News you can use: CFOs most concerned about benefits

New survey from the folks at Grant Thornton shows that CFOs are eyeing benefits. The firm recently asked about 700 CFOs and other financial executives "which types of pricing pressure are you most concerned about?"

54.97% said employee benefits (e.g., health care, pensions)
40.20% said energy
38.74% said raw materials (e.g., food, metals)
16.81% said insurance
12.43% said other
4.82% said commercial property

And while it might be tempting to read the use of "concerned" in the question as a euphemism for cut, the experts over at GT say not so fast. Check back here on Monday for a podcast of EBA Editor Robert L. Whiddon's recent interview with some of the brains behind the survey.

Employees deserve needs-based selling, too

During a recent online discussion of strategies for successful worksite enrollments, it became clear that a broker/adviser will frequently conduct a needs-based sale with the company's C-suite or other benefits decisionmakers but not with individual workers.

Once the venue shifts to the worksite and individual enrollments, the focus switches to product attributes. The consensus coming out of our online discussion was that individual employees need the needs-based pitch as well. Talking product intricacies when the worker doesn't understand the big picture benefits of a critical illness program or other type of voluntary benefit is a recipe for poor participation, according to our experts.

Check out the archive of our recent discussion and let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Do your employees get a detailed explanation of how the benefits offered at the worksite meet their needs? Or, is the presentation more focused on coverage limits and other product attributes?

New you can use: Health care quality varies widely by region

While it’s kind of a “no duh” headline, it is also important to remember. The National Committee for Quality Assurance’s new report shows that New England plans perform better than the average and that South Central plans fall short of the average. What’s more the group notes that HMOs generally score better than PPOs. PPOs trail HMOs significantly in several areas, according to the report, like follow-up after hospitalization for mental illness and persistent beta-blocker treatment after a heart attack.

NCQA urges that any health reform proposal include the following to further reduce disparities in care quality by geography:

-Require routine quality measurement and reporting by all health plans and providers.
-Establish benchmarks for improvement in each region of the country.
-Enact reforms that tie payment to the quality of care delivered.

Cost is also known to vary widely by region. That’s caused some to consider medical tourism. At our recent national conference, I was reminded that doesn't have to mean India as Northeastern residents could fly first class across the country to receive comparable care at a much lower cost. So what are you doing to take advantage of quality and cost disparities to serve your employees and improve your bottom line?

News You Can Use: More tips for talking about the financial chaos with workers

Here are some more tips on what to cover when talking about the financial crisis with employees courtesy of Lynn Unsworth and CAI, a Greensboro, N.C.-based employer services group.

1) Don’t give employees financial advice.
2) Educate employees on their options.
3) Bring in investment advisors to meet with employees.
4) Help employees avoid looking at their 401(k) performance every day.
5) Release a benefits statement to all your employees.
6) Reassure employees that their money is safeguarded.

Listen to our conversation with Unsworth to hear her elaborate on each of these suggestions.

How can social networking tech and attitudes help you?

You can get a job via your social network and you can lose a job because of it. But can social networking really drive benefits participation, better health and retirement understanding or any of the rest of the "to do" items benefit brokers and employers are struggling to accomplish.

We're trying to find some real world examples of how employers and advisers are using social networking tools, technology or just the mindset to do their job better. One thing we're learning is that the Facebook and Myspace route may be just a bit too fast and loose for sensible business-folk. Then again maybe not.

After all, Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit Adviser both have Facebook pages.

Of course if you don't go the free route, you'll have to pay for it. Dotster is just one of the multitude of companies that'll help businesses do just that. The company's biz development guru (Ross Johnston, above left) says a custom business application of social networking tech doesn't have to cost a mint, but of course it can if you want to spend some cash. Listen in as he makes his case.

Also, we're putting on another "Friday Fray" discussion on this topic next week. Register and join us if you've got a question or an experience to share.

Are employers leading with the wrong suit on wellness?

PricewaterhouseCoopers has come out with some research on larger employer wellness programs. The study shows that just about half of the folks surveyed think the programs aren't doing what they're supposed to -- driving down costs and boosting productivity. Putting that aside, another half of those surveyed say they're going to step up the wellness activity over the next two years.

I got on the horn with some of the researchers -- including Holly Bialek, pictured above -- and batted some of the concepts around. One thing keeps bugging me. It seems employers are leading with the wellness as health cost cutter, which I think may be what is keeping workers at arm's length -- just 30% or so of employees use the programs when offered according to PWC.

It seems to me that the employer's stronger line is on productivity, no? I mean a company is in the business of making sure Johnny Employee is productive, churning out a lot of good widgets. I think Johnny's likely to be much more receptive to that than the company fat cats taking away dependent health care to make sure executive comp doesn't feel the pinch. And why not position wellness as the savior of rich group medical. Tell the employees that they need to grow their way to a healthier workforce, a healthier bottom line, which will ensure Johnny a job and good benefits for years to come.
--Robert L. Whiddon