One way to improve employees’ understanding of the benefits you provide them with:

Plan to meet with them one-on-one a few more times than usual this year.

Nearly 90% of company execs think one-on-one meetings between a benefits counselor and each employee would significantly improve workers’ understanding of their benefits, found a recent Colonial Life survey.

In addition, 92% of employers feel it’s very important to their business for employees to understand and appreciate their benefits.

Only 1 in 4 to increase efforts

But what’s surprising is that only 27% of businesses plan to increase benefits communication, found a separate Watson Wyatt study.

So conducting more face-to-face meetings between Benefits and individual employees could be a great way to set your company apart.

The differences between the employee retirement benefits offered by large companies and those offered by small and mid-size companies are shrinking rapidly.

A recent Watson Wyatt study found 55% of companies in the Fortune 100 only offer their employees defined contribution (DC) plans — 401(k), etc. — as opposed to traditional defined benefit (DB) plans — like closed or frozen pension plans.

That’s a big jump from having 46% of employers who only offered DC plans a couple of years ago — and it marks the first time that a majority of Fortune 100 companies are only offering DC plans.

The study also found that an increasing number of Fortune 100 employers are offering hybrid pension plans — account-based cash balance plans, etc. — instead of traditional DB plans.

If your company doesn’t have the funds to provide nutrition counseling as a benefit, it can be done informally — for far less. How?

With signs, handouts and — the best way — healthier options in vending machines.

To help employees cure the mid-day munchies — and stay healthy — the American Dietetic Association recommends keeping these top 10 healthy noshes around the office:

• bagels (encourage employees to top them with cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta instead of cream cheese)

• bananas (a great source of energy)

• bran muffins

• broccoli (try with a low-fat dip)

• cantaloupe

• carrots

• Mexican-style beans (as long as the brand doesn’t contain too much sodium)

• string cheese

• tuna (if mayo is needed, it’s got to be low-fat), and

• yogurt (but only if it’s non-fat or low-fat).

Employers shouldn’t wait around to see what happens with the Employee Free Choice Act. 

Even if Congress makes it easier to form unions, improving benefits communication today will help make sure your staff is satisfied with what you’re offering — and keep organizers at bay.

Here are three things worth giving to employees now to keep them happy and let them know exactly how much they’re getting from their benefits:

Total comp statements

These statements let employees know that you have much more invested in them than salaries.

Despite the effectiveness of this tool, only 43% of employers provide total comp statements, according to the 2009 Metlife Study of Employee Benefit Trends.

Key: Make sure the statements are personalized and clear to all employees. For example, break statements down into short, easy to understand sections (e.g., salary, health care and retirement).

Decision-support tools

Employees love to have tools (like Web-based calculators) to help them make decisions about their benefits.

These tools also boost employee satisfaction with their benefits.

One worth trying: MetLife’s free Employee Benefits Simplifier. It helps employees decide which benefits are right for “them” and even suggests coverage levels.

Off-season education

Outside of enrollment season, meet with employees and explain each part of your benefits package individually. Example: One month hold a meeting that explains your dental plan. The next month meet to discuss the vision benefits you offer.

This info will boost employees’ satisfaction and confidence in their enrollment decisions and increase participation when enrollment rolls around.

What are some things you do to educate employees about their benefits? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Has your company taken this necessary step to ensure it’s not paying a penny more than it needs to for health care? If not, you could be wasting some serious cash.

The move all companies will want to make: conducting a dependent eligibility audit. It’ll ensure everyone you’re paying for is still eligible for coverage.

The last thing any company can afford to do these days is foot the bill for folks who are no longer entitled to receive your health benefits.

The payoff is there for the taking: Companies that conduct dependent audits see an immediate 3%-10% drop in dependent care expenses, found Aon Consulting in its new Benefits and Talent Survey.

This time of year, accidents are just waiting to happen. The most likely to put a dent in your workers’ comp and disability bill? 

Slip and fall accidents.

The causes are easy to spot:

• Icy or snowy sidewalks, steps, etc.
• It’s dark when employees leave, so there’s less viability when employees are heading home, and
• Wet floors — either from the water and mud that gets dragged in on workers’ shoes or from trying to clean salt tracked in from outside walkways.

But preventing these seriously expensive injuries takes some stick-to-itiveness. Here are some ways HR and benefits pros can help make sure they don’t run up high medical bills:

• Make sure someone (preferably your facilities manager) conducts a safety survey regularly, both within and outside your facility to identify hazardous areas
• Have the person any problems immediately, and
• Keep a paper trail of all inspections and corrections to prove your company made a good faith effort to correct hazards — which will help avoid a lawsuit if someone got hurt.

Deciding whether after-hours work is de minimis is tricky. When in doubt, it may be best to assume all work is compensable.

What happened?

The federal Customs and Border Protection Service (CBPS) had its enforcement officers launder towels after work hours without pay. The officers sued, saying they should’ve been compensated for the time they spent laundering towels.

The CBPS fought the suit, saying the work was de minimis and therefore wasn’t compensable.

Result

Because the officers’ off-duty activities were limited because they had to sit and monitor washing machines, a court said their activities weren’t de minimis — and they should be paid for their time.

The court said the employees were “engaged to wait” (which is compensable) while the washing machines ran. They weren’t “waiting to be engaged” (not compensable).

It was a costly mistake. The CBPS had to pay nearly $300,000 in OT.

Source: Bull v. U.S.

New guidance has been issued by the Department of Labor to end the confusion surrounding COBRA subsidy eligibility.

While the feds are offering up a 65% nine-month COBRA premium subsidy to workers involuntarily terminated in the period between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009, some who lost their jobs during that time won’t be eligible.

What would keep a terminated employee from being eligible for COBRA? Being covered by their former employer’s health plan through Dec. 31, 2009.

As a result, the worker wouldn’t be eligible for COBRA until Jan 1, 2010 — just missing the cutoff for the subsidy.

On the other hand, if the person was terminated by Dec. 31 and was eligible for COBRA, he or she could receive the subsidy for a full nine months — even if that nine-month period extends well into 2010.

Two bills have been introduced to extend and even expand the COBRA subsidy, but the fate of the legislation remains unclear.

Whatever you call it — H1N1, Swine Flu — the illness du jour is definitely a distraction to your entire workforce.

From fears of the coughing co-worker in the next cubicle to heated debates over whether or not to vaccinate, everyone has the flu on the brain these days.

So how can you keep the panic to a minimum and maximize productivity?

• Communicate your contingency plans. People have to be wondering what your company has planned should this turn into a full-blown pandemic. Assuming your company has a plan, it’s time to make sure all your workers are in on it.
• Educate employees. An informed workforce is a less jumpy workforce. Try an info blitz on H1N1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a Web page devoted to the virus. Your state health department also has info. You could even bring in a doctor to debunk myths.
• Encourage short breaks. When employees are stretched too thin, their immune systems can get run down — increasing their chances of getting sick. Keep an eye out for staffers who look stressed or overworked, and encourage them to take a break.
• Know the law. What’s worse than having employees out sick? Getting hit with a labor law violation because of your policies about sick workers run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Here is a list of guidelines that’ll help make sure your policies are OK with Uncle Sam.

You probably can’t afford to heap a bunch of new benefits on employees these days. But you can encourage them to take advantage of a growing trend that’s helping folks recharge and save money.

More employees are choosing to tack vacation days onto the end of company business trips. One in four even put it through a business travel account, according to Business Travel News.

The advantage is that the company picks up the tab for the employee’s transportation, and the employee just has to pay for loved ones to come along — a big plus in this economy.

Just put Payroll on alert to be extra vigilant when auditing expense reports. Make sure the company only foots the bill for the business portion of the trip.