers
Quick Summary: As the saying goes, “The devil’s in the details.” And there certainly are plenty of details yet to come about the health care reform legislation passed in March 2010. But if you think it’s too early to communicate with your employees about the subject, think again.
Posted in All Things Benefits, Workplace Communication
Tagged Benefits, Communication, Stress Management
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Help Employees Avoid Medical Identity Theft
Quick Summary: Medical identity theft is increasingly common, although few people are aware of it. Taking and faking someone’s health information can wreak havoc with medical records, insurance, and credit reports. And it certainly adds to the cost of medical care.
Medical Bills 101: Educating Employees Saves You Time
Quick Summary: Complex and frustrating. That’s how most people would describe health care and health care benefits. When confusion sets in and employees get stuck in a web of technical terms, bills, and statements, they often turn to you for help. What does this mean? Should I pay this or not? Why am I getting all these bills?
Support Families in Fighting Obesity
Quick Summary: Childhood obesity is everyone’s business, but the sensitive topic must be approached with a supportive tone from employers. Remind employees of the programs you already provide such as access to private counseling through an EAP—and do so with compassion.
4 Reasons to Talk about Benefit Trends
Quick Summary: Benefits professionals aren’t the only ones who find value in understanding benefit trends. You may be surprised at how helpful the information can be to your employees. Continue reading
Is It Time to “Tweet” about Your Benefits?
Quick Summary: To help each employee choose the benefits package that best meets his or her needs, most organizations hand out packets and brochures that explain options. That material often lands with a thud—it can be bulky and confusing. Some savvy companies are complementing that material with ultra-quick Twitter messages throughout the year. Continue reading
5 Things to Consider Before Cutting Perks
Quick Summary: The financial squeeze is still pressing many companies, and you may be considering a cutback in perks. But look before you start slashing—consider that it’s often the smaller things (and maybe least expensive) that have the biggest impact on employee retention and morale. Continue reading
Posted in All Things Benefits
Tagged Benefits, Communication, Social Media, Stress Management, Wellness
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Is Your Own Department Getting in the Way of Workplace Communication?
Quick Summary: HR directors, benefits managers, and others responsible for employee communication often have numerous and lofty goals (not to mention executives looking over their shoulders). Reaching employees effectively helps to engage their participation and reduce health care costs. But it’s tough to connect with workers when your own department’s communication isn’t open and efficient. Continue reading