This article was contributed by Q4i and was originally posted on their blog.

I doubt anyone disagrees that having good communication with employees is a core business necessity. But I don’t believe everyone really understands and/or appreciates the critical role it plays in employee engagement, and particularly as it relates to the benefits package. As health plans become more complex within an organization, the communication must also increase along with it. And as generations in the workplace become further separated with vastly different life experiences and expectations, communication must take on a different face and role with the employee population.

Brokers and advisors have been communicating employee benefits packages for decades and relatively little has changed over time. Employee enrollment meetings, printed enrollment guides, benefits websites: pretty standard stuff that resembles broadcast communication, and a look-it-up-yourself approach.

When we put the importance of benefits into context of the balance sheet for the company, and the relative importance to the employees, it begs the question: Should we be doing more to help our employees understand and value of the benefits package so we can better attract and retain team members?