Precept Employee Benefits Blog

As an HR or employee benefits professional, you no doubt have to deal with people all day long. You have to answer the same questions over and over, and you are probably expected to do it with a smile on your face. Even when it comes to firing someone or laying someone off, you are expected to try to make the situation as painless as possible for all involved (I’m assuming; I’m not actually in HR, but being in the industry, this is what I have picked up).

So when I read the story of the scheduler for a congressman in Washington, D.C., who flipped out when someone called her Liz instead of Elizabeth (and I mean FLIPPED – 19 emails on the subject), it reminded me that many people take communication these days for granted. It seems rare for people to just pick up the phone anymore, since email is seen as so much easier. Email, though, is also far less personal. And therefore, it is easy for people to misinterpret the meaning behind the words.

We all know that it’s important to be careful with email. Not only does it last forever, it can also get into the wrong hands (remember the last time someone accidentally hit “reply to all”?) – like, say, a reporter who goes and posts not only your 19-email diatribe, but also your full name. While I disagree with the scheduler’s reaction to what appeared to be an honest mistake, I feel bad for the fact that being a federal employee makes her information that much easier to get. You only have to read a few of the comments to realize that this woman is probably getting hundreds of mean-spirited emails and phone messages. All because she didn’t stop to think about the consequences of her knee-jerk reaction to being called by a nickname.

So the next time you receive the 50^th email asking about vacation time, paychecks, or the HMO plan, don’t send back the first thing that jumps into your head (“As I’ve said 50 times already, it’s all in the employee handbook!”). Take a deep breath, smile (remember that old saying that people can hear your smile through the phone? I think it works with email as well), and remember that you don’t want to be like the person whose bad day turned into an Internet phenomenon.

Related article: http://www.politico.com/blogs/anneschroeder/0609/No_namecalling.html?showall

And please, if you read the article above, refrain from doing what many of the comment-writers appear to be doing, which is harassing this woman with unnecessary and mean emails and voicemails.

I recently attended an educational workshop on how to network (presented by the owners of the non-profit BreakThrough Networking, Inc., who were great), which, funny enough, is the first how-to session I’ve ever attended on networking. Everyone always tells you how important networking is, but no one actually tells you how to do it. Being an introvert, I’m not very talented at walking up and starting a conversation with someone I don’t know.

Now, of course, it’s much easier to connect with people through all these social media sites. Facebook, LinkedIn, even Twitter, are becoming so common that not being on these sites is considered a social and/or professional faux pas.

I never did join MySpace or Friendster or any of those, but I was finally convinced to enter the new millennium (yes, I’m a little behind my contemporaries – being on the tail end of Generation X, I should have been on all of these sites years ago; but alas, I’m apparently a late bloomer) and join Facebook. Shortly after, Facebook launched their Pages, which I think is great way for companies like ours – B2B service companies that are not marketing to teenagers – to get our name out there in a new, modern, techno-savvy way. Plenty of our employees are on Facebook, as are many of our clients, and isn’t bringing all of these people together the point of social media?

Now, I can understand the corporate communication benefits of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the like, but Twitter? One of the presenters at the workshop mentioned that he heard a social network expert say that companies should go in and squat on Twitter (grab their company names) so that when Twitter becomes the major source of corporate communications in the next few years, they’ll already have the names. I don’t know about you, but when I think of Twitter, I think of celebrities who share way too much personal information about their lives with the world. I don’t think of CEOs or HR departments communicating with their stakeholders (although I have heard that there are some who do). Is this really where corporate communications are headed?

My fear is that employee communications are difficult enough – getting your employees to truly understand what it is you’re trying to communicate, whether it be a benefits package, company finances, or big news (good or bad). For those of us who spend the majority of our time trying to design communications that are effective and can be understood clearly – now we’re supposed to openly accept a tool that only allows you to use 140 characters at a time? Are we becoming so ADD as a society that we can’t take the time to read a full blog posting or an employee memo? No wonder nearly 50% of employees read only what is needed to enroll (or don’t read any enrollment communications at all). Someone else at the workshop said that she doesn’t even read blogs anymore because she relies on Twitter so much. I know that you can post links in your ‘tweets’ to direct your readers to further information, but if the way of the future is shorter and shorter communications, how are we ever going to be able to guarantee that people are going to take the time to read the “further information?”

I’m not saying Twitter is bad. But as a communications professional, I shrink from this form of technology as a form of mass corporate communication in a world where people far too frequently base opinions and decisions on too little information. If we’re encouraging people not to read the fine print, we’re never going to be able to get our real point across.

What do you think? Are you ready to accept social media as your main form of corporate and employee communication, or do you think that certain forms – such as Twitter – are trends that are going to fly south permanently?

In the June 1 issue of Employee Benefit News, Patrick J. Haraden discusses how employers should streamline their RFP (Request for Proposal) processes in order to get better results (note: click on the Current Issue to get to the article). His tips are in reference specifically toward health care insurance vendors, but the ideas presented work well for any RFP process. Having just finished three RFPs that were due in the last two weeks, I agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Haraden’s thoughts.

The RFP is a necessary evil. You need RFPs in order to determine who the best partner is for you (in our case, of course, that would be the best employee benefits consultant/broker). Unfortunately, most RFP responses tend to look the same and I can only imagine what a daunting task it is for those folks whose job it is to read through the numerous 60-page responses (not including the sometimes 100-200 pages of exhibits and appendices!). It isn’t until the finalist presentations and the face-to-face meetings that you’re really going to get a sense of whether or not we’re going to be a good partner for you.

I work with the members of the sales team to put together responses to RFPs, and I have completed a large number of these over the last several years (at least a few dozen). Using my experience, I would like to make some suggestions of my own, on top of Mr. Haraden’s, to make this process easier for all involved:

• You would not believe the number of RFPs that are sent out without specific instructions as to how the firm would like to receive the responses. Please tell me if you want a copy emailed, or if you need 5 hard copies. I’m happy to provide either, but I need to know what you want.
• If your deadline is the Friday before a holiday, please tell me if your office will be closing early (or won’t be open at all). If you’re deadline is 5pm, but no one will be at the office past noon, I need to know that.
• Review your questions. Many RFPs ask the same questions multiple times and in multiple ways. This may not be the most efficient way of getting to the information you really want.
• Give us enough time to really respond to your questions, especially if you are issuing a long, complex RFP. One week is not enough time. Ever. Two weeks is the minimum, but 3-4 weeks is best. We want to be able to take the time and really delve into the questions and show you how great we are. Ideally, you should have a thorough timeline in place that includes preparing the RFP, issuing the RFP, allowing time for questions, due date, finalist selection and meetings, and final selection of winner. Also, in this timeline, make sure you leave enough time for your new vendor/partner to actually implement the plan. If you want your new plan to be effective, it needs enough time to be implemented correctly.
• Know what your key focus areas are. Provide information on your current plans, employee demographics, locations, etc. The more info we have about you, the better information we can provide.

In short, plan ahead. Those of us who really want your business are going to take the time to give you a great proposal. Make sure that you’re getting what you want and need out of the process.

Having never personally been on the other side of the RFP table, what are some tips that you have for potential vendors who are responding to RFPs?