“Benefits? Oh ya, we offer benefits.”
I’ve taken part in many job interview processes over the years and I’ve found that some things take priority over others, for better or worse.
Writing job descriptions? Done.
Developing scenario-based questions? Check.
Answering questions about hours, pay and vacation time? Absolutely.
Benefits information at the ready?
Not always a priority item.
If you can believe that.
Even benefits providers sometimes forget to effectively sell job applicants on the value of their own benefits program — and they’re often offering some of the best plans out there.
If it happens within the industry, imagine how often it happens with the average employer.
Sometimes benefits barely get a passing mention during an interview:
“We do offer benefits, absolutely.”
And if an applicant asks specific questions, hopefully someone is prepared to provide enough information to answer them.
But why wait for the candidate to ask?
They may not know what questions to ask. They may not know what makes one benefits plan more valuable than another. And they certainly shouldn’t have to be a benefits expert to understand an important part of their potential compensation package.
The actual details often come later — after the offer has been accepted — in the form of an employee booklet filled with insurance terminology that can overwhelm a new hire, get filed away somewhere, or sit unread until the employee actually needs to use the plan.
By then, an important opportunity has already passed.
Employers may be under-marketing something they are already paying for.
Imagine an employer spending thousands of dollars per employee each year on a benefits program, only to reduce that investment during recruitment to:
“We have benefits.”
There’s a disconnect.
Benefits are a meaningful part of total compensation, but during recruitment a candidate may hear far more about salary, vacation time, flexibility and other aspects of the role than they do about the benefits package.
That means part of the employer’s investment can be almost invisible at exactly the point when it could help make the opportunity more attractive.
Two employers can both say they “offer benefits” while providing very different levels of coverage, employer contributions, eligibility provisions, wellness resources, disability protection, retirement programs and other support.
A prospective employee may have no idea what those differences mean financially — or personally.
For some candidates, the benefits package may not be the deciding factor. Salary, culture, leadership, flexibility and opportunity all matter too.
But benefits can absolutely influence how someone views the overall value of an employment opportunity.
And candidates can’t value something they don’t understand.
The goal isn’t to hand candidates a benefits booklet.
This doesn’t mean employers need to walk through every provision of the plan during an interview.
Quite the opposite.
A simple, thoughtfully designed one-page overview can give candidates enough information to understand the highlights of the benefits program without overwhelming them with plan language or creating guarantees around coverage.
Then, if questions come up, someone should be prepared to answer them.
The point is to make the benefits visible.
If an employer is proud to offer a strong program, that value should be communicated before someone decides whether to join the organization — not only after they become an employee.
The Advisor Lens
For advisors, this creates an opportunity to help clients think about their benefits program differently.
When discussing a plan with a client, consider asking:
How are you communicating your benefits during recruitment?
Are they simply being mentioned, or are prospective employees actually given enough information to understand their value?
Helping a client communicate their plan more effectively doesn’t necessarily require changing the benefits themselves.
Sometimes it’s about helping them get more value from what they’re already providing.
If benefits are part of the value of working for an organization, candidates should understand that value before they decide whether to work there.
Helping clients clearly communicate their benefits to applicants and new hires is a conversation worth having.
I've created and shared two practical client communication resources that may be helpful as you strengthen those conversations: Benefits Snapshot for Job Prospects and Benefits at a Glance for New Employees.
Are your clients using their benefits to attract great people — or waiting until those people are hired to explain their value?