As an employer, you work hard to attract, retain and motivate talented employees. You offer competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits and a range of perks and incentives. However, many employees don’t fully understand or appreciate the value of all of this together and how it makes up their total rewards and compensation. This lack of understanding, in turn, can negatively impact motivation, engagement and job performance.
And this is where effective communication comes in. Helping your employees understand the total rewards you offer—take-home pay, benefits, retirement, etc.—is crucial to employee retention and company performance.
Here’s why:
Total rewards help employees understand the value of their compensation.
A total rewards statement conveys the total value of an employee’s compensation and benefits—not only take-home pay but also the cost associated with each of the benefits you provide (health insurance, disability, life insurance, retirement contributions, etc.). By communicating the value of these benefits effectively, you can help employees understand the full range of what they are receiving.
We always encourages personalizing your total rewards statements so each employee sees the value of what they specifically received, not just the general or average value to all employees. By seeing dollar figures next to each of their benefits—as well as personalized information on HSA contributions, retirement plan matches, etc.—they begin to understand the multiple ways their employer invests in their well-being—both financially and otherwise.
Our other best practices for total rewards statements include:
- Employer-branded pieces to reinforce the company’s commitment to employees
- Visuals with infographics, tables or pie charts that are easy to understand
- Sharing a short message from leadership to reinforce the value that the company places on its employees
These reports can be sent via mail or email, and there are benefits to doing it each way.
- Sending a personalized total rewards statement to the home signifies its importance and allows it to be more easily shared with a spouse.
- Sending a personalized total rewards statement via email allow you to track open and click-through rates and send targeted follow-up emails to those who haven’t opened it.
Keep in mind: One reason to consider “pushing” information to employees rather than solely relying on them to “pull” information on their own is that it ensures the information is delivered and received in a timely and consistent manner. Bonus: Your employees have the information at their fingertips, and no action is required by them!
Total rewards can increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
Employees who feel informed and engaged in their benefits packages are more likely to be satisfied with their overall compensation and stay with the company longer. In addition, employees who understand the value of their total rewards and compensation are more likely to be motivated to achieve their goals and contribute to the success of the company.
Ready to personalize your total rewards communications? We can help. Simply reach out at helloindy@westcomm.com to get started.
