Communication Breakdown - Always the Same
Complexity and Plan Changes Were Top Concerns of Employees
Communication challenges topped the list of employer concerns during the most recent annual benefit enrollment process, according to a recent poll by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an HR consulting firm. This came as employers used the enrollment process to more fully engage employees in their health care buying decisions.
In a press release, Watson Wyatt said that while employers were highly satisfied with the more transactional aspects of enrollment, they felt that improvements could be made in the areas of employee communication, health information and decision support. As for employees, they were most concerned with the growing complexity of the enrollment process and the level of plan changes, according to the companies surveyed.
For more on the survey results:
Sixty-three percent of the 67 organizations surveyed cited employee communications as a top challenge in the recent enrollment season. Thirty-six percent cited more fully engaging employees as a top challenge.
Employers reported high levels of satisfaction with the transactional components of benefits enrollment - 75 percent reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the completeness and accuracy of elections - but were far less happy with the effectiveness of health-improvement information, decision-support tools and cost and quality information. Well under half reported being satisfied or very satisfied with those aspects.
According to employers, the complexity of the enrollment process and the number of plan changes were major concerns for their employees. Nearly 30 percent of employers reported employee concerns with each of those facets. The parts of the enrollment process that demand thoughtful decisions - contributions to health spending accounts, choosing between different plans, coordination with a spouse's plans - were also mentioned as significant employee concerns.
Posted by Shawn Whalen on January 30, 2007 at 6:03 PM
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