Employee benefit plan administration may be enhanced by involving workers and getting their input to enhance program design and communication.
If a group of employees supports a plan, then HR and managers may be able to use their enthusiasm and interactions with their peers to increase the number of workers who buy into the plan or any changes being made to it, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. This may involve distributing surveys to a sample group of workers, establishing focus groups, creating a task force which will promote and educate workers about a specific benefit offering or establishing advisory committees to assess benefits in general.
Such a group can serve as a sounding board when HR and management are considering changes to benefit offerings, giving the employees' perspective and voicing potential concerns before changes are implemented. If a new benefit offering is planned, they can help determine the best way to explain and present it to workers.
They may also help with design, by offering input on whether they would like to enroll in voluntary programs and why, among other activities. This can avoid difficulties that might arise from cutting a popular program or implementing benefits that few will use, the news source notes. However, employers who will be unable or unwilling to seriously consider and act on these employees' concerns may be better off without establishing such a group.
