Media Feature
Courtney Perez in SHRM: Helping Employees See the Value of Benefits
With employee financial stress high, Perez shares how peer stories, total rewards statements, and year-round education can make benefits feel more valuable.
Author
Article Summary
A new SHRM article examines how employers can help employees understand and appreciate their benefits at a time when financial strain is high. Courtney Perez, OneDigital’s vice president of education and engagement, shares practical ways to make that value clear, including peer testimonials, total rewards statements, and education that runs year-round.
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Getting employees to pay attention to their benefits during open enrollment has long been a challenge for employers.
This year the task carries more weight. In a new SHRM article, This Open Enrollment’s Task: Making the Value of Benefits Clear, Courtney Perez, vice president of education and engagement at OneDigital, shares how employers can help employees recognize what their benefits are worth. The article notes that employee financial stress has hit recent highs and that many workers say wages aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living.
Making Value Visible
Perez said hearing from colleagues is one of the best ways to help employees feel the value of their benefits. “Employees will listen to other employees,” she told SHRM. A peer explaining how a benefit helped their family through a medical event, or how pet insurance saved them money, can make coverage feel more real.
She also emphasized helping employees understand how their own choices affect their wallets. That includes preventive care, provider choices, deductibles, and other plan elements. The goal, she said, is not only to reduce costs for the employer but to show employees how they can save.
Employees often see only what they pay for their benefits, not what their employer is investing in them. Total rewards statements show the full picture, making them a tool for both retention and recruitment.
OneDigital’s recent employee value perception research shows why this matters: just 54% of surveyed employees reported a high level of understanding of their health insurance, and 53% said the same about their retirement benefits. Perez noted that benefits education should not be limited to open enrollment. Employees who learn about their options throughout the year may arrive at enrollment less stressed, with a clearer view of how their choices affect their finances and a greater appreciation for what they have.
Read the full article here: This Open Enrollment’s Task: Making the Value of Benefits Clear