There is a large gap between employee goals and how they comprehend their benefit plans, finds a new survey by the ADP Research Institute, a provider of human resources management, payroll and benefits administration services.
In fact, 80 percent of HR decision-makers say employees fully understanding their benefit options is crucial, but they believe only about 60 percent of their own employees do.
"With many employees asked to take on greater responsibility for managing their own benefits, there is room for improvement by HR departments to engage employees in the decision-making process," says Tim Clifford, president of benefits services at ADP. "With the power of Web-based and mobile technologies and decision support tools, we have new, innovative and cost-effective ways of educating employees and helping them make critical choices anytime and anywhere."
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The survey also reveals that 66 percent of mid-size employers and 36 percent of large employers do not have employee communications budgets. This is unlikely to change any time soon because HR decision-makers at approximately half of the surveyed companies say their budgets have remained the same over the past year, and few expect it to increase in the next one to two years.
Among the surveyed companies with a budget, 47 percent of large employers and 53 percent mid-size employers say their budgets have remained the same in the last year.
Most HR respondents say decision-support tools help employees better understand their benefits and overall engagement, but 72 percent of large employers and 51 percent of mid-size employers don't provide them. Another 53 percent of large employers and 50 percent of mid-size employers offer these tools the entire year while 23 percent of large employers and 33 percent of mid-size employers only provide them during open enrollment and other qualified events.
The survey shows that one out of five large companies not providing decision-support tools expect to do so over the next couple of years; however, 49 percent do not expect to and 31 percent say they are unsure. Only 13 percent of mid-size employers not currently providing decision-support tools anticipate offering them in the next year or two. Thirty-eight percent of mid-size employers will not provide decision-support tools, and 49 percent are unsure of their plans.
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