With retirement programs, too, much of your effort will be spent finding the right plan and getting employees to see the value in it. Typically, remodelers seek the advice of a professional to help them choose and administer a plan. Some remodelers have independent financial advisors, but you can also go directly to a financial services institution, such as a bank, an investment fund, or an insurance company. Their representatives can help steer you toward the right plan.
UNDERSTAND THE PLAN Whether it’s health insurance, a retirement plan, or something less complicated, setting up the program is only the beginning. Making sure employees know what they’re being offered is just as important.
“The challenge is helping production really understand the benefits that are available to them and to really make sure that we are communicating effectively,” Wadsworth says.
At Winans Construction, Paul and Nina Winans motivate the Oakland, Calif., company’s employees to study company policies and programs, and strive to constantly reinforce that knowledge.
“We set up a cycle where these things get spoken about regularly,” Paul says. “We have weekly production meetings, and every fourth week, we go through items in the employee manual; we ask questions about the manual and people acquire points for correct answers.” Employees who earn enough points can win prizes such as new tools.
Thanks to the increasing popularity of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs), which offset high deductibles with lowered premiums, educating employees about health insurance has never been more difficult. The idea behind these plans is that employees can use the savings that result from lower premiums to fund accounts that they can draw on later when expenses arise. Employees, however, often struggle to see the benefit.
“Education is probably the greatest obstacle that employers face in getting employees to recognize the value of [consumer-directed plans],” says Trent Bryson, an HR consultant.
The key is to emphasize the savings that employees will realize through lower premiums and tax deductions.
“All too often,” Bryson says, “the complaint from employees is that they’re reluctant to set money aside because they don’t want to take time to think about what their expenses are going to be. But if you said to an employee, ‘I’ll give you $1,000 to sit down for 20 minutes to think about your expenses,’ they’d do it right away.”
Retirement plans also require a substantial educational effort, says benefit expert Richard Davis. Failing to communicate the value of the program will surely result in disappointing employee participation.