Benefits: Adult Education

Other employees may need a different message altogether: that flex-time arrangements won't harm their careers. Surveys have shown that many employees maintain a traditional 9-to-5, office-based work life because they believe that taking advantage of flexible arrangements will limit their growth potential. "You have to create a culture where workers feel comfortable with such options," Gockel says.

Ernst & Young uses its internal newsletter to profile teams that accommodate different members' schedules, and when it announces a promotion to partner it also describes any "reduced time" arrangements that apply, to stress that flex-types aren't second-class citizens. Nontraditional schedules take time to catch on; companies that offer them should be prepared to communicate the details clearly but expect some lag time before employees embrace their new options.

All in all, companies would do well to think of benefits as a second paycheck badly in need of a stub. A solid communications plan can meet that need, and persuade valued employees to stick around.

Josh Hyatt is a contributing editor of CFO.

For Benefits, a Decisive Decade
Percentage of employers who…

Provide pension plans:
1998: 48%
2008: 29%

Offer wellness programs:
1998: 51%
2008: 60%

Contribute to retirement plans:
1998: 91%
2008: 81%

Permit some flexibility in hours:
1998: 68%
2008: 79%

Source: National Study of Employers (2008), Families and Work Institute

78: Percentage of employees who named benefits as a critical retention tool
75: Percentage of employees who named compensation as a critical retention tool

Source: Emerging Workforce Study, Spherion Corp. and Harris Interactive

Telling Details

To effectively communicate with employees about their company benefits, treat them like customers. That means grouping based on specific needs, then tailoring a message for each niche. "You've got to have a value proposition, even if it's just that 'We're all here to make money,'" says Christian M. Ellis, senior vice president at Sibson Consulting. Some factors to consider:

What are your workers' demographics? Younger workers are likely to be interested in building a healthy foundation — both fiscally and physically. They want to know why they should put aside even small sums of money for retirement, and their health concerns run more toward fitness rooms than seminars. Older workers may need counseling on how to plan for retirement, and their health needs may be more focused on disease-management programs.

What form of communication will reach them? Putting information on a Website or intranet may be effective for reaching those who are under 40, but older workers will still be attached to paper. Even so, test different delivery options: Do payroll-stuffers grab them, or would they rather receive information at home, where they can talk it over with their spouses?

When do they want to hear from you? Quarterly communication is probably enough. "You don't want to become an employer version of 'helicopter' parents," says Steve Miranda, of the Society for Human Resource Management. "They want to know you care, but they don't want to feel smothered." — J.H.

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