How many employees know what their compensation package is actually worth?
But many employees aren't aware of all the benefits and perks they have, let alone appreciate how much they bring to the table financially, so what's to stop them from thinking there are better options elsewhere? It's up to companies to showcase the reasons talent should want to join and stay with them, and total rewards statements (TRSs) that offer a clear breakdown of someone's entire compensation package are a good way to start.
"For most of my clients, it's been about, 'What can I get in the hands of my recruiters to get people to come to work?'" says Heather Smith, VP of HR strategy and CPO at Flimp, an employee benefits communication platform. In a previous role, her employer also used TRSs to remind people of all the benefits they had — something especially impactful if annual salary increases were not as high as people were hoping, she says.
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Flimp just released its own TRS product, which employers can customize with their branding and a personalized greeting from leadership, an overview of the monetary value of all an employee's pay and benefits, and an explanation of each benefit listed. The TRSs are ready for employers to distribute within two weeks via whatever channel they choose, such as by email or text message.
"The way it's delivered to the employee is huge," she says. "Once somebody can go through that, see it and read it, it resonates. A lot of focus then goes away from just base pay."
Smith shares three ways TRSs benefit businesses and their employees.
Remind employees of what they have
TRSs are an easy way to increase employee awareness and appreciation of their benefits and perks throughout the year, as they can be easily updated and redistributed at any time. An example would be sending them out during or right after open enrollment, and then again if there is a salary increase or other shift throughout the year, Smith explains.
She adds that by keeping total reward information fresh and presenting them as they pertain to life stages — like parenthood or retirement — talent is less likely to think the grass is greener someplace else.
"If I'm [younger], I may not pay attention if you're talking to me about pensions or something down the road," she says. "[Employers] are also creating a total rewards showcase with us, where it's a standing document all the time for [employees] to go and look at what they have."
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Increase benefits understanding and engagement
With all the commotion around open enrollment, lots of valuable benefits communication can get lost in the shuffle. Employees who don't have consistent access to a computer are especially vulnerable to missing important information when it is sent via email or requires access to a website.
"There needs to be a way to explain benefits, but not just in a two-week window of open enrollment where they have to gather all the information and retain it," Smith says. "What we're doing is creating it for the HR teams to then just disperse. You know there will be engagement because you just delivered it to them."
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A win-win for HR
Done efficiently, TRSs are a light lift for HR teams that produce big outcomes, Smith says.
"Not having to burden HR is huge — that's the employer piece," she says. "For the employee, it really shows that your employer cares about you by giving you individual reward statements and not just saying, 'Go to a website with all of our benefits and figure it out.'"
