Salaried And Union Hourly Employees Are Not The Same

Ok, I’m not trying to be politically incorrect. I just want to point out the pitfalls that can occur when you need to communicate different messages to salaried employees versus union hourly.

Example from Annual Enrollment

  • Salaried employees are losing their current medical plans and must elect from new options. If they do not enroll, they will have no coverage.
  • Union hourly employees are keeping the same medical plans. They do not need to actively enroll unless they want to participate in the Flexible Spending Account.

You may think you have this communication challenge covered by creating separate, targeted communications that clearly outline what’s changing (or not changing) for the group and the steps they need to take. In your mind, you have them neatly separated into two groups.

But alas, life is not that tidy.

Humans are social by nature. They talk. They overhear things. And doggone it, they don’t read everything you give them, even if your text is clear as a bell. So confusion starts to rear its ugly head. The union employees don’t want to risk not having coverage. They ask their manager (who is salaried) and he/she tells them “yes, your plan is going away so you must enroll.” Or, since some union employees are married to salaried employees, two different communications arrive in the mail and they get confused as to what they need to do.

What’s a conscientious HR communicator to do?

  • Provide HR and management with a clear outline of the various groups in their population, the key changes for the groups and what the employees need to do. In this way, when questions arise, they can provide proper advice.
  • Keep the rumor mill in mind by addressing head-on what may be overheard.
    • For example, create a sidebar with copy such as “you may have heard that salaried employees need to choose a new medical plan for 2013. This is not the case for you, since your medical plans will remain the same for 2013, as outlined in your bargaining agreement.”
    • Include a sidebar in your main communications to address those employees who are married and have different benefit options. Clearly outline what they need to do.
  • Produce Questions and Answer sheets that directly address any misconceptions that begin to crop up. Rumors are best nipped in the bud.

Bottom line…you’ll never avoid questions and some confusion when you have different benefits for different groups. But the more clear and direct you can be in your communications, the better.

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