Education key to workers' intelligent use of benefits

Published June 26, 2006

by JOANNE WOJCIK

jwojcik@BusinessInsurance.com

San Mateo County, Calif., Benefits Manager Paul Hackleman originally intended to become a teacher after he graduated from college, so it's almost a given that the county's Benefits Department should have such a strong focus on education.

"In the entire realm of benefits, it seems to me the charge that all of us have is education. People use benefits intelligently if they're educated. They use them in their own best self-interest if they're educated, which I want them to do," he said.

"I'm always surprised that someone will tell me they were unaware that we had a specific program," he added. "I think the greatest challenge is to provide education. And the more I've grown up in this field, the more I've felt that that's the piece that's missing."

To this end, Mr. Hackleman has written a book that focuses on defined contribution plan education, titled "Defined Contribution Decisions: The Education Challenge," which was published in 2004 by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

"Whatever you think about the merits of moving from a defined benefit to a defined contribution environment, if we move to a defined contribution environment and we haven't done a really thorough job of education, we've really poorly handled a whole segment of our society," Mr. Hackleman said. "They're just not going to be appropriately equipped to meet their own needs, whatever those needs are. I don't think we can ever do enough education."

"Whether it's risk reduction services and how to take care of yourself or what constitutes proper nutrition or exercise or any of those kinds of things, there is just a big gap between what people know and what people need to know, and you need to do whatever you can to close that gap," he said.

It is a benefit professional's job "to educate people so that the benefits that you provide for them can be optimally used by them," he said.

Fortunately for Mr. Hackleman, teaching comes naturally. It was the profession he had intended to pursue while he was in college. However, his life took an abrupt turn as his wife wanted to return to California to be closer to family.

His biggest surprises and disappointments occur when county employees say they are unaware of programs that have been offered for several years.

"But it is not lost on me if there is a benefit that seems irrelevant" to a young employee, who may not be thinking about long-term care or contributing to retirement plans, "then I just push it out of my mind," he acknowledged.

Likewise, "if I'm a single employee, the fact that the county has a Babies and You program doesn't mean anything to me," he said.

Later when the employee gets married and has children, he or she may have forgotten that the program exists, he said.

Mr. Hackleman is also concerned that many employees do not know the specifics of their benefits, such as eligibility criteria or the process of using the benefits.

To address these voids, Mr. Hackleman has instructed his staff to provide more than the requested information whenever an employee inquires about benefits.

"Answer their question, but also let them know about the county's Internet site--that's 24/7--that's an amazing place to get information. We tried to design it so that it's very accessible, very useful," he said.

He acknowledges, however, that the Web site is not tapped by the entire workforce because about one-third of the county's employees do not use a computer in their work.

And while some employees may have computers at home, it may not be their preferred way of getting information. Some may prefer face-to-face or print communications.

To reach this noncomputer group, the county has meetings prior to open enrollment and, whenever it rolls out a new program, has several meetings prior to implementation.

The county also offers several programs in which employees can, at no cost, take courses online.

One course focuses on compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for the county's hospital and clinic nurses and other employees who have access to confidential patient information.

The county also recently introduced a sexual harassment awareness training program online that includes video scenarios and interactive quizzes.

These two courses are offered at two levels: A more intensive HIPAA course is offered for nurses who have direct patient involvement, while other employees who only occasionally have access to patient information may take a less-involved HIPAA training course.

Likewise, the sexual harassment awareness course provides a higher level of training for supervisors than for the employees they supervise.

Other e-learning courses include computer ergonomics and telecommuting.

"Increasingly, we see that e-learning is valuable because it clearly allows me to conduct a training without the expenditure and resources that would be required if you were trying to hold countywide group sessions," Mr. Hackleman said.

Employees are permitted to take the online courses during the workday, but the courses are designed to accommodate work interruptions.

"So I can start it, and if something comes up, I can stop, but I can go back to it and pick it up where I left off," he explained.

The e-learning courses also include examinations so employees can demonstrate their competency upon completion. While most of the courses are developed internally, some programs are contracted out to consultants, according to Mr. Hackleman.