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E-mail Used as Expanding Part of 401(k) Educational Effort
The provider uses e-mail as part of a pre-conversion
educational effort for workers at C.H. Robinson Worldwide,
Inc., which has 3,600 employees in a global network of 136
offices.
American Express said this is “one of the first” times
e-mail was used to communicate changes in advance of a
change in service providers.
In the campaign, Robinson workers get weekly e-mails about
changes in retirement provisions, as well as about changes
in 401(k) coverage, and savings and investment programs.
The messages contain color, graphics and links that are
“visually more appealing than simple email text,” the
provider said.
The e-mails allow employees to link directly to C.H.
Robinson’s intranet pages that contain more information on
the selected topic.
Growing Trend
Amex’s use of e-mail to communicate employee benefit
changes is part of a sea change in how financial and
benefit information is being disseminated. An
upcoming PLANSPONSOR magazine article cites a January 2001
survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit
Plans which found that one-third of plan sponsors currently
make employee benefits information available online.
Another third of sponsors surveyed said they plan to have
benefits information online in the next year.
One driving force for using the Web to disseminate 401(k)
and other benefits changes is cost. Studies so far clearly
show savings have been achieved. Greenwich Associates found
from its studies that benefits staffing and administrative
employment has “been trending downward for years,”
according to Bill Jarvis, a Greenwich Associates
principal.
At corporate funds, he said there are now 1.9 “full time
equivalents” (FTEs) handling benefit communications, down
from 2.2 last year. At public funds, there are 4.7
FTEs compared to 4.5 in 2000, and at endowments there are
1.2 FTEs compared to 1.0 last year.
“The Internet can achieve savings in lieu of a call center
since experience has shown that about 70% to 80% of
participant questions are often the same. So the net can
liberate a sizeable number of relatively highly-trained
people from that role,” Jarvis said.