Weight
Too
BIG
For DI?
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Was Your Client
Declined For . . .
• Build
• Gastric Bypass
• Heart Attack
• Sleep Apnea
• Diabetes
• Depression
800.345.8816
piu@piu.org • www.piu.org
Petersen
30 November 2011 / LIS / LifeHealthPro.com
For information circle no. 30
being offered at work. (Only 40% of Gen Y workers give their employers good or excellent marks on their com- munication efforts.) The following methods can help employers connect with younger employees: • Use technology when appropriate. Gen Yis proficient in digital technology and social media. They’re rarely de- tached from their mobile devices. While many employers have embraced web- based, self-service programs as their main tools for communicating benefits
because they help speed the enrollment
process, they do little to help Gen Y
workers make informed benefits deci-
sions. Technology should supplement,
not substitute for, face-to-face, ongoing
communication with this group.
• Build a foundation with one-to-
one counseling. Insurance is too com-
plex to rely totally on technology and
self-education. Because Gen Y work-
ers now find themselves responsible
for making benefits decisions for the
first time in their lives, they can ben-
efit greatly from personal attention.
They will appreciate having access to
a trained benefits specialist who can
talk to them about insurance options,
answer their questions, clarify product
features and help uncover their most
important needs.
Whatever you do, don’t try the same-
old, same-old approach with Gen Y. Gen-
eration Y promises to reshape the way
employers think about their employee
benefits strategies. Take action today
with a customized approach that will
keep tomorrow’s generation of workers
fully engaged and productive.
Helen Rodriguez-Burton is a district general agent for the Amarillo, Texas, sales district of Colonial Life&Accident Insurance Company, a leader in providing
insurance benefits for employees and their
“Voluntary
benefits offer
employers an
excellent way
to enhance
their benefits
plans and meet
the special
needs of Gen Y
employees.”
families through the workplace. She can be
reached at (806) 356-7839.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Solheim, Shelley, “Seven Strategies for
Recruiting Generation Y Workers,” CRN, June
21, 2007.
2. Dugas, Christine, “Generation Y’s Steep
Financial Hurdles: Huge Debt, No Savings,”
USA Today, April 23, 2010.
3. MetLife, “Y Worry? Gen Y Optimistic About
Recovery, Looking for Guidance, Met Life
Survey Shows,” press release, Nov. 10, 2009.
4. Fisher, Anne, “To Keep Gen Y Employees,
Treat Them Like ‘Rock Stars,’” Crain’s New
York, July 9, 2010.
5. Society for Human Resource Management,
“2010 Employee Job Satisfaction: Investigating
What Matters Most to Employees,” 2010.
6. Colonial Life, Harris Interactive Survey,
June 23-27, 2011.
7. Society for Human Resource Management,
“Workplace Forecast: The Top Workplace
Trends According to HR Professionals,” 2011.
8. MetLife, “9th Annual Study of Employee
Benefits Trends,” 2011.
9. Pew Research Center, “Millennials: A Portrait
of Generation Next,” February, 2010.
