Effective communication within the workplace is paramount, especially when it comes to disseminating crucial information regarding retirement plans. By fostering transparent communication, employers can bridge the gap between themselves and their employees, cultivating a work environment grounded in trust and productivity. This communication is vital as it directly impacts employees’ benefits and financial well-being.
Employers have a variety of communication tools at their disposal. Email communication stands out as one of the most reliable methods. Employers can regularly send updates and detailed explanations directly to employees’ inboxes, ensuring simultaneous dissemination of information. Incorporating visual aids like charts and infographics in these emails can simplify complex information, making it more accessible. Additionally, email newsletters can provide consistent updates, highlight essential deadlines, and offer tips on maximizing retirement benefits.
In-person or virtual meetings also serve as effective communication methods. Town hall meetings or departmental gatherings provide a platform for discussing changes in person, allowing employees to ask questions and receive immediate answers. For remote or dispersed teams, virtual meetings via platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams can be equally effective. These meetings can be recorded and made available for employees who cannot attend, ensuring everyone remains informed.
Employers can further enhance communication by utilizing the company’s intranet or a dedicated HR portal. These platforms serve as a central repository for posting updates, FAQs, and detailed guides on retirement plans. This ensures that employees have continuous access to accurate and up-to-date information, regardless of their preferred communication style or work location.
At the conclusion of a recent TPSU program held at The University of South Florida in Tampa, Fred Barstein, President and CEO of TPSU, interviewed Gary, a senior HR advisor and HR director for a small direct patient care delivery firm with fewer than 100 employees. Gary emphasized the importance of employing various communication methods, starting with the recruitment process. Utilizing the 401k as a tool to retain employees was highlighted as particularly beneficial.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU. Just completed a program here on the University of South Florida in Tampa. I am here with Gary. Welcome, Gary.
Gary:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
Okay, if we ask you a few questions?
Gary:
Absolutely.
Fred Barstein:
Okay. Before we do, tell our audience a little bit about yourself and your organization.
Gary:
Sure. As you noted, my name is Gary. I’m in a role as a senior HR advisor and HR director for a small firm under 100 employees, and we do psychological services, direct patient care delivery.
Fred Barstein:
Great. One of the things you talked about that really caught my attention was you have lots of communication with your employees in different ways. Can you explain what you do?
Gary:
Sure. There’s a number of things that came out and really developed in the group presentation, a group meeting that we did over the working lunch, which was a great program, and the communications breadth is really what came across, getting plan information and getting contact points with employees at multiple things that you wouldn’t necessarily think of.
So we talked about how you can do that through recruiting. Starting off in terms of the way you describe your benefits plan and talk about the value that 401K can bring, in enhancing your recruiting content. And then also recognizing that even when you have people coming in, first become eligible, that you take advantage of making a personal contact, reminding them that they’re going to think about health insurance, but they shouldn’t forget about their financial insurance, so to speak, and the financial value that a 401K plan brings, and even a 403B if they’re in that plan.
And bringing along… So that personal contact at enrollment. And then tying it with open enrollment was really an idea that I won’t take credit for. Someone in my group said, “Look, we need to make sure that we put it into our open enrollment brochure.” And the person said that, “I drove my insurance broker nuts because I wanted to add these pages at the back of the brochure. They think it’s all about their benefits. Well, it’s all about my benefits.”
Communicating with the employees at these multiple touch points… The other point that one I came across is one that you hear, and again, someone else in my group put it forth and said, “Don’t forget the annual escalation clauses that come through from the IRS.” They get announced and they get press around the announcement. You see the announcement, “And what I’ve done is,” this person said, what they’ve done is taken that announcement and use it as a reminder to say, “Let’s make sure I tell my employees about it, too.” So there’s another contact point. So it becomes four or five distinct contact points that occur both in the life cycle of the employee and the life cycle of an annual run through the calendar year.
Fred Barstein:
Constant communication. That’s great. Final question, and a couple of things you learned here. Would you recommend the program?
Gary:
Sure. I think the takeaways here for me today, and this by the way, is I’m happy to tell you and those who are watching, it’s the third time I’ve come to a program with you and I appreciate it very much. And I always say I come for the credits, but it’s a takeaway. So the takeaway for me was the interaction. And I found today’s working lunch program much more valuable than I had previously. And I was thinking, “Oh, I don’t know where it ran.” But this was a dynamic experience with hearing… And what worked and was really smart was putting us together with like-sized companies and like-sized people in terms of our challenges. So, we were able to talk about our providers, we were able to talk about our communication problems and successes. We’re able to talk about the advisors and the component pieces that run together and the record keepers.
So that one of those takeaways today for me that was really important is that sense of being able to put a total evaluation of my plan. What have I got? Because I have a newer plan and I’m thinking about how I’m running that as an HR department of one. So that’s a huge takeaway. The other is the awareness about reaffirming, which is a reason I came. And it’s really reaffirming what I think I know because there’s always that big block of you don’t know what you don’t know, and then you think you know what you know? So, affirming what I know is really important, and it’s certainly delivered in that today.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Well, thank you for your time.
Gary:
Thank you for your time. And I thank you.
Fred Barstein:
Thank you. And thank you for watching 401K TV. Please stay tuned.
