To Engage or Not to Engage

There has been a lot of discussion on employee engagement recently.  And, there should be.  The research that started the buzz has demonstrated that engaged employees drive greater profitability, lower costs, higher client satisfaction and better quality.   Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet.  Several factors are reported as instrumental in building an engaged workforce and the blending of them is the art that sets companies and leaders apart.

In my experience, I have found communication of benefits to be a key area that most companies need to improve upon.  Benefits used to be simple: a person paid a small deductible and then a portion of the remaining balance, then the insurance or employer picked up the rest.  Now, benefits are confusing and expensive and the complexities are not easily communicated in the basic carrier handouts the employee gets once a year.  It takes more time to explain the benefit package and field incoming questions than ever before.  And, employees that feel like they’re on their own in trying to figure it out can lead to lower productivity and engagement.

There are other parts to employee engagement, to be sure, such as trust in leadership, opportunities for growth and a culture of teamwork.  Communication is a key driver in all of these and when it is tapped into correctly, it can make the difference whether to engage or not engage.

Lon Wilson is President of The Wilson Agency and has several professional licenses in employee benefits industry, including a Life and Health insurance license for the states of Alaska & Washington, as well as Securities Licenses 7, 63 and 65 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

There has been a lot of discussion on employee engagement recently.  And, there should be.  The research that started the buzz has demonstrated that engaged employees drive greater profitability, lower costs, higher client satisfaction and better quality.   Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet.  Several factors are reported as instrumental in building an engaged workforce and the blending of them is the art that sets companies and leaders apart.

In my experience, I have found communication of benefits to be a key area that most companies need to improve upon.  Benefits used to be simple: a person paid a small deductible and then a portion of the remaining balance, then the insurance or employer picked up the rest.  Now, benefits are confusing and expensive and the complexities are not easily communicated in the basic carrier handouts the employee gets once a year.  It takes more time to explain the benefit package and field incoming questions than ever before.  And, employees that feel like they’re on their own in trying to figure it out can lead to lower productivity and engagement.

There are other parts to employee engagement, to be sure, such as trust in leadership, opportunities for growth and a culture of teamwork.  Communication is a key driver in all of these and when it is tapped into correctly, it can make the difference whether to engage or not engage.

Lon Wilson is President of The Wilson Agency and has several professional licenses in employee benefits industry, including a Life and Health insurance license for the states of Alaska & Washington, as well as Securities Licenses 7, 63 and 65 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).