The notion that we should consider one employee at a time may seem antithetical to a marketing method that prescribes sending messages to everyone in an employee group to remind them of the scope of coverages that their benefit packages may provide.

Think about it.  Each of us has our own set of circumstances.  But we are not unique.  There are others whose circumstances are similar though we may often feel as if no one else has our problems.  No one else has had to face this situation before.  Whether our problem is an economic issue, an health or medical issues, a retirement issues, a child rearing issues, or one of a host of human dilemmas or challenges, we often feel alone.  Some benefits are geared to positive aspects of life, for instance a gym membership or motor club discount.

Many employers provide access to benefits that are geared to solving many different types of problems or aiding in accomplishing goals.  EAP’s, health and welfare programs, legal plans, access to accountants or even fitness experts and a host of other benefit areas can and do provide solutions to our issues.  But each of us has to recognize and realize that there is help available.  We often forget.

I was recently talking to someone who has had a legal plan for several years who paid a speeding ticket and later realized he should have had the legal plan’s law firm help him deal with it.  He also was pleased to discover that the plan was designed to provide a will for him and his spouse.  He simply didn’t know the depth of benefits he enjoyed as part of his employer’s benefit program.

The regular communication to all employees about the various benefits available and how these benefits have aided other employees gives each employee a fuller understanding of how each of them can gain advantage through their use.  What good comes from an EAP if a difficult family situation develops and we don’t remember that help is a phone call away.

Let’s take advantage of the technology we now have available, email,  and regularly, continually remind each other what our benefits can do for us.  Let’s do it often.

The result will be more participation in voluntary benefit, more use of all benefits, and a better served, more satisfied employee population.