Page 293 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

280B RE-ENGAGE

Communicating directly, openly, and honestly about these issues.
Quantifying the commitment the company has to its employee
program through a four-year communications and education
program around Total Rewards. Producing an annual total re-
wards summary mailed to employee homes outlining the invest-
ment the company makes to employees and highlighting all that is
offered.

This is a struggle every year, because we are experiencing rising
costs each year like most companies. I think the one thing that I try
to do is to tell employees the facts. I have open meetings with them
and I show them the numbers and share what the firm is paying,
and compare it to what they are paying so they see we are still con-
tributing the greater percentage of the cost. We are also trying to
educate them to be better consumers in purchasing health care and
make better decisions in drug selection, physician visits, etc. We
have recently introduced a high-deductible health plan, which is
helping them to make better choices.

3. Communication goes both ways. Winning employers actively listen, so
employees feel the communication is two-way:

We utilized the same surveys that we use with our customers to
identify what employees really want/need. Then we tailored our
benefits programs to meet their needs and wallet. Most of our team
members are looking for learning and development opportunities
as well as challenging work assignments. Things like health and
disability insurance were secondary.

Since we are employee owned, we ask our employees to help make
decisions on what benefits are important to them. Do they want
to invest more in the health and dental plans, qualified plans, or
education and training? If the employees are helping to make those
decisions, they are much happier with the outcome.