Chapter 10

Cases 1. The last few years have been great for your career. All your work has paid off with a recent promotion that came with a nice pay increase for you. Your new position is your dream job and it is well worth all the time and effort you invested to get here. While your new job will be challenging, your new manager has made it clear that finding balance between your work and your personal life should be a priority. She has watched you work hard and knows you worked many extra hours to be successful. She has already shared that she is concerned that your pace of work is not sustainable. And you know she is probably right. Unfortunately, your hard work over the last few years as taken a toll on your overall health, and you agree with your new boss that it is time to make a change. A few years ago, your company implemented a high-deductible, health-care insurance plan and as a result you realize how much you are spending on health care. Through this program, you pay for your health-care expenses using your Health Savings Account (HSA). As you now make payments for your health-care expenses through your HSA, you realize that you have had to seek medical attention quite often for illnesses, which you are told are related to your unhealthy behaviors. As your job grew more stressful a few years back, you picked up some bad habits that have not helped you. In addition to unhealthy eating and limited exercise, you also started smoking. You recently attended an educational program presented by your companys human resource department about your health-care insurance program and other health-related benefits such as the company wellness program. After the program, you are feeling a little more motivated to start dedicating some time and effort to improving your health. The company program informed you about the costs of health-care insurance and made it even more clear that now is the time to change your behaviors. The human resource manager page 288also shared that the company might be shifting some policies that will make it even more important to make a change. The smoking in particular is problematic as you were told you could actually lose your job if you keep smoking. Youre not sure if that is true or not, but it is enough to concern you. As you look through the information you received at the program, you realize you are fortunate to have an employer that offers such generous employee benefits. You start thinking about your exciting new job, and you are glad that you attended the program your company offered to learn more about the benefits. As you go online to the companys benefits Web site to search for some specifics, you know now is the time to take advantage of some of the resources offered to you. What kind of benefits programs can help you improve your health? Beyond just feeling better, why is it worthwhile for you to take advantage of these benefits?

2. As she hangs up the phone, Human Resources Director Alexis Rayes knows that Riverside Resorts needs to dedicate some renewed efforts to communicating about employee benefits. The second employee this month has called her directly to complain about not being able to change his contributions to his Flexible Savings Account (FSA). All employees should know that these changes can only be made during the open enrollment period. This call has confirmed to her that not all employees read the communication about the FSA benefit. And Alexis is pretty sure that the FSA is only one of several benefits that employees do not fully understand. Riverside Resorts has grown quickly since the first location opened its doors more than 10 years ago. Four more resort locations were added after the companys first year, and Alexis was hired at that point to establish human resource management practices including a generous employee benefits package. Two years ago, the company doubled in size when they bought out a competitor. Now with more than 1,500 employees in two states, each of the companys 10 resort locations has more than 100 full-time employees working in roles such as front-desk operations, dining room services, and hotel maintenance. Like many companies in the hospitality industry, Riverside has a relatively high employee turnover rate, and Alexis knows that a good understanding of the generous employee benefits package offered by the company should positively impact employee retention. However, the companys most recent benefits utilization report highlights the fact that employees are not taking advantage of all of the benefits offered. There are several optional benefits such as the company 401(k) plan that are not utilized by all employees. Her suspicion is that employees may not know about all of the benefits or if they do know, they may not have a full understanding about benefit options. When the company was smaller with only five resort locations, Alexis visited each location during the annual benefits enrollment period and held information sessions to go over the benefits options and answer questions. But as the organization grew, she found she did not have time to visit all of the locations. Instead, she set up a website portal with enrollment forms and details about the companys benefits offerings. Prior to the open enrollment period, she sends all employees an e-mail message with a reminder to visit the portal. Alexis also believes it would be valuable to provide employees an opportunity to share with others across the company their experiences with different benefits options. For example, last year, they rolled out a new Health Savings Account (HSA) option, but only a couple page 289of the resort locations have a high number of employees who enrolled in the program. She has heard from General Managers that some employees at low-enrollment locations dont understand if the HSA option would be good for them, and so they stay with the plan they already have. Alexis is convinced if there was a way for employees to ask each other questions, then enrollment might increase in this attractive new option. The annual benefits enrollment period is just a few months away. Alexis has decided that she needs to discuss the communication plan with her team. She is fortunate to have several employees in the human resource department who have previously worked in resort locations. She is sure they will provide her with some helpful insights on how to improve the companys benefits communication plan.

Why is it important for Riverside Resorts to improve their employee benefits communication? What should Alexis do to improve the companys benefits communications?