7 ways to make the (dreaded) annual review better for your employees
Originally posted December 12, 2014 by Alan Fox on HR.BLR.com
In the movie Coconuts the hotel employees of a mustachioed Groucho Marx chased him from the lobby and up a flight of stairs.
“We want our money,” they shouted.
“What do you mean?”
“We want our money,” they yelled again.
“I don’t understand. You want whose money?” Groucho shouted back.
“You haven’t paid us. We want to be paid!”
“Oh,” says Groucho, pointing directly at them. “You want my money,” with emphasis on the “my.”
Money is one reason the annual review is dreaded. A second reason is that the employer needs to give the employee “constructive” criticism.
But why should we think of the review as being about the employee? Don’t both the employee and employer want the best possible performance? If you are an employee and don’t perform as well as you can, perhaps you lack the proper tools or training. Maybe you don’t feel appreciated and, as a result, are not as involved as you might be. Tools, training, and the expression of appreciation are the responsibility of the employer, not the employee.
Also, why shouldn’t I want to encourage the best performance possible, and pay fairly for that performance? If all of my 45 or so employees felt unfairly treated and failed to show up Monday morning, my business would instantly disappear. Each of them is excellent at what they do and could easily find a position somewhere else. But how could I reconstruct the outstanding team which we have built together over the past 45 years?
I now regard the (not dreaded) annual review as a review of my own performance, not theirs. I think of my employees as coworkers. We work in the same building, write e-mails to outsiders and to each other, talk on the telephone, and enjoy lunch in the early afternoon. Every one of us is a crew member on the same ship, headed in the same direction. (At Disneyland you would be called a “Cast Member,” which sounds nice but, to me seems more like acting rather than interacting with customers and each other).
The ideal procedure on the annual review is:
- Keep coworkers up to date on how they are doing during the year.Think of yourself as a coach, offering suggestions and encouragement during the game. Offer approval to encourage your empoloyees, and suggest course corrections to help them focus on what needs to be changed. When your flight lands in San Francisco it’s too late to remember that you should have boarded the flight for Chicago.
In the old days I would say to an employee after his or her first day on the job, “I’ve decided to renew your option. You can come back tomorrow.” I cringe at the thought of how I would feel if my new boss of one day said that to me. Recently I hired someone to help with the marketing and promotion of People Tools. At the end of the first week I asked, “Are all of us providing proper information and support so that you can do your best work?” If you have properly helped your coworkers during the year there will be no bad surprises for either of you at the annual review.
- When it’s time for the annual review, make sure to conduct it within a week or two of the anniversary date. It’s not fair to your coworkers to delay information which is important to them and keep them walking on eggshells, waiting for “the knife to drop.”
- Ask each person being reviewed to evaluate him or herself. Ask them to write down their accomplishments of the past year and goals for the coming year. Not only does this help your employees learn the valuable skill of self-assessment, it also shows how much you respect and appreciate their opinions.
- Ask the reviewees what salary they think they deserve. I use their recommendation as a guide. Years ago an employee, who worked with me for almost 25 years, always asked for a 10 or 15 percent raise, which was far too high. But at least I knew what she was thinking. One year my vice president/general manager, asked for a raise which was far too small. I increased her salary by three times the amount she had requested.
- During the review ask how you, or other managers, can better assist employees to perform better. “Replace my 7-year old computer,” was one answer. I was embarrassed. I had allowed a valued member of my accounting staff to struggle for 2 years with entirely outdated equipment.
- Give a bonus. If a member of your team has made an outstanding contribution to the company that saves time and money, increases profits and productivity, or improves the working conditions in the office, consider awarding them a one-time bonus. This way, the annual review can be just as much about rewarding performance as it is about offering constructive suggestions on how to improve.
Why shouldn’t you want to encourage the best performance possible, and pay fairly for that performance? If my goal is to retain my team member for another full year, I sometimes pay part of their increased salary as a bonus at their next anniversary date. We all like something “extra,” and often a $2,000 bonus looks larger than $166.67 a month, before payroll taxes.
- Be prepared at to be flexible, especially when it comes to hours of work (some people prefer to begin their work day at 6:00 am), and time away from the office for personal matters. One of the biggest perks I enjoy myself, as an entrepreneur and business owner, is that I set my own hours. I can take off Thursday afternoon and come in on Saturday morning if I like. So I refuse to be a prison warden for my staff. They work with me to accomplish a mission, not to lose their freedom to visit a doctor when they need to, or watch their daughter’s soccer finals.
When I improve as a manager, my coworkers improve at their positions. That is why I no longer dread reviewing them, because, in reality, we are helping each other.
IRS tackles paperless employer transportation assistance plans
Originally posted November 25, 2014 by Dan Cook on BenefitsPro.com
Human resources managers will want to study several new IRS rulings on non-cash benefits to commuting employees. The IRS has delved deeply into various systems for assisting workers withcommuting costs with the intention of determining whether these forms of assistance should be included in the employees' gross income.
In essence, the IRS is examining a transition from paper transit vouchers to virtual vouchers. The conundrum here has to do with the media itself. The paper transit vouchers of old were handed out (or paid for) by employers, and employees could only use them for mass transit purposes. While some were perhaps using them for personal travel as well, the system itself was a simple one.
With the advent of smartcards and debit cards as transit pass replacements for the paper tickets, the system became more complex. In a new notice, the IRS lays out which transactions it will include in employee gross income, and which will be excluded. Key factors include how strict the rules are for limiting the smart/debit card purchases to transit only.
As the IRS points out, some employers have developed arrangements that permit employees to use their company cards for purchases other than bus and train tickets. These the IRS frowns upon. Better are the arrangements where the employer:
- Issues a card connected to a provider that only sells transit tickers;
- Requires employees to make some sort of verification or certification that they are using the card for work-related transportation only;
- Reimburses employees for card use rather than pays them ahead of use;
- Restricts reimbursement to the IRS's monthly ceiling levels.
In its missive, the IRS offered eight examples of different employer-employee transit assistance arrangements. In two of the eight cases, the IRS ruled the “income” will not be excluded from employees' gross income for tax purposes. The full content of the advisory and ruling is worth reading for those HR managers trusted with implementing a reimbursement plan for commuting employees.
IRS Announces 2015 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits
Source: ThinkHR.com
On October 23, 2014 the Treasury Department announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and retirement accounts for tax year 2015. The following is a summary of the changes that impact employees:
401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plans
- The elective deferral (contribution) limit increased from $17,500 to $18,000.
- The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over who participate in these plans increased from $5,500 to $6,000.
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
- The limit on annual contributions remains unchanged at $5,500.
- The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $1,000.
Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs and Individual/Solo 401(k)s
- Elective deferrals increase from $52,000 in 2014 to $53,000 in 2015, based on an increased annual compensation limit of $265,000, up from $260,000 in 2014.
- The minimum compensation that may be required for participation in a SEP increases from $550 in 2014 to $600 in 2015.
SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) IRAs
- The contribution limit on SIMPLE IRA retirement accounts for 2015 is $12,500, up from $12,000 in 2014.
- The SIMPLE catch-up limit is $3,000, up from $2,500 in 2014.
Defined Benefit Plans
- The basic limitation on the annual benefits under a defined benefit plan is unchanged at $210,000.
Other Changes
- Highly-compensated and key employee thresholds: The threshold for determining “highly compensated employees” increases from $115,000 to $120,000 in 2015; the threshold for officers who are “key employees” remains at $170,000 for 2015.
- Social Security Cost of Living Announcement: In a separate announcement, the Social Security Administration increased the Taxable Wage Base from $117,000 in 2014 to $118,500.
- The maximum “Old Age, Survivor and Disability Insurance” (OASDI) tax will be $7,347 for both employers and employees; and
- Hospitalization Insurance (Medicare) tax continues to apply to all wages.
The IRS pension plan limits announcement with more details is available here.
The Social Security Administration Fact Sheet outlining the 2015 changes can be found here.
Ohio Employment Law Alert – October 2014
Source: ThinkHR.com
Minimum Wage Increase
On September 29, 2014, the Ohio Department of Commerce announced that the state minimum wage will increase to $8.10 on January 1, 2015, for non-tipped employees and to $4.05 per hour for tipped employees. The increased minimum wage will apply to employees of businesses that have annual gross receipts of more than $297,000 per year.
For employees at smaller companies (with annual gross receipts of $292,000 or less per year in 2014 or $297,000 or less per year after January 1, 2015) and for 14- and 15-year-old workers, the state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. For these employees, the state minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum wage.
Read the Department of Commerce News Release
View the 2015 Minimum Wage Poster
Minimum-Wage Debate Pits Cities Against States
Originally posted June 23, 2014 by David Klepper and Blake Davis on https://www.inc.com.
Dominique Mayfield makes $8.25 an hour washing dishes and busing tables at a Syracuse brewpub. Shantel Walker makes $8.50 an hour at her pizzeria in New York City, where the rent is more than double what it is in Syracuse. Two very different cities, but nearly the same wage.
The economic differences between America's big cities and elsewhere have prompted leaders in Seattle, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Oklahoma City, and other cities to push to raise the minimum wage within their borders.
The efforts are running into opposition from state lawmakers from both parties and business groups who say a patchwork of minimum wages could lead to a confusing and unequal business climate in which labor costs would vary dramatically from city to city.
The minimum wage has emerged as perhaps the top issue of a newly emboldened, urban liberal movement that in many places is led not by governors or state lawmakers but by local leaders backed by organized fast-food workers. After years of grappling with state and federal budget cuts, mayors and city councils are pushing back against state and federal officials who they say don't understand the income inequality of 21st-century American cities.
"So many people have been pushed out of this city," said Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata, who successfully pushed to raise the city's wage to $15, more than $5 higher than the state wage. "Local politicians don't have the luxury of not doing something. The state and federal governments, they've been AWOL. They haven't been engaged."
The fight to raise minimum wages has lawmakers in many states on the defensive, arguing that higher wages will lead to reductions in hours and jobs for low-income workers--and retail price increases that are likely to hit them hardest. The business-backed American Legislative Exchange Council argues that local minimum wages could lead to a race to the bottom, where businesses locate in whichever city within a region has the lowest starting wage.
"This is a debate that's happening around the country, and although it's well intended, it's misguided," said Cara Sullivan, a minimum-wage policy expert at ALEC. "In Seattle, they raised it to $15, and right across the city line, it's $5 less. It increases the cost of doing business for businesses in that city. You're creating chaos from one business to the next."
Members of the city council in Providence, Rhode Island, considered raising the minimum wage from $8 to $15, but only for workers in the city's large hotels. In response, the Democratic leaders of the Rhode Island General Assembly have moved to block the proposal by taking away cities' authority to set local minimums.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, signed legislation in April that prohibits cities from setting their own wage after organized labor groups suggested that Oklahoma City raise its wage from $7.25 an hour--the federal minimum--to $10.10.
B.J. Marsh, a single mother in a suburb of Oklahoma City, says the $7.25 she makes requires her to choose between eating or getting to work. Marsh said her 7-year-old son began living with her father to save on expenses and allow her to work.
"I don't eat because I have to have gas in my car," she said.
But supporters of Oklahoma's new law said higher local minimum wages were likely to hurt the very low-income workers they were proposed to help by raising food prices and reducing employment.
"We have seen businesses flee from cities that have tried this in other states," said Republican House Speaker Jeff Hickman. "Artificially inflating the minimum wage raises the price of everything from housing and rental costs to a loaf of bread, and causes the loss of jobs which means fewer opportunities for those working to feed their families."
In 2011 and 2012, four states passed laws keeping state minimum wages from being higher than the federal wage. This year, 14 such bills have been introduced, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and members of the City Council are seeking authority to raise the local minimum wage to $15--nearly double the state's $8 minimum. State law doesn't currently permit cities to set their own minimums, and although Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo first warned the idea would lead to a "chaotic" business environment, he now supports a proposal to raise the wage to $10.10 and let cities impose a minimum up to 30 percent higher.
Restaurant owners and business groups have opposed the plan, and on Thursday, it appeared state lawmakers would adjourn without voting on the measure. The state's minimum wage is already set to increase to $8.75 at the end of this year and to $9 at the end of 2015.
For Shantel Walker, the pizzeria worker in Brooklyn, the proposal would mean nearly $5 more per hour. Walker went to Albany last month to rally for a higher minimum wage outside a McDonald's at the Capitol. She said it makes no sense that fast-food workers in New York City are held to the same minimum wage as those upstate.
"If we have to do this every week, that's what we're going to do," she said. "We have to fight the powers that be."
--Associated Press
Communicating with Employees - Don't Shove it into the Back Burner
Originally posted May 28, 2014 by Stephen Bruce on https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com
Ask employees what they like least about their jobs, and they typically cite a problem with communication. In fact, in many national employee attitude surveys, participating organizations across the board were rated lowest on questions related to communication, while at the same time employees who took the survey said communication was very important to them.
If communication is a problem in your organization, dig down to find out what types of information employees feel they aren’t getting, for example:
- Employees don’t have a good understanding of what is expected of them or how they fit in the organization.
- Management does not provide employees with information about how the organization is doing or the direction in which it is heading.
- Employees feel they aren’t well compensated because they don’t have any information on the value of benefits and their total compensation.
Tools for Better Communicating
It is important to consider your audience when you determine what communication tools you will use to communicate a certain piece of information.
- Do all of your employees have access to e-mail?
- Are all of your employees on-site?
- Do some of your employees work only on specific days?
- Do some of your employees have jobs on the line that prevent them from attending meetings?
Keeping these things in mind, there is a variety of methods for enhancing communication in the workplace.
Intranet
A company intranet is a great place for posting information on a variety of topics for employees, particularly if most employees have a computer.
Company Newsletter
Company newsletters are a great way to communicate changes, successes, and important information to your employees.
Meetings
Meetings are an effective way to bring employees face-to-face, which is particularly appreciated when the news is good and the purpose of the meeting is to show employees are valued. Meetings are also a good forum for allowing employee questions or discussion on a topic and for obtaining employee thoughts, concerns, and ideas.
Telephone Conferences and Web and Video Conferences
Telephones and conference calls are effective tools for communicating with individuals or groups of employees who are not present at the worksite. Invest in conferencing technology (e.g., phones, video, good microphones) that delivers high-level transmission of audio and/or video to avoid the stilted delays and overlapping conversations caused by low-tech conferencing technology. Train employees on how conferencing technology should be used. If materials or printed information will be distributed at a meeting, make arrangements to ensure access to the material for those participating by phone.
E-mail is an easy way to disperse information to a large group of people at once. Unfortunately, the overuse of e-mail can make employees feel isolated, lacking face-to-face contact. E-mails are stored on company computer systems, and once sent, the sender has no control over where they are forwarded. As a result, an e-mail should be considered a permanent written record. This is much different than the casual conversations people have face-to-face or over the phone.
Bulletin Boards
Well-organized and up-to-date bulletin boards are an effective, convenient, and inexpensive way to communicate with employees, especially workers who do not have access to a computer at their workstations.
Social Media
Social media, including blogs, podcasts, and social networks, can be used to build community, gather feedback, and make updates more engaging. For example, daily, weekly, or as-needed podcasts can provide a venue for managers and executives to talk to their employees via the intranet. While social media can be a great way to communicate with all employees at once, it shouldn’t be a complete substitute for face-to-face communication.
Employee Surveys
Employee surveys can be an effective and efficient way to obtain information from a large group of employees. A well-written survey provides feedback on how employees feel about the organization, their role in the organization, their compensation and benefits, and communication at each level of the organization.
However, conducting a survey and then leaving employees feeling as if they weren’t heard or that nothing is actually going to be done in response to feedback obtained in the survey may actually cause more harm to employee relations than good.
Communicating Bad News No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. But the right approach can help. The following tips are especially important when communicating bad news: Be straightforward. Confront the situation honestly and openly. Don’t hedge or try to hide the unpleasant truth. Act promptly. Delay will only make the task more difficult. Deliver bad news face-to-face whenever possible. This provides the opportunity to show concern and deal with questions directly. Always explain the reason behind the bad news. The more information people have, the more easily they will be able to accept the situation. Put the situation in perspective. In most cases, there’s an upside as well—however small. Be sure to highlight any positive aspects that will help the listener look beyond disappointment and see the big picture.
Maximizing the dollars being spent on benefits technology
Originally posted by Andy Stonehouse on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
Employers in the United States and across the world are quickly increasing the amount of money they’re investing in HR technology, including systems such as cloud-based HR portals and talent management solutions.
That, in turn, is leading many employers to reexamine the ways they handle their entire HR workflow, and allowing many benefits managers a greatly expanded range of tools for personnel management.
It’s a positive sign, especially as many companies have cut back their benefits and HR staff, and illustrates some ongoing trends for growth in HR technology, according to Mike DiClaudio, global leader of Towers Watson’s HR service delivery practice.
“Despite cost cutting in some areas of HR, we are seeing a substantial spike in technology spending,” DiClaudio says. “Companies are realizing the value that consumer-grade technology brings to HR and are willing to make smart investments that can grow and evolve with the business.”
Towers Watson’s new HR Service Delivery and Technology survey indicates that at least a third of respondents planned on spending more money on HR technology than they did last year.
Use of mobile technology and HR portals is also an increasingly standard part of the day-to-day benefits workflow, with some 46% reporting they’re using mobile tools for HR transactions and 60% indicating they’ve got a portal already in place.
“It also appears that companies are splitting their investments between core HR systems such as talent management and payroll, and next-generation technology including HR data and analytics, [plus] integrated talent- management systems.”
But the technology spend is just part of a larger revolution underway in overall HR and benefits management, DiClaudio says. More than half of the employers surveyed indicated that they’ve reengineered key HR processes over the last year and a half, and roughly three in 10 respondents say they have refocused the role of their HR business partners.
Another significant trend is the move toward manager and employee self-service initiatives, with almost three quarters of North American-based organizations already using manager self-service tools, a 10% jump from last year.
Employee engagement surveys have also become an increasingly common practice among employers hoping to get the best out of their HR technology dollars, with almost two thirds of U.S. employers conducting regular employee engagement surveys and using the data to better direct their personnel and benefits investments.
Retention Starts Day One
Originally posted May 12, 2014 by Stephen Bruce (PhD, PHR) on https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com.
Retention’s going to be key for many organizations as the economy improves—your best people are going to be testing the water and your toughest competitors are going to be looking for them.
There’s Nothing I Can Do
Many managers have the attitude “I wish management would do something about retention.” That’s the first thing to correct—it’s every manager’s and supervisor’s job to work on retention. They should realize that it’s for their own good. Turnover (of good people) is their department’s most debilitating disease.
First of all, it eats away at the manager’s personal productivity—job requisitions, postings, interviews, reference checks, and training suck up a lot of valuable time.
Second, turnover is a morale killer. Everyone else has to pitch in and get the job done while the position is vacant. And then there’s the inevitable, “Why are all our good people leaving? What do they know that I don’t know? Should I start putting together my résumé?”
Retention Starts Day One … and Continues Every Day
Managers and supervisors who have great retention rates share several behaviors: They think of their employees as customers; they recruit every day; and they remember that their actions are always on display.
Employees Are Customers
How far would you go to retain a good customer? Make sure you put that level of interest in retaining your employees.
- What do they care about?
- Do they understand their contribution and do you show that you value that contribution?
- What can you do today to make sure you retain them as a customer?
Recruit Every Day
As the saying goes, better recruit your best people every day … your competitors are. Try to avoid that oft-referenced situation where managers and supervisors spend 80 percent of their time on the poorest-performing 20% of their employees.
You Are on Display
Your actions speak louder than any policy or handbook declaration. “Our employees are our most valuable asset” sounds good on paper. Do you live up to that premise in your day to day dealings with employees?
You Have a Road Map
During the interviewing process, you found out about the new employee’s aspirations and expectations. And you probably made a few promises about the future as well. Together, those lists will help you build a retention road map for that employee.
Onboarding
Too many managers think that onboarding is something HR does with new employees the first day to get them signed up for benefits.
Onboarding is the first step in retention—get it right.
To be effective, onboarding is an involved process that lasts weeks or months. There are business methods and approaches to be learned, contacts to be made with key players in different departments, and various assimilation activities that help the new person be comfortable and contributing.
Remember that new employees are often reluctant to ask for help, so keep careful tabs on their work. Consider assigning a “buddy.”
A recent survey conducted by BambooHR shows the following often overlooked factors in an effective onboarding process:
- Receiving organized, relevant, and well-timed content
- On-the-job training
- Assignment of an employee “buddy” or mentor
- Having the onboarding process extend beyond the first week
When it comes to which aspects truly matter to employees starting a job, free food and perks are not what they crave. They want an onboarding process that helps them reduce the learning curve in becoming an effective, contributing team member.
Employer-Sponsored Health Care Facts of Life
Originally posted May 23, 2014 by Donna Fuscaldo on https://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com.
High deductible health insurance plans are a fact of life, particularly for the employees of small businesses. But it doesn’t have to hurt morale or loyalty among workers. There are ways small business owners can help defray some of the costs if high deductible insurance plans are all they can offer.
“With the Affordable Care Act there is clearly a movement toward higher deductible plans,” says Barry Sloane, CEO of Newtek, a health insurance agency for small businesses. “Unfortunately higher deductibles are a fact of life whether you live in New York or Nebraska.”
In an effort to keep costs down and incentivize employees to curb some of the unnecessary visits to the doctor or specialists, employers of all sizes are making high deductible plans an option, and in some cases the only one.
That’s particularly true with small business owners who can barely afford to offer health insurance, let alone plans with low deductibles and limited cost sharing. As a result, experts say the era of high deductible health insurance plans and more of the burden being passed on to the employee is here and will likely stay. That change in the way health care is offered to employees can breed resentment and anger among workers, which in turn can have a negative impact on the overall business.
But there are things small business owners can do to reduce the burden. One way, according to Kevin Luss, owner of Luss Group, is to offer employees a medical bridge policy to neutralize the deductible and other out-of-pocket costs employees face.
At Luss Group, brokers work with employers to create a health plan that limits the cost sharing for the least frequent things like hospitalization, surgeries and outpatient procedures and with the savings, a medical bridge policy is taken out to insure employees from high deductibles associated with those expensive but less frequent medical needs. There are numerous ways to design the plan, but one option could be if one of the employees is admitted to the hospital he or she gets a lump sum of $3,000 in addition to a daily amount for the length of the admission. In that case, an employee who has a $5,000 deductible would only pay part of that out of pocket because the medical bridge policy covers the rest.
“The employer saves money by offering high deductible plans and uses part of the savings for the bridge plan,” says Luss. “These plans aren’t very expensive and in the long rung the employer saves money.” The rules and what is offered varies state by state.
For many small businesses footing the bill for a medical bridge policy isn’t an option, but they can offer it as a supplemental choice for employees. According to Nancy Thompson, senior vice president and director of sales at CBIZ Benefits and Insurance, employers who are providing high deductible plans can also offer the option of hospital indemnity and critical illness insurance, which will defray some of the costs associated with the high deductible plan. While it will cost employees more money, albeit not a lot, in exchange they’ll get one-on-one counseling with a benefits consultant, so they are making the right choices when it comes to their healthcare.
“Employees are going to experience gaps in coverage that they haven’t in the past,” says Thompson. “The right supplemental product is paramount when you go to a high deductible plan.”
Hand in hand with offering high deductible plans is providing the ability for employees to use pretax dollars for medical costs, which is where health savings accounts come into play. With a health savings account, funds contributed aren’t taxed and the money accumulated can be rolled over to the next year. Some employers who contribute to health savings accounts can increase their contribution to offset any bad feelings from offering a high deductible plan, says Sloane.
Another option, according to Richard Mann, Chief Product Officer at PlanSource, is offering a defined contribution toward benefits. Basically it’s a predetermined amount the employer agrees to contribute to each employee’s benefits spending.
“This helps employers control spending because the amount is fixed, but allows employees to use the amount in whatever way they think is best,” says Mann.
At the end of the day, knowledge may be the best way a small business owner can help their employees with their health-care costs. The whole idea behind these high deductible health plans is to get people to think before they get that test done or have blood drawn.
According to Sloane, arming employees with all the information about the plan, ensuring they know which doctors are in network and out of network, and all the benefits associated with the plan (including preventive care), can go a long way in keeping out of pocket costs down. It’s also a good idea to give employees access to the actual costs of health-care services, adds Mann. Knowing, for example, that the cost of a MRI can vary by as much as $1,000 will make employees more savvy consumers of health care, he says.
“It’s very valuable for the business to make an investment in the HR department and educate their staff as to how to keep claims down,” notes Sloane. “People need to pay more attention to health care. It’s not as simple as it used to be.”
Food: The quickest way to an employee’s heart?
Originally posted May 29, 2014 by Scott Woolbridge on https://www.benefitspro.com
Apparently, workers in the U.S. are hungry for food-based perks.
A new survey by Seamless, an online platform for ordering takeout or delivered meals, looked at what employees are saying about food in the workplace. And although a grain or two of salt might be appropriate with this dish, the results are thought-provoking.
In the survey, 57 percent of workers say food-based perks provided by employers would make them feel more valued and appreciated, 50 percent said food-based perks would make them more satisfied with their employers, and 38 percent said that food-related perks would make them more inclined to rate a company highly as a “Best Places to Work” survey. That last finding ranks food-based perks as No. 3 in importance, after flexible vacation policies and gym or yoga memberships.
Employers are responding to this: there was an 11 percent increase in the number of companies offering food-based perks to workers in the past year, the survey found.
The report also noted that nearly half the workers surveyed (48 percent), say they work late nights and weekends some or all of the time, but just 9 percent say they are reimbursed for meals while working extra hours. Fueling that productivity also makes for a more harmonious workplace, the survey suggests, with 40 percent of respondents saying food-based perks would improve communication and collaboration with other workers. And although health issues can be a concern when food is provided at the office, almost half (46 percent) of employees in the survey felt that increased food-based perks at the office would promote healthier eating habits.
“Employees are working longer hours, and in return they want to feel appreciated for their hard work. Companies want to increase profits, but improving employee productivity while recruiting and keeping talented professionals are top concerns,” the report says. “Food-based perks offer an accessible way for companies to strongly impact both employee satisfaction … and recruiting efforts.”
Workers may appreciate companies that provide food-based perks, but HR experts and health groups often raise warnings about eating at work, especially if employees don’t also have opportunities to be active or access to healthy food choices. This WebMD article has several suggestions for healthy eating at work, including watching portion sizes, mixing in activity during the day, and bringing home-made meals rather than ordering takeout (sorry, Seamless).
And a 2013 Healthways study of 20,000 American workers found that workers who ate healthy throughout the day are 25 percent more likely to have higher job performance. So providing food at the office can be a good thing — as long as the programs address health as well as hunger.