eni Blog

Brokering Communication Across Generations

Written by Idea Kraft | Mar 23, 2016 2:14:21 PM

How can brokers remain responsive and connected to their clients while aggressively pursuing new partnerships?  In today’s fast paced and competitive landscape, brokers are often pressed to provide the support and ongoing communication that their valued customers demand.  Let eni’s customer care center and benefit engagement software help by providing enhanced benefit communication and expert level support to your customers! Employees will appreciate and be more connected to their employee benefit package – and your customers will recognize a greater return on their benefit dollars.

Just how connected are employees to their benefits today? Well, a 2015 MetLife study reveals that over half of employees (53%) surveyed indicated that they “need more help understanding how their benefits work or how benefits meet their needs.” Perhaps because employees did not understand their benefits, nearly 42% also indicate that they “did not believe they used their benefits effectively.” (MetLife 2015)  Effective communication about benefits to employees can help employees both understand and use their benefits appropriately.

The question becomes, what is the best way to communicate to employees? The answer – it depends … on the generation of the employee!  Multiple generations of employees are presently in the workforce – Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Post Millennials. ).  In 2015, the percentage of Millennials in the workforce became larger than the Baby Boomers, effectively becoming the largest generation in the workforce (Pew Research 2015).  The Generation X population will, similarly, outnumber the Baby Boomers in 2028. Clearly, communicating effectively with multiple generations will continue to be a priority.

With so many generations in the workforce, a blanket communication style will just not be as effective as multiple methods of communicating about benefits (Wall Street Journal 2014).  Although there are always exceptions, research shows that Baby Boomers and Generation X may prefer communicating by telephone, via email, or in person.  In contrast, Millennials and Post Millennials prefer communicating by smart phone, using apps, texts and instant messages. In fact, the youngest generation is on mobile devices “88 percent of the time” (Fluent Study 2016).  Clearly, communicating about employee benefits to this multi-generational workforce needs to extend beyond the traditional in-person benefit orientations and face-to-face trainings.

How can BalanceBenefits enhance benefit communication to this multi-generational workforce?  Well, BalanceBenefits offers multiple ways for employees to access and communicate with benefit engagement specialists about their benefits.  Employees can communicate with specialists through their telephone using a benefit engagement call center, through their computer using a member web portal, and through their smart phone using a mobile application. Benefit communication for all generations is no problem with BalanceBenefits!

Stand out by being a broker, who provides unparalleled customer support while assisting with benefit communication and education, by offering BalanceBenefits to your customers!

Learn more about our suite of benefit engagement software, including our BalanceBenefits mobile app, on our website.  You can order “Beyond Benefits” by Gene Raymondi, CEO and industry thought leader, watch our quick integrated benefits video, or simply send us an email requesting more information.

We look forward to helping with your benefit needs!