Archive for the ‘HR Communications’ Category
by Joe Blattner | November 24, 2011
If you’re like most business owners or HR Managers, you know that communicating with employees about their salary and benefits is always a touchy subject. It’s best to plan accordingly and ensure that the timing is appropriate. But when is a good time to tell employees what their salary, health benefits, sick time, vacation time, and countless other perks are worth? Well, the answer is…it depends.
There are several different occasions and times of the year when your organization may be best suited for giving employees their total compensation reports. Given that a detailed summary of employee benefits is a boost to morale, the Holiday Season or New Year can be a great time to give employees the gift of a complete rewards statement. Although an annual benefits report is sometimes adequate, there are many other times throughout the year when a total compensation statement can help attract, retain, and positively impact your employees.
Hiring
First impressions are always important, and the way you welcome a new employee to your company is no exception. That’s why hiring can be an excellent time to present a total compensation statement. Letting a new or potential employee know just what you’re prepared to provide, even beyond their regular salary, is a great way to get that new relationship off to a solid start. In addition, employees who are comparing other offers can fully see what your company is offering them, and if the competition doesn’t provide a total compensation statement, your company is going to be viewed as the better choice.
Promotions or Raises
Another good time to discuss benefits is during a promotion or request for a promotion. Oftentimes in such discussions, the focus is solely on the actual wages offered or sought. However, it is wise to also emphasize the other benefits an employee is receiving outside their paycheck, such as paid sick time, free parking, a laptop, cell phone, or several other perks. Even intangibles like flexible scheduling can and should be part of the discussion, since they contribute to the overall employee welfare, contentment, and productivity.
Reviews
Annual or semi-annual performance reviews are also an excellent time to bring up total compensation. While discussing what the employee has done for the company, you can also showcase the full dimensions of what your company is providing. A comprehensive total compensation statement can boost morale and employee loyalty, and makes an excellent accompaniment to any words of encouragement that you may offer during a review.
Significant Life Events
There are some events in life that have a direct correlation to employee benefits. Occasions such as marriage or divorce, starting a family, illness or approaching retirement can be opportune times to present a total compensation statement. Since an employee may become eligible for additional benefits at these times, taking the initiative to let them know what they qualify for and what they receive is a great way to show that you’re truly looking out for your team.
Remember, the full measure of benefits your employees receive far exceeds their actual wages. This is good news, so share it freely!
by Joe Blattner | May 12, 2011
According to the most recent MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends, 56% of employers surveyed made no modification to employee benefits materials last year. This means, even though there may have been changes in employee costs and benefits, those changes were not communicated to employees.
Not only that, but the study also says that only 23% of employees are satisfied with their benefits communication. So, of the employers who DO send out benefits communications, 77% must not be doing a very good job of it!
But, why should an employer give a hoot? Because employees who get communications from their employer about their benefits are twice as loyal to that employer. TWICE as loyal. That thought alone ought to save you some costs in employee retention and recruitment.
How often do you update your employee benefits communications? And, just as important, when was the last time you explained to your employees how much their total compensation is worth?
When fifty-five percent of employees report that they do not find their benefits materials clear or comprehensive, clearly an opportunity exists. This is where you can help your employees understand their compensation and further engage them, so they may see for themselves how much your company provides.
*Source: MetLife 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends
Part of your benefits communications should also be showing the COSTS associated with employee benefits. Do your employees know how much they’re benefits cost? Do they see the rise in costs every year in workers compensation, state insurance, health care? Do employees realize that the extra three days off they were given this year in vacation pay is actually costing the employer money by not having that employee at their job? This is also part of their total compensation.
The more communication you can provide to your employees, the better they will understand your company. In fact, you will also understand your company better if you were to add up all the costs that go into an employee’s total compensation. COMPackage total benefit statements provide over 60 benefit costs that most employers don’t even consider when adding up the costs of their employees. By adding up all of these costs, businesses are better equipped to make good decisions.
Would love to know your thoughts about this topic — how has employee benefits communication strengthened your relationship with your employer/employees?
by Joe Blattner | April 20, 2011
That’s just over 43% of pay!
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employer-paid benefits make up a big chunk of change – 30.3% of total compensation for employees across all industries and sectors.
The BLS study shows that private industry employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.89 per hour worked, while legally required benefits was $2.28 per hour worked. Take a look at the study to compare the compensation costs for state and local government workers, private industry workers, and civilian workers.
COMPackage believes that the proportion of employer-paid benefits is actually higher than 30.3% for many industries, because the BLS study is not taking into account all possible benefits, such as travel expenses, training, company outings, free suburban parking, cell phone expenses, etc. COMPackage has always believed that employer-paid benefits as a percentage of base pay is 43%, which is what the BLS percentage of Total Compensation number equates to. But we also believe that when you add these above benefits that the BLS wouldn’t typically include, then average definable benefits are actually even more, especially for companies employing higher salaried workers!
Included in the amount accounted for by the BLS were employer costs for vacations, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave. Other costs included legally required benefits, including workers’ compensation, (1.5% of total compensation); state unemployment insurance, (0.7%); and federal unemployment insurance, (0.1%).
This study is important for a couple of reasons:
a)It shows whether there is a rise or fall in how much employers are paying for total benefits of employees. (There was an increase of nearly 3% over the last three years.)
b)It points out that employer-paid benefits make up a tremendous portion of employees’ total compensation, a point that is often not communicated to employees, even though it is a very substantial amount of their pay.
When the total costs of employee benefits, like insurance, health care, and paid-time off, go unreported, how can employees possibly decipher their true compensation? If employees can only attach a number to their salary, and do not understand their total worth to the company, both parties suffer unrealistic expectations. Employers feel like they’re paying employees too much, while employees feel like they’re being paid too little. Neither party is wrong, but without knowing and reporting on how much the actual costs are, neither party has a leg to stand on, whether negotiating salaries or finding ways to retain employees.
When was the last time you took a hard look at the numbers you’re spending on your employees? And if you are already using total compensation reporting methods, what types of benefits are you including in your total compensation reports?
by Joe Blattner | March 31, 2011
Today, the ideal total compensation package is as diverse as the current workforce itself. In fact, it has to be in order for companies to attract and retain the absolute best employees.
Your employees may vary greatly in age, location (urban, suburban, rural), gender, and marital status. They also most likely vary in how they work – from home or at the office? From a computer or by phone or some other type of a machine? By travelling on sales calls or going into the office every day? These are all things to take into consideration. Not to mention, employees working for the same companies have very different job descriptions and skill sets. Why give all employees the same exact benefit package, when employees are all so different?
If you are trying to provide a one-for-all solution, you are more than likely leaving some of your employees behind. By taking the demographics of your workforce into consideration, you can remove the guesswork of a one-handed solution and offer employees a worthwhile benefits package with options.
Regardless of whether or not your company is small or large or somewhere in between, tailoring benefits to the specific needs of your employees does wonders for morale. It’s also a smart move if you aren’t able to compensate monetarily as much as your competition. To bridge the salary gap, the savviest of employers know they must make up the difference by offering an attractive total compensation package and one that make sense for the employees in question.
Think about it. Would you offer an on-site daycare facility as a part of your benefits package if a large portion of your workforce is under the age of 25? If most of your employees commute by bus, would including a parking spot be relevant or even necessary? If you have telecommuters working for you maybe they don’t get to enjoy the “complimentary” coffee you keep in steady stream in the office – why not offer your virtual assistant a monthly $10 gift card to a local cafe?
Another example would be if employees are expected to use their own vehicles for company business, a prepaid gas card would help to defray fuel expenses. Do employees work from home using their own equipment and Internet service? If so, you might want to consider providing laptops with Internet access.
The cost of providing employees with potentially expensive perks such as insurance, holiday bonuses, company cars, laptops, cell phone service, tuition reimbursement, or stock options may naturally be a great concern, but it may not be as high as factoring in the cost of recruiting and retraining new hires. Offsetting salaries with a diverse selection of fringe benefits is one of the simplest ways of compensating employees smartly.
In essence, offering a diversified benefits package gives you the luxury of not only attracting talent, but also keeping the top talent in your field happy to be on board. Providing options and showing individualized attention can be priceless. And with the right software, it doesn’t have to be difficult, either. COMPackage offers customers a comprehensive list of over 60 benefit ideas as a natural part of their total compensation software subscription.
Getting the Word Out
After revamping benefits packages to meet the unique and changing needs of your employees, it is imperative to then ensure they are fully aware of their total compensation. It is often astounding for employees to find out how much their employer pays for their total compensation, but sometimes it’s also a shock to the employer, when they start adding it all up.
Many employees are completely unaware of the extent or contents of their work benefits. Are key employees being lured away and accepting other positions offering a higher base salary? They may not be so quick to make a move if they had all the facts about their benefits package.
Employees and potential recruits need to know the full costs associated with having them on staff. Knowing this gives them a better idea of their true compensation and it also allows for essential employee feedback. Encouraging employees to provide feedback regarding which types of compensation are most important to them gives you a definitive edge when it comes to yet another important aspect of any successful business – employee retention.
But how can you give them all of this information without spending a ridiculous amount of time compiling data or an exorbitant amount of money outsourcing the task to a third party?
The answer is using total compensation statement software for creating employee compensation reports and detailed benefits statements. Benefits statements will give your employees a clear and concise picture conveying exactly how much they are really being compensated for their services.
What interesting ways does your company provide benefits? We would love to hear your ideas for diversifying benefits in the comments below.
by Joe Blattner | February 7, 2011
As social media continues to play a bigger and bigger role in our society, it has brought up a number of uncomfortable issues in the workplace. Should employees be allowed to access social media on work time? What happens when an employee posts something inappropriate on Facebook or their personal blog? If your workplace doesn’t yet have a clear social media policy in place that deals with issues like these, you’re asking for trouble. Your company’s social media strategy should be:
Consistent
No single policy works for every type of company, so it’s important to evaluate your company’s social media policy to make sure it matches the corporate culture. Are you a small creative firm where shorts are appropriate on Fridays? You may want to think about placing fewer restrictions on social media sites. Are you setting policy for hundreds of employees? You’ll probably want a more restrictive policy to cut down on headaches down the road.
Thorough
Even if your company’s social media policy is relatively lax, it should be thorough enough to let employees know exactly what is expected of them. Spell out your social media policy in the employee handbook, touching on issues like which sites are appropriate to visit during work hours, what can and cannot be said online, how to handle official company social accounts and what punishment is appropriate for certain violations.
Flexible
Because social media is continuously evolving, it would be foolish to never revisit your social media policy. Stay current on the latest topics and trends in social media, and you’ll be able to change your policy when it makes sense.
If your employees are using social media on their company cell phones or laptops, are you showing your employees the costs of these extras with employee benefit statements from COMPackage?
Also — if you are using social media, follow COMPackage on Twitter or on LinkedIn. We would love to keep in touch!
by Joe Blattner | December 15, 2010
When I began making further use of social media sites like Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn earlier this month, I quickly found out how unsuitable a rectangular-shaped logo can appear, given that these social media networking websites only allow companies to have a small logo space on their profile page.
This led me to have a new logo designed, specifically for these social networking profile pages. What the heck – the current logo needed a facelift anyway, since it was originally created when our product included pie charts instead of our current bar charts. I employed an agency to come up with a few (14) designs. Now, the thing about logos is that they should look good, whether they are spread about on a full page magazine advert or reduced to 100 pixels of a tiny icon on a computer screen. That can sometimes be a difficult challenge, but it’s important to think about before deciding on a permanent logo, a fixture of your business, your brand.
After many designs were created, much deliberation ensued. In deciding the overall design of the logo, the idea of a “C” appealed to me, since COMPackage begins with a “C”, of course. And it also stands for “compensation”. And “cash”, come to think of it. But the larger question was, ‘how can the logo encompass the “employee benefit statement” aspect?
I originally liked the idea of having a bar graph inside the “C”, but this ended up looking more like some sort of a ratings bar chart, and it didn’t hold up in micro size. And COMPackage used to use pie charts to display the total compensation report, (because pie charts are preferred by employers, but more difficult for employees to understand, based on focus group studies that we did in 2008).
But this “C” icon made more sense for the brand and the image that I want people to have of COMPackage and employee benefit statements, in general. To further drive home the point that ALL compensation, benefits, and “perks” should be included in employee benefit statements, there is a “core” to the “C”, with an outer wrap around the “C”. The core “C” encompasses the base compensation, or the meat of an employee’s compensation – the salary, commissions, bonuses, and holiday pay. The outer wrap signifies all the add-ons and the extra benefits employers and employees don’t normally consider as part of their compensation: healthcare, auto, technology, training, food, and other specialized company benefits that are rarely understood because they never get discussed.
I hope that the new logo is visually appealing to you, but that it also holds meaning for you like it now does for me. So, when a business owner or HR Manager thinks of COMPackage, they may now also think of how to better communicate to their employees — by letting them know all of the pieces of the “pie”.
Let me know: what do you think of the new logo?
by Joe Blattner | September 23, 2010
Employee turnover costs are hard to pin down. Many employers don’t have the time to calculate their exact costs for replacing a worker since they the cost seems to be minimal and unavoidable. The truth is, however, that HR experts estimate that the cost of replacing one employee is at least 25 percent of that employee’s annual salary. These costs include:
Separation Costs
- Cost of exit interview
- Increase in unemployment tax
- Separation pay
- Administrative costs
Replacement Costs
- Placing job ads
- Cost of employees’ time for interviewing process
- Background check cost
- Bonuses and administrative costs
Training Costs
- Cost of training material
- Cost of trainers time
- Time it takes new employee to ramp up
Intangible costs also include the stress a short staff puts on other workers, interrupted client dialogue and lost company knowledge. If you add it all up, you are probably losing much more than you thought on each employee that leaves your company, so doesn’t it make sense to start doing something about it?
The solution to reducing turnover is different for every company. The most important thing you need to do is find out exactly why employees are not happy with your company and fix it. Are employees overworked? Do they hate the work environment? Do they want more competitive salary and benefits? You may not see a dramatic change within a couple weeks or even months, but whatever money you invest in your employees in the short term, you’ll see multiplied in the long term with reduced turnover and higher profits.
Effectively communicating to employees through employee benefit statements can help reduce turnover, as well. Ensuring employees are aware of the company costs associated with keeping them at the job can play a significant role in whether or not the DO stay at the job.
Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on the costs associated with employee turnover in the comments below!
by Joe Blattner | August 17, 2010
You’ve tried everything to motivate your employees – bonuses, vacation time, recognition and even fear. And while some tactics have produced short-term results in certain employees, you still haven’t found that one magic bullet that motivates everyone all the time. So how can you get your employees to maximize their potential every time they come to work?
Leaders throughout the years have found that, while external motivation can become expensive and frustrating, internal motivation often produces amazing results. Rather than spending all your energy trying to get your employees to do something they don’t want to do, why not put them in a position that allows them to maximize their talents? Too many employees are stuck in jobs that do not challenge or interest them. As a result, they often find themselves thinking about or doing activities that they’d rather be doing during work hours.
Your best opportunity to find self-motivated employees comes during the hiring process. Take the time to learn about the job you’re hiring for, and then ask questions that reveal applicants’ real interests. Don’t ask them if they want to do the job you’re hiring for; of course they’ll tell you that they’re interested in the job. Rather, ask about their favorite and least favorite aspects of previous jobs. Ask questions that reveal their personality in addition to questions about technical skill. By looking for someone who has passion rather than a skill set, you’ll be much more likely to hire employees who will motivate themselves.
You can also help your current employees find motivation by putting them in positions that take advantage of their natural talents and interests. Ask your employees whether they’re happy with their current position or they’d prefer to be doing something else in the company. You can also start paying attention to their productivity and interest levels for different tasks to help you modify their current jobs.
Keep your employees motivated by giving them new challenges. Even if people are doing what they love, they’ll quickly lose interest if they’re not constantly being challenged. Adjust employees’ workload to make sure they are being pushed without being overloaded and trust them with new challenges when they’ve met their current goals. When your employees are doing what they were meant to do, you’ll be amazed at the change you’ll see in your office.
And when you do see that change, make sure you put it in their employee performance review!
by Joe Blattner | July 27, 2010
An exit interview is one of the easiest ways to reduce turnover in your company. It usually takes about 5-10 extra minutes to talk to an employee who is voluntarily leaving, and an interview can reveal information that you’d never learn from your current employees. Most employers who ask the right questions during exit interviews find departing employees extremely frank and helpful.
Even though exit interviews can provide invaluable information, studies have shown that most companies do not have a solid exit interview strategy in place. If you don’t have an exit interview process, follow our simple steps to get the most out of your exit interviews.
- The best time to ask employees the questions you’d ask during an exit interview is when they’re still happily employed. If you learn about problems within your company before it’s too late, you can stop dissatisfied employees from leaving in the first place.
- While some companies give departing employees a form to complete, we recommend a face-to-face meeting. This will produce more honest answers and provides more opportunity for follow-up.
- Make the exit interview comfortable. Employees should know that there won’t be retribution for an honest discussion.
- If the employee who is leaving is extremely valuable to your company, consider asking if there’s anything you can do to encourage him to stay. It can be relatively easy to retain an employee if compensation is his primary reason for leaving.
- Examine all feedback gathered from exit interviews and create policies that address recurring issues. The best exit interview in the world won’t do any good if it doesn’t lead to change.
The following are a few questions you may want to ask during an exit interview:
- What is your primary reason for leaving? Are there secondary reasons?
- Was there one event in particular that made you leave?
- What were the most and least satisfying parts of your job?
- Did your duties meet your expectations?
- Did anyone in this company discriminate against you or harass you?
- What would you do to improve our workplace?
- Were you happy with your compensation?
- Did you feel communication with management was open during your employment?
If you’re looking for more ways to reduce turnover, consider total compensation reports. These reports show employees exactly how much their benefits are worth.
by Joe Blattner | June 29, 2010
Show your employees that you appreciate them by sponsoring an outing either during or after work. These outings don’t have to break your budget, but, as many employers have discovered throughout the years, they can be extremely useful for building camaraderie and improving morale.
We’ve assembled a list of 20 creative ideas for employee outings. Feel free to add onto this list by asking your employees for suggestions and considering even the most outrageous ideas.
Team contests
It doesn’t matter what the contest is as long as you follow one rule – everyone participates. These contests should be activities that everyone in your company can enjoy, regardless of athletic skill level.
- Wii tournament
- Karaoke contest
- Scavenger hunt
- Recess games
- Laser tag
Community Service Projects
Community service activities not only draw your employees together, they also allow your company to give back to your community.
- Sponsor a work team in a charity walk or race
- Plant trees or clean up a neighborhood
- Split the company into two teams and see who can raise the most money for a charity
- Let employees choose the service project, then use a Friday to complete the project as a company
Sports
Sports have the ability to draw people together in ways that few other activities can. Consider sports activities that may interest even those who don’t necessarily like athletics.
- Sponsor a company sports team
- Sponsor a company “fitness club”
- Leave work early to attend a daytime baseball game
- Volleyball, softball or basketball tournament
- Miniature golf
- Bowling
Get Togethers
If you’re looking for a more laid back activity, consider an informal get together. Through these gatherings, your employees can meet each other’s families.
- Movie night
- Family picnic
- Informal happy hour
- Tailgate in the parking lot
- Holiday themed party
You can choose to show your employees how much benefits like employee outings, company cell phone usage and suburban office free parking are worth through a total compensation statements.
