"
The study concludes that if employers hope to create informed healthcare
consumers, they must show employees what healthcare benefits really cost ,
information on the quality of healthcare providers, and the tools needed to
make wise healthcare buying decisions.
Meetings were given the highest value ranking as a communication method among
employers . Additionally, companies that cannot hold their health care
budgets down as a share of total compensation have higher turnover rates for
top performers. "Employers can spend huge sums of
money on benefits , but if their employees aren't aware of the cost or don't
appreciate the value of the benefits, they aren't going to see a return on
their investment."
Furthermore, the analysis suggests that , as the increasing costs of health
benefits crowd out cash wages, turnover rates for top-performing employees
increase.

hrd enhancing

"Personalized benefits statements -- or total compensation statements --
seem to be the best way to let employees know how much a particular benefit
costs, but they don't provide detailed plan information. Wells Fargo Bank, N.

asean organizational

S.
"As salary budgets continue to be squeezed by the rising cost of health
benefits, it's essential that employers couple effective benefits
communication with longer-term strategies - such as health management and
consumer-driven health plans - to control health care costs," said Yates. Together the companies operate as Watson Wyatt
Worldwide, with more than 5,900 associates in 88 offices in 30 countries.

ownership human

, with a concentration among private
employers with 1 to 500 employees. is the only bank in the
United States to receive the highest possible credit rating, "Aaa," from
Moody's Investors Service. "If
employers attempt to offset rising health benefit costs by continually cutting
back on other forms of compensation , their turnover rates -- especially among
top performers -- will really take a hit.

organizational involvement

"It's clear our respondents are using cost-containment strategies to meet
today's challenges, but do so more now by shifting to higher copays,
coinsurance, and out-of-pocket user costs," said Dennis Donahue , Acordia's
national benefits practice leader."
The study found, however, that employees better understood the value of
their benefits when their employer used personalized benefits statements or
the Internet as the primary means of communicating with employees. Respondents with more than
500 employees were more than twice as likely to provide employee education in
print media.
The tenth employee benefits survey conducted by BPS+M surveyed
414 employers representing 378 ,631 employees, of whom 339,105 are eligible for
healthcare benefits. Its 4,500 insurance professionals
place in excess of $8.

Communication Plays Critical Role in Improving Retention Power of Health Benefits Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds

Corporate offices are in Washington, D.

communicate benchmarking

Personalized benefits statements may well be the best way to help employees
understand the dollar value of their health plans.
Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services (ITS) provides benefits
consulting, health benefit services, investments, retirement plan management
and comprehensive trust and custody solutions for institutional clients., with over 150 offices in 38 states. Among employers that offer less
costly benefits but have effective communication strategies, the average
turnover rate is 12 percent among top performers. The effectiveness of the communication about the value of the
benefits is clearly the determining variable - not the richness of the benefit
package itself.-based Watson Wyatt LLP , a privately held, limited-
liability partnership.

scanlon retention

Within a few years, employers will be hiring young people who will not know
what it was like to live without the Internet," said Tange-duPre.

Acordia, Inc.A. WASHINGTON, How well a company
communicates the value of its health benefits can do more to retain top-
performing employees than the actual richness of the benefits themselves ,
according to a new analysis by Watson Wyatt, a leading human capital
consulting firm.

servant erc

"The Internet is a good resource for information but nothing is more
effective than employee meetings for effective health plan enrollment," said
Donahue.

erc benchmarking

"New data mining tools, benchmarks and technology are
just now helping to get our arms around the real cost drivers of continued
medical inflation ," said Donahue.com. Companies that participated in the
study spend, on average, 11 percent of their total compensation budgets on
health care benefits.

scanlon openbook

The survey was conducted by Wells Fargo companies Acordia, Inc
and Bryan, Pendleton, Swats + McAllister (BPS+M, a Wells Fargo Institutional
Trust 's benefits consulting group).

servant productivity

Personalized Benefits Statements Best Way to Communicate Employee Health Plans Says New Study

Tools for Educating Employees -- Larger organizations are more willing to
educate employees on healthcare costs. Respondents with more than 500 employees were four
times more likely to provide Internet-based media than those with 500 or fewer
employees.com) across North America and
elsewhere internationally.B.

servant human

K.

employee advances

It also found that
personalized benefits statements contributed greatly to employee comprehension
of their plans.5 billion of risk premiums with expertise in property,
casualty, benefits, international, personal lines and life products.

These findings correspond with the results of Watson Wyatt's WorkUSA(R)
2004 study.

scanlon employee

Fewer than four percent ranked
healthcare quality issues as a "major issue" and only one in four considered
it a significant one. Its
benefits consulting group, BPS+M, provides a full range of services focusing
on the design, implementation, administration and communication of retirement
plans, health and welfare programs and nonqualified deferred compensation
plans.

C.

productivity retention

"

About Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Watson Wyatt Worldwide is one of the world's leading human capital
consulting firms, providing services in the areas of employee benefits, human
capital strategies and related technology solutions. The firm is a global
alliance between U.

fellow productivity

BPS+M and Acordia Find Access to Essential Employee Information, Like
Comparative Quality of Care, Increases with Employers Size and
Willingness to Use Internet

CHICAGO, A new national survey, citing
a slowdown in the increase of healthcare costs (down to less than 12 percent
in 2004, from 15 percent in 2003), also named key information like real costs,
quality of care , and communication tools as factors that determine employees'
comprehension of their healthcare benefits . Respondents represent a variety of organizations of all
sizes and from all regions of the U.Kelly@bpsm .5 percent among top performers.

productivity human

"Smaller employers simply may not be giving enough credit to the impact of
the Internet," said Donahue.-based Watson Wyatt + Company, a publicly traded company
(NYSE: WW), and U.

human executing

Key findings include:

Communication Methods -- How employers communicate about healthcare plans
influences how well employees understand the true cost of their benefits.

"
Cost of Poor Quality Care -- Since the cost of poor quality care is a
"major driver" of healthcare costs, an important step in empowering employees
to make wise purchasing decisions is to provide them with comparative
information about the quality of different providers.8 percent.

involvement fellow

Yet, less than half of
employers surveyed requested quality of care data from their broker or
consultant on networks and physicians. Among companies whose health benefits account for more than 14
percent of their employees' total compensation, the average turnover rate is
12.

fellow executing

"We know that young, computer-savvy individuals
are entering the workforce every day. The number of Internet users is growing.
"The results really drive home the fact that effective communication is
vital for employers if they want to see returns on their health benefit
investments and retain top talent," said Kathryn Yates , global director of
communication consulting at Watson Wyatt. But among companies whose health benefits
account for less than 10 percent of their employees' total compensation, the
average turnover rate is only 8.S.

advances ownership

"During the enrollment process, employees benefit most by receiving
initial information on the Internet, but they need the personal touch through
group or person-to-person meetings to ensure that they understand their
benefits.

ownership enhancing

The study, "2005 Trends in
Employer Sponsored Health Benefits Survey Analysis," attributes the slowdown
in costs to a combination of factors such as cost saving measures and market
response after years of rapidly increasing prices. For that, you need a
summary plan description, which could be available in print or online," said
Kathie Tange-duPre, BPS+M Communications Consultant. Size is also a factor in an organization's reliance on the
Internet to communicate. Supplementing rich benefit
programs with effective communication practices yields employers an even lower
average turnover rate of only 8 percent for top performers.

scanlon openbook

Only 22 percent of surveyed employees at organizations that
poorly communicate the value of their rich benefit programs are satisfied with
their benefit package., and Reigate, England.

servant involvement

However, interest is certainly
gaining momentum . "Making summary plan
descriptions and forms available online is cost-effective for employers
because they don't need to spend money on inventory and storage -- and
convenient for employees and HR.S ., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo + Company, is the world's fifth
largest insurance brokerage and the largest bank-owned insurance broker in the
U.
Wells Fargo + Company is a diversified financial services company with
$428 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage
and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than
6,000 stores and the Internet (wellsfargo.

For complete survey results: Amanda Kelly at 615-665-5345,
Amanda.
In its analysis, Watson Wyatt found that, among employers that offer rich
benefits but have poor communication strategies, the average turnover rate is
17 percent for top-performing employees.

involvement organizational

"Respondents also appear cautious about
adopting Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs), citing issues ranging from the
complexity of communicating the plans, the lack of attractive pricing, and the
concerns about their own HRIS capabilities. Conversely, 76 percent of employees at organizations
that effectively communicate the value of less rich benefit packages are
satisfied.

productivity employee

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- - kjjkjk

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