Newest research report shows employers how to use a retail mindset to
drive participation in and satisfaction with their benefits programs
COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, which supports more than
80,000 of America’s businesses and their employees, released Monday a
new research paper that shows employers who want a more effective
benefits enrollment for their employees need to think like retailers.
Choosing benefits should be viewed as a consumer purchasing decision,
according to Colonial
Life’s “Building a Better Benefits Enrollment: Using consumer behavior
to create more effective enrollment.” The paper uses research by
Colonial Life, Unum and industry organizations to show employers how
employees make benefits decisions and the communication and enrollment
strategies they can use to increase participation in and satisfaction
with the benefits plan.
“Financial protection benefits are more important than ever for
America’s workers during these tough economic times, and the rise of
benefits technology means the way they’re purchasing those benefits is
changing,” said Richard Shaffer, vice president of enrollment at
Colonial Life. “One of our challenges is to combine the power of the
traditional high-touch personal counseling session with those emerging
technologies.
“Employers have a great opportunity to help their employees obtain the
protection they and their families need by presenting and structuring
benefit choices in ways consumers best receive them and making benefit
recommendations and advice available to employees on-line and offline.”
Interesting findings in the research include:
-
Employees strongly indicate they want choice in their benefits, but
offering an overwhelming number of options can negatively affect
decision-making and purchasing.
-
Employers can encourage participation by informing employees about the
numbers of their coworkers who have enrolled and what benefits others
are choosing.
-
“Nudging” employees to make an active choice on each benefit option
encourages them to become better educated about their needs and
options to meet them.
-
Three weeks is the optimal time frame for employees to adequately
review benefits materials and make good decisions for enrollment, and
dramatically increases satisfaction with the benefits education and
enrollment process.
-
Younger employees — often assumed to be most comfortable with a
completely online process — may benefit most from personal assistance
offered by one-to-one benefits counseling sessions.
The white paper is the latest in an ongoing series of research briefs
produced by Colonial Life to help position the company as a thought
leader in financial protection benefits, communication and enrollment.
About Colonial Life
Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in
providing financial protection benefits through the workplace, including
disability, life, accident, cancer, critical illness and hospital
confinement insurance. The company’s benefit services and education,
innovative enrollment technology and personal service support more than
80,000 businesses and organizations, representing more than 3 million of
America’s workers and their families. For more information visit www.coloniallife.com
or connect with the company at www.facebook.com/coloniallifebenefits,
www.twitter.com/coloniallife
and www.linkedin.com/company/colonial-life.
Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company
Chris Winston,
803-678-6997
cwinston@unum.com
Source: Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company