HR Going Virtual With Online Benefits Fairs
By Chris Silva
What if companies were able to package their annual benefits fairs and make them available to employees virtually? They could do away with the rigors of coordinating travel schedules for vendors and workers. And employees might be more inclined to spend time studying benefit offerings if they could do so online from the comfort of their own home or hotel room.
As participation rates at onsite benefits fairs continue to decrease, industry experts believe employers will increasingly examine the advantages of hosting virtual benefits fairs instead.
Benefits expert Kathy Kacher has created the first known Virtual Employee Benefits Fair as a result of interest expressed by human resource clients in developing new ways to engage their workers. Many employers have attractive benefit packages to offer their employees, but often don't know how to convey to them why it's in their best interest to take notice and participate. This communication gap actually can cause premiums to rise at companies where employees are not making the most of the programs offered.
"In terms of communication, I believe human resource departments are under budget and overworked," says Kacher, president of CareerLife Alliance Services in Minneapolis, Minn. "Organizations are spending a lot of money on the benefits they're providing, and they're getting more and more unique. But HR departments are not very focused on outreach and communication."
Kacher's Virtual Fair is a response to employers' efforts to reach a workforce that's depending on the Internet and wireless services at an increasing rate. The fair is accessible through an external Web site and is customized to represent each company's benefit programs, such as work-life balance, health & wellness and 401(k).
When employees log on to the site, they take a virtual tour of the company's program, selecting at their leisure what they'd like to read up on. They can virtually leave their business card or contact information to enter any drawings for prizes, or to request follow-up information from a human resource official. There's a "briefcase" option that allows employers to keep track of the number of people who visit a particular booth, and a "communicate" feature that allows workers to send e-mails to HR.
It's wise for companies that utilize the Virtual Fair to spice up the interaction by offering prizes, such as a free iPod or restaurant certificate, Kacher suggests. "With all the unique benefits organizations are providing today, this is a great way to reach out and make sure everyone understands the depth and breadth of their programs and policies," she says.
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