BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE®
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
CORPORATE EXECUTIVE BOARD
Designing and Implementing High-Impact Work–Life ProgramsFebruary 2010
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LEGAL CAVEAT
The Benefi ts Roundtable has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to its members. This report relies upon data obtained from many sources, however, and the Benefi ts Roundtable cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information or its analysis in all cases. Furthermore, the Benefi ts Roundtable is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Its reports should not be construed as professional advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. Members requiring such services are advised to consult an appropriate professional. Neither The Corporate Executive Board Company nor its programs are responsible for any claims or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in their reports, whether caused by the Benefi ts Roundtable or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by the Benefi ts Roundtable.
3
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TODAY’S DISCUSSION
Employee Preferences for Work–Life Benefi tsContext
Realizing theFull Value from
Work–Life Off erings
Conclusion and Roundtable Resources
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
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4
Many organizations will need to further alter their benefi ts plan designs, as health care cost infl ation continues to strain budgets.
■ Average health care costs will continue to increase, with an average increase in 2009 of 6.4% and projections of increases in 2010 of approximately 6.9%.
■ This continued cost pressure will require many organizations to further adjust plan designs; 48% of Roundtable members already anticipate the need to redesign plans.
■ To do so eff ectively, organizations must strike the right balance between achieving cost-reduction targets while doing a minimal amount of damage to the value that employees receive from their benefi t plans. Even organizations that do not need to further cut costs will want to ensure they are maximizing the impact of their plans on employees.
INCREASING COST REQUIRES FURTHER PLAN REDESIGN
Average Health Care Cost Increases2004 Through 2009
Per
cent
Incr
ease
Running Blindfolded with Scissors“This is hard. Cutting a budget isn’t hard, but cutting it in the right way is extremely hard.
Our biggest problem is we have no idea what the real impact of our plan changes will be on employees. Are we cutting the wrong elements? Cutting too far? I hope not.”Senior Vice PresidentCompensation and Benefi tsFortune 100 Technology Company
Benefi ts Roundtable Membership Top Plan Design PrioritiesSelect Priorities for 2010
Source: Mercer Consulting.
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
7.5%
6.1% 6.1% 6.1%6.3% 6.4% 48%
37%
Cutting Costs
Increasing the Value Employees Receive
from Benefi ts
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Work–life balance is a key employment value proposition (EVP) element for driving attraction and commitment.
■ Work–life balance elements are the number-two driver of attraction for U.S. employees and can have a 35% impact on employee commitment; employees who are committed work 57% harder and are nine times less likely to leave.
■ As the U.S. economy improves in 2010, employers whose business also improves will need to recruit new talent and keep their existing solid performers. Even employers whose business does not improve or worsens will still need cost-eff ective tactics for holding on to their best talent.
PREPARING FOR THE RECOVERY
Respondents Rating EVP Element in Top Five for AttractionU.S. Employees
Impact of Element Delivery on Commitment
U.S. Employees
58%
42%39% 39%
36% 35%32%
26%
Per
cent
age
of
Res
po
nden
ts
Rat
ing
in T
op
Fiv
e fo
r A
ttra
ctio
n
EVP Element EVP Element
Max
imum
Imp
act
on
Co
mm
itm
ent
Co
mp
ensa
tio
n
Fu
ture
Car
eer
Op
po
rtu
nit
y
Wo
rk–L
ife B
alan
ce
Wo
rk–L
ife B
alan
ce
Sta
bili
ty
Co
mp
ensa
tio
n
Hea
lth
Ben
efi t
s
Hea
lth
Ben
efi t
s
Source: Corporate Leadership Council, EVP Design Center, 2009.
6
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CONJOINT SCORES DEFINED
Importance Scores—These show the relative sensitivity that employees have to change in a particular benefi t compared to other benefi ts. A higher score means that employees are relatively more sensitive to changes in the benefi t.
Value Scores—These show the relative value that employees perceive for diff erent levels or characteristics within a benefi t. A higher score means that employees assign that level/characteristic more value; value scores can be compared to each other.
The Benefi ts Value Survey used conjoint preferences techniques to determine the value employees place on diff erent benefi ts and diff erent levels of those benefi ts.
■ Conjoint surveys require respondents to actively select which of several benefi ts packages is of greatest value; the diff erent benefi ts packages have diff erent designs, forcing the respondent to implicitly trade off diff erent benefi t levels.
■ The resulting scores provide more realistic assessments of employee preference than surveys that ask for preference of individual attributes in isolation; they also allow an apples-to-apples comparison among diff erent benefi ts and levels of them.
■ Organizations can combine conjoint scores with actuarial costs to provide an ROI of each benefi t, thereby creating a measure of return.
IDENTIFYING SMART PLAN CUTS OR CHANGES
Sample Conjoint Trade-Off QuestionHealth Plan Design Module
Survey Window: July 2009
CAVEAT
Employee perceptions of benefi ts provide a critical component in making plan design decisions, and one that is often overlooked. However, there are other considerations organizations may want to take into account that are not embedded in these scores.
These include:
■ Costs (can be combined with preferences to calculate returns),
■ Company philosophy, and
■ Competitiveness.
n = 5,000.
7
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TODAY’S DISCUSSION
Employee Preferences for Work–Life Benefi tsContext
Realizing theFull Value from
Work–Life Off erings
Conclusion and Roundtable Resources
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
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VACATION IS COMPARABLE TO CASH
Employee Importance Scores for Select Benefi ts
Paid vacation is by far the most highly valued work–life benefi t and is almost as important as base salary.
■ Paid vacation ranks sixth in relative importance to employees when compared to all other benefi ts, making it more highly valued than retirement off erings and nearly as valued as base salary.
■ Vacation’s high value score means that employees will be relatively more sensitive to changes—either cuts or enhancements—to it than to other benefi ts with lower scores.
■ The comparability between the value scores of paid vacation and base salary (they diff er by just two points) means that the impact of base pay cuts or freezes on employee value can be at least partially mitigated by providing additional paid time off .
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
5856
5148
24
20 19 19 1917
13 13 1210 9 8
Bas
e S
alar
y
Pai
d V
acat
ion
Co
ntr
ibu
tio
n t
o
Ret
irem
ent
Pla
n
Ou
t-o
f-P
ock
et
Max
imu
m
Tele
com
mu
tin
g
Per
son
al L
eave
On
-Sit
e D
ayca
re
Vac
atio
n
Car
ryo
ver
Lim
it
Fle
xib
le W
ork
S
ched
ule
Sic
k D
ays
Use
of
PTO
Ban
k
Ch
ildca
re D
isco
un
t
Em
erg
ency
Day
care
Pat
ern
ity
Lea
ve
Mat
ern
ity
Lea
ve
Co
mm
un
ity
Ser
vice
Lea
ve
Work–Life Benefi ts
Non-Work–Life Benefi ts
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VACATION MATTERS MORE NOW
Employee Importance Scores for Selected Work–Life Benefi ts2007–2009
Paid vacation increased in importance while other work–life benefi ts experienced modest declines.
■ Economic uncertainty may partially explain both trends: News reports of unpaid furloughs and mandatory time off with no or reduced pay could drive employees to value the opportunity to take paid time off from work even more.
■ Similarly, concern over potential layoff s could be leading employees to want to put in more “face time” at the offi ce, making fl exible scheduling and telecommuting options less attractive.
5355
23
19
2724
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009; Benefi ts Value Survey, 2007.
Paid Vacation Flexible Work Schedule Telecommuting
2007
2009
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EMPLOYEES PREFER VACATION TIME TO SICK TIME
Employee Value Scores for Paid Vacation and Sick Leave
Employees show a strong preference for vacation over sick time.
■ Employees generally perceive roughly two to three times as much value from paid vacation days as they do from the same number of sick days.
■ However, if only fi ve days of paid time off were being off ered, employees would rather receive sick leave than paid vacation.
■ While employees do care about having some minimally suffi cient number of paid sick days as an insurance policy, the marginal change in perceived value is a lot more substantial from increasing the number of available vacation days than from sick days.
■ Employers with separate vacation and sick days that provide more than 10 sick days per year have an opportunity to improve employees’ perceived value of their time off benefi ts by converting some of those days to paid vacation.
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
0.32.4
17.6
10.4
44.5
13.7
55.5
17.3
5 10 20 25
Paid Vacation
Sick Leave
Number of Days Off ered
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PTO PLANS ENHANCE THE VALUE OF VACATION
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Paid Time Off (PTO) Arrangements
PTO banks that allow employees to use more of their time off for vacation increase employees’ perceived benefi ts value.
■ Partly as a result of employees’ preference for paid vacation over sick leave, employees also show a marked preference for consolidated paid time off (PTO) banks versus discrete vacation and sick leave amounts. Employees value the fl exibility aff orded to them under a PTO arrangement, since they can choose to use as much or as little of it as they would like for personal vacation/time off .
■ The good news is that this preference aligns with the existing trend for employers to move toward PTO banks: 60% of organizations have this type of arrangement.
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
9
13
Separate Vacations and Sick Days Vacation and Sick Days Combined in a PTO Bank
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(SOME) VACATION CARRYOVER CARRIES VALUE
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of Vacation Carryover
Vacation or PTO plans that allow employees to carry over unused days provide a substantial increase in value.
■ Plans allowing employees to carry over up to 10 days per year (the average amount for plans with carryover features) generate 15 points of employee value more than plans that off er no carryover provisions.
■ There are diminishing marginal returns to off ering additional carryover days. Going from no carryover to 10 days creates 1.6 value points per day. However, going from 10 days to 20 days only creates 0.3 value points per day.
■ Barring any legal reasons not to do so, organizations should not allow carryover of more than 10 days per year.
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
1
16
19
No Carryover Up to 10 Days a Year Up to 20 Days a Year
Going from no vacation carryover to allowing up to 10 days to carryover results in a 16-fold increase in employee value…
…but doubling the carryover limit to 20 days adds little incremental value.
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A LITTLE FLEXIBILITY GOES A LONG WAY
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of Flexible Scheduling
The value employees perceive from fl exible work arrangements increases as the level of fl exibility increases—but only up to a point.
■ For example, allowing employees to shift or reschedule 100% of their work hours in a given week creates less value than allowing them to shift or reschedule just 25% to 50% of their work hours.
■ Similarly, allowing employees to telecommute fi ve days per week creates slightly less value than allowing them to telecommute three or four days per week.
■ It may be that the economic climate of the past year has tempered employees’ preferences for the highest levels of fl exible work arrangements; in times of uncertainty—and potential layoff s—they want to ensure they have at least some “face time” in the offi ce.
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of Telecommuting
3
1314
8
1
20
2423
100% NotOff ered
1–2 Days/Week
3–4 Days/Week
5 Days/Week
50%25%0%
Percentage of Work Hours That Can Be Shifted, Rescheduled, or Canceled in a Given Week
The bulk of the value employees perceive from fl exible scheduling and telecommuting benefi ts comes from a relatively low level of the off ering.
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EMPLOYEES DON’T CARE MUCH ABOUT CHILDCARE
Employee Importance Scores for Work–Life Benefi ts
Childcare benefi ts tend to matter less to employees, even relative to other work–life benefi ts.
■ However, on-site daycare is somewhat of an exception: Its employee importance score is slightly above the average for work–life benefi ts.
■ Organizations wanting to provide childcare assistance for reasons of competitiveness, organizational cultural, etc., should fi rst consider on-site daycare, purely from an employee value perspective (although costs should also be evaluated).
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
56
24
20 19 19 1917
13 13 1210 9 8
Pai
d V
acat
ion
Tele
com
mu
tin
g
Per
son
al L
eave
On
-Sit
e D
ayca
re
Vac
atio
n
Car
ryo
ver
Lim
it
Fle
xib
le W
ork
S
ched
ule
Sic
k D
ays
Use
of
PTO
Ban
k
Ch
ildca
re D
isco
un
t
Em
erg
ency
Day
care
Pat
ern
ity
Lea
ve
Mat
ern
ity
Lea
ve
Co
mm
un
ity
Ser
vice
Lea
ve
Average = 18
Childcare discounts and emergency daycare are below average in importance, even relative to other work–life benefi ts.
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15
7
1819
Off ering childcare benefi ts that are relatively costly for employees does not help—and may even hurt—employee value.
■ Off ering an expensive ($1,000 per month) on-site daycare option to employees is worse than not off ering it at all, in terms of employee value.
■ Purely from an employee value perspective, organizations that are going to off er childcare benefi ts should make them available at relatively low costs to employees. However, organizational culture, costs, competitiveness, or other factors should also be considered—along with the fact that even off ering free on-site daycare provides only a modest increase in employee-perceived value.
CHILDCARE BENEFITS THAT CREATE HIGH EMPLOYEE COSTS DON’T CREATE VALUE
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of On-Site Daycare
…but even off ering free on-site daycare provides only a modest increase in employee-perceived value.
Going from not off ering any on-site daycare to off ering it at a cost of $1,000 per month for the employee results in a nearly 50% decrease in perceived value…
Not Off ered Off ered for $1,000 per Month
Off ered for $500 per Month
Off ered at No Cost
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
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Off ering midlevel amounts of maternity and paternity leave creates the most employee value.
■ Employees prefer one month of maternity leave to two months and one month of paternity leave to three months.
■ Reducing leave amounts can generate modest improvements in employee value (although organizational culture and competitiveness should also be considered).
■ The growing presence of Generation Y employees in the workforce may be a contributing factor: Those who are less likely to use the benefi t still value having a “basic” amount available, but perceive overly generous off erings to be unfair.
■ In addition, those employees who do take advantage of parental leave benefi ts may worry that if they are away from work for too long, they will be “forgotten.”
OFFER PARENTAL LEAVE—UP TO A POINT
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Amounts of Maternity Leave
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Amounts of Paternity Leave
8
9
6
4
10
9
Off ered as Legally Required
One Month Beyond Legal
Requirement
Two Months Beyond Legal
Requirement
Not Off ered One Month Three Months
Employees perceive the greatest value from parental leave benefi ts when just one month off is made available.
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
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1
6
14
20
Employees prefer shorter, at least partially paid leaves (for sabbaticals or eldercare) to longer, unpaid leaves.
■ For example, employees perceive up to one month of personal leave with 50% of salary as more than twice as valuable than up to three months of personal leave with no salary.
■ Employers off ering unpaid leave should be mindful of the fact that employees’ concerns over lost salaries could dissuade them from taking advantage of the benefi t when they really need it.
MONEY, NOT TIME, MATTERS FOR PERSONAL LEAVE
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of Personal Leave
Not Off ered Up to Three Months with
No Salary
Up to One Month with 50% Salary
Up to Three Months with 50% Salary
∆ = 133%
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
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Employees place relatively little importance on time off for volunteering or community service.
■ While employers may have many reasons for wanting to provide community service leave (e.g., adhering to company values, generating goodwill in the community), they should not expect this type of benefi t to have much of an impact on employees’ perceived value of their benefi ts package.
■ Employees prefer fl exibility in their time off : Paid vacation matters more than sick leave (which can only be used when you are sick), and PTO banks (which let you use up to all of your time off for vacation) are preferred to discrete vacation and sick leave off erings. The constraints associated with many community service leave programs—such as limits on what activities can be done—likely contribute to their relatively modest impact on employee value.
COMMUNITY SERVICE LEAVE GENERATES GOODWILL, BUT NOT MUCH EMPLOYEE VALUE
Employee Value Scores for Diff erent Levels of Community Service Leave
3.7
8.17.8
Not Off ered Up to Five Days a Year Up to 10 Days a Year
Source: Benefi ts Value Survey, 2009.
19
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TODAY’S DISCUSSION
Employee Preferences for Work–Life Benefi tsContext
Realizing theFull Value from
Work–Life Off erings
Conclusion and Roundtable Resources
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
20
83%
50%
44%
37% 36% 36% 36%
31%29%
27%
22%20%
17%15%
11% 11%
Roughly 70% of employees are not aware of their employers’work-life programs.
■ While almost all employees know about and understand their organization’s vacation or paid time off policy, most do not realize they also have access to a wide array of “non-core” work-life off erings.
UNDER–UTILIZED BENEFITS
Employee Awareness of Work–Life Off erings
Vac
atio
n
Per
son
al In
sura
nce
Fle
xib
le S
ched
ulin
g A
rran
gem
ents
Tele
com
mu
tin
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pti
on
s
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un
selli
ng
Ser
vice
s
Em
erg
ency
Lea
ve
Rem
ote
Wo
rk A
rran
gem
ents
Co
mm
un
ity
Ser
vice
Lea
ve
Op
tio
nal
Wo
rklo
ad A
dju
stm
ents
Per
son
al T
ime
Par
enta
l Lea
ve
On
-Sit
e D
ayca
re
Co
nci
erg
e S
ervi
ces
Par
t-T
ime
Wo
rk O
pti
on
s
Job
-Sh
arin
g
Sab
bat
ical
Lea
ve
Per
cent
age
of
Em
plo
yees
Aw
are
of
Off
erin
g a
nd H
ow it
Wo
rks
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31% Disagree
35% Neutral
34% Agree
21% Disagree
29% Neutral
50% Agree
Only a third of all managers promotework–life balance and benefi ts, leading employees to discount and under-utilize those benefi ts.
■ Lack of manager support leads to employee assumptions that do not promote the use of work–life programs.
THE PERCEPTION OF WORK–LIFE INFLUENCES ITS USE
“My Manger Promotes the Use of Work–Life Programs Off ered by My Organization”Percentage of Employees Agreeing or Disagreeing
“In Order to Get Ahead in This Organization Employees Should Work Long Days and Be Available All of the Time”Percentage of Employees Agreeing or Disagreeing
Source: Corporate Leadership Council research.
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22
The most cost-effi cient method for using work-life balance is to increase employee knowledge of these programs and change employee and manager perceptions of them.
INFORM AND CONVINCE TO ACHIEVE ROI
Benefi ts Decision Readiness Stages
Knowledge:Understanding the Off ering
Perception:Evaluating the Off ering
Behavior:Using the Off ering
Theme “I know what benefi ts I need, and I know what this off ering does.”
“I want (to use) this off ering.” “It’s worth the price right now.”
Sample Benefi ts Objectives
■ Increase employee awareness of an off ering
■ Remind employees of an upcoming date or event
■ Inform employees about a specifi c off ering change
■ Increase employee perceived value of an off ering
■ Change employee perceptions toward certain benefi ts
■ Increase employee participation in a benefi ts activity
■ Increase usage of one off ering over another
Information Needed
■ What is this work-life program?
■ How will it help me balance my work and personal responsibilities?
■ How well does this off ering help me balance my work and personal responsibilities?
■ What are some of the specifi c advantages to participating in this work-life program?
■ Are there any drawbacks or costs associated with this work-life off ering?
■ Why is it important for me to begin taking advantage of work-life off erings now?
■ Will the improvements in my work-life balance outweigh any drawbacks, such as decreased “face time” in the offi ce?
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A RECOMMENDED COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Communication Strategy for Changing the Perception of Work–Life Benefi ts
The Roundtable’s communication framework recommends four steps for changing employee perception.
Segment communications to allow for targeted messaging, focusing on managers and key employee segments.
Carefully focus content to answer “what’s in it for me.”
The “what’s in it for me” should focus on diff using the perceived risk of using the benefi ts as well as promoting the positiveaspects of the benefi ts.
The “what’s in it for me” should focus more on tangible examples of how productivity can be maintained, or increased, with the use of work–life programs.
■ Through communications
■ By example
Use senior management as a communication source to lend credibility to the organization’s commitment to work life programs
Leverage coworkers as a communication source to further promote the programs to their peers.
1 2 3 4
EMPLOYEES
MANAGERS
+ +
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A SAMPLE COMMUNICATION
Pearson’s Work-Life NewsletterExcerpt
Pearson’s work-life newsletter emphasizes the mental and physical health benefi ts of taking personal time away from work.
For a growing number of people, there’s a surprising antidote to thoseWinter Blues: winter gardening! Whether indoors or out, gardening andthe nurturing of living things can improve your mood… and your health.
LET IT GROW… INDOORSFor many, the subtle joys of indoorgardening are the winter focus. With theground frozen outdoors, a flowerpot canyield a world of benefits. In studies, indoorplants have been shown to reduce stress,while moderating indoor humidity andactually cleansing the air you breathe, thusreducing your chances of catching an
airborne bug. Plant herbs and have the added benefit of a tasty boostto your winter menu!
One word of caution: if you do bring any new plants into yourhome, keep them separate from your existing plants until you’re surethey’re not bringing in any unwelcome pests.
To light up these dark winter nights, you could plant an amaryllisbulb. Available in a spectrum of beautiful colors at your local gardencenter, tend them well in a well-lighted space and you’ll have ablossoming amaryllis to lift your mid-winter spirits!
PLAN NOW FOR THE SPRINGOne of the great delights of gardening is the anticipation of newgrowth and new beauty in the lengthening days to come. Therefore,you might choose to focus your energies on plans for the comingspring (it may not seem like it sometimes, but it is coming!).
Go through gardeningmagazines for ideas you maywant to try. Keep a journal of
the ones you like. Read up on subjects you’re curious about: there’salways something new to learn, even for a Master Gardener. Which,incidentally, you might choose to become. Odds are a nearby collegeor university offers the requisite horticultural courses on flower andvegetable gardening, insect pests and plant diseases, trees and shrubs,and landscape design. Or you may prefer to expand your knowledgevia the seminars offered through many township recreationdepartments and community college night schools.
Getting together with friends in a garden book club is another niceway to combine the love of gardening with a chance for casualsocializing to break up the winter doldrums.
Whatever way you choose to enjoy winter gardening, you’ll find themental and physical health benefits will surely grow on you.http://gardening.about.com
THANKS FOR READING
WORKLIFE WATCH.PLEASE SEND ANY FEEDBACK TO
PERSONAL TIME
4
JANUARYNATIONAL SOUP MONTH Now thatNational Gazpacho Day (December 6) and
National Bouillabaisse Day (December 14) are past, you cancheer up the winter days in a month-long celebration of soup:one of the most comforting of comfort foods. Nutritious, easyto make, and as diverse as your own imagination, soup can be aquick snack or a main course (and if it’s chicken soup, a virtualmedication). To plan your soup celebration, log on atsoup.allrecipes.com, where you’ll find 1,250 reader-submittedsoup recipes, complete with reader reviews!
FEBRUARYHEART HEALTH MONTH Local chaptersof the American Heart Association willcelebrate throughout the month with eventsdesigned to raise awareness of heart-related health issues (as wellas funds). For instance, were you aware that heart disease andstroke are the #1 and #3 killers of women today? To learn aboutevents in your area, log onto americanheart.org and look upyour local chapter under “Local Info.”
MARCHNATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MonthThe theme for this year’s celebration is“Women Change America.” Since PresidentCarter issued the first Presidential Proclamation calling onAmericans to remember women’s contribution to America,women as diverse as blues singer Ma Rainey and aviator AmeliaEarhart have been honored for their role in transforming oursociety and continuing to move it forward. To learn more, logon to the National Women’s History Project site at nwhp.org.
DID YOU KNOW?
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From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
IMPLICATIONS
Implications for Work–Life Benefi ts
1. Communicate work–life benefi ts to drive attraction and commitment. Particularly as the economy improves and labor markets tighten, work–life benefi ts will be a cost-eff ective way to help keep and acquire talent. Employers looking to use work–life off erings to drive attraction and commitment should use communications to emphasize benefi ts that are more important to employees, like paid vacation or telecommuting.
2. Off er more vacation if you have to cut pay. Since employees value paid vacation almost as much as cash compensation, the impact of base pay cuts or freezes on employee perceptions can be mitigated somewhat by off ering additional paid time off , which is likely to cost the organization less.
3. Build more fl exibility into vacation plans. Design elements that enhance employee control or fl exibility over how much vacation to take when, such as a consolidated paid time off (PTO) bank or carryover feature, can generate substantial increases in employee value.
4. Take a closer look at parental leave benefi ts. While organizational culture and competitiveness also need to be considered from a standpoint of employee perceptions, many employers can safely reduce the generosity of parental leave benefi ts.
5. Enhance the generosity of childcare benefi ts—or cut them. Organizations that want to provide childcare coverage for competitive or other reasons should consider relatively more generous off erings to address employee preferences and promote utilization; low amounts of these benefi ts (i.e., where childcare is available but relatively expensive for the employee) can hurt employee value.
26
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
TODAY’S DISCUSSION
Employee Preferences for Work–Life Benefi tsContext
Realizing theFull Value from
Work–Life Off erings
Conclusion and Roundtable Resources
27
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
9.312.7 15.5
19.8 21.5
Be Cautious of Going to $20 for Generic Drugs
There are certain thresholds that employees are especially loathe to cross
Generic Prescription Drug Co-Pay
Employee Value
$30 Co-Pay
$25 Co-Pay
$20 Co-Pay
$15Co-Pay
$10 Co-Pay
Going from a $15 co-pay for generic drugs destroys 4.3 “value points” compared to 1.7–3.4 for all other tested changes of equivalent magnitude.
BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE PLAN DESIGN RESOURCES
Get comprehensive and unlimited benchmarks for 10 benefi ts by size and industry.
Identify design changes that increase perceived value or lower costs using data-driven guidance.
BENCHMARK PLAN DESIGNS TARGET HIGH-RETURN DESIGN CHANGES
To Access Roundtable Resources: Go to www.br.executiveboard.com. Click on the Topics tab. Click on the Plan Design Center link.1 2 3
Save time, lower consulting spend, and reduce overall benefi ts spend.
Plan Design Benchmarking—Medical Plans
Industry: All Employee Size: AllFortune 100/500: All Number of Observations: 458
Annual DeductibleThe chart below shows the average annual deductible for full-time employees as single enrollees in different types of medical plans.
Average Annual Deductible, Employee Only
$512
$927
$457
$879
$45
$417
$28$275$215
$539$416$485
$1,343
$1,766
All Plans Type 1 Type 2
Medical Plan Type
Type 4 Type 5 Type 6
In-Network Out-of-Network
Type 3
RESOURCE: PLAN DESIGN AND POLICY BENCHMARKING CENTER
RESOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PREFERENCES SERIES
28
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
Key FeaturesTarget ompany fiTa n- es
eIn -momen xper roups
Benefi ts Roundtable ConsultingHelping benefi ts executives and their teams reduce consulting costs andincrease staff effi ciency by providing end-to-end assistance for major projects and supporting the day-to-day management of key benefi ts processes
BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE PLAN DESIGN RESOURCES
Use our online modeling tool to evaluate your plan designs and compare plan changes.
Work directly with a senior consultant or use ourproject plans and tools to complete your project.
MODEL VALUE AND COST IMPACT NEW! GET EXECUTION SUPPORT FOR PLAN DESIGN PROJECTS
To Access Roundtable Resources: Go to www.br.executiveboard.com. Click on the Topics tab. Click on the Plan Design Center link.1 2 3
Save time, lower consulting spend, and reduce overall benefi ts spend.
RESOURCE: BENEFITS VALUE ASSESSMENT TOOL
RESOURCE: DIY AND ADVICE-BASED CONSULTING
Plan(s) PPO Proposal #1 PPO Proposal #2 PPO Proposal #3
Component(s) Level Value Level Value Level Value
Annual Deductible $500 (single)/$1,000 (multiple)
17.5 $625 (single)/$1,250 (multiple)
13.3 $1,000 (single)/$2,000 (multiple)
0.8
Health Premium Share
$35 (single)/$95 (multiple)
38.8 $75 (single)/$150 (multiple)
28.9 $50 (single)/$100 (multiple)
35.1
Generic Drug Co-Pay
$12.50 copayment
20.7 Employee pays 15%
15.4 $22.50 copayment
14.1
Monthly 401(k) Match
.75/$1 match, $200 max
46.9 .75/$1 match, $150 max
42.1 50 cents per dollar match (max of $150/month)
36.7
Paid Vacation 2 more weeks 24.7 Half a week more
7.1 1 more week 14.3
Total Value 402 354 342
29
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE COMMUNICATION RESOURCES
Save time and reduce consulting spend by using the Roundtable’s suite of online, project support resources to develop plans and create employee benefi ts communications.
Audit your plan’s eff ectiveness and get targeted recommendations to increase impact on employee benefi ts knowledge and decisions
Defi ne your strategy to launch high impact campaigns that achieve your benefi ts objectives
Work directly with a senior consultant or use our project plans and tools to complete your project
EVALUATE YOUR PLAN’S EFFECTIVENESS
TAILOR READY-TO-USE PLAN DOCUMENTS
NEW! GET EXECUTION SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATION PROJECTS
RESOURCE: BENEFITS COMMUNICATIONS AUDITOR RESOURCE: COMMUNICATION PLAN PRESENTATIONS RESOURCE: ROUNDTABLE CONSULTING SERVICES
To Access RoundtableCommunications Resources: Go to www.br.executiveboard.com. Click on the Topics tab. Click on the Benefi ts Communications link.1 2 3
30
From the BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE ®of the www.br.executiveboard.com
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE COMMUNICATION RESOURCES
To Access RoundtableCommunications Resources: Go to www.br.executiveboard.com. Click on the Topics tab. Click on the Benefi ts Communications link.1 2 3
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Pull quote goes here and hereand here. Pull quote goes here
Use simple pictures andillustrations to break up thelook of “heavy” text and makethe brochure more inviting.
Use examples to answer the“how does this affect me”question.
Use two column layout.
Use bright colors to give theimpression of simplicity.
49%
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2
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nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem
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Main Head Goes Here
Use bullets to simplify messages.Rephrase paragraph text whennecessary.
Third-level Head
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labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad
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Low(under 10%)
Medium(10–30%)
High(over 30%)
Sample of a Bar Chart
Title of chart goes here
40%
30%
20%
10%
Use a variety of headers tobreak up text. Vary the colorof headers by level to addinterest.
Use charts and graphs to reinforcemessages. Keep labels simple and usedata relevant to your audience. Forexample, if average salary is $30,000,don’t use $75,000 in an example.
Jump-start the communications creation process by drawing upon content and layout ideas used by your peers
Use professionally designed templates, ready to “cut and paste” text, and formatting advice proven to be eff ective
Work directly with a senior consultant or use our project plans and tools to complete your project
REVIEW SAMPLE COMMUNICATIONS FROM PEERS
BUILD CUSTOM COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS
NEW! GET EXECUTION SUPPORT FOR COMMUNICATION PROJECTS
Save time and reduce consulting spend by using the Roundtable’s suite of online, project support resources to develop plans and create employee benefi ts communications.
RESOURCE: SAMPLE COMMUNICATIONS LIBRARY RESOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS BUILDER RESOURCE: ROUNDTABLE CONSULTING SERVICES
BENEFITS ROUNDTABLE®CORPORATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
CORPORATE EXECUTIVE BOARD
© 2010 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. BR5555810SYN
For more information:
Catherine ChoeSenior Director, Benefi ts [email protected]
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