We don’t claim to be a legal firm, but we have 30+ years in the HR communications game. We help clients simplify their summary plan descriptions (SPDs) by reviewing them from a communications perspective.
SPDs are more effective for employees and plan participants when they’re understandable (hello, ERISA). We help clients create documents that employees can actually read and use as intended — to help them.
Read through our SPD White Paper for insights and tips. Or jump to this blog with a bit more analysis and research to make the case for simplifying SPDs.
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SPDs Can Be Technically Accurate and Understandable
More than half of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 (i.e., working age) read at around the sixth-grade level. But to avoid legal liability, SPDs (and HR communications in general) are often written at literacy levels employees can’t understand. It’s not uncommon to see documents written at a level for juniors in college.
Risk-adverse writing alienates employees — and at a bad time, since they’re probably looking through an SPD because they need help. We say try more summary, less description.
Related Content
- There’s a high-level checklist to help you assess the readability and tone of your SPD — from the grade level of your writing to the kind of words you’re using.
- An article in the Case Western Reserve Law Review cited cases where disclosures presented so much information, SPDs were no longer considered helpful.
- SPDs are a big-ticket item in the HR compliance realm, but there are other employee reference documents that could probably use an overhaul.
- These three samples visually show how design and formatting can pair with simple language to create an SPD that’s easy on the eye.
- In general, HR communications tend to be on the cautious side, often with formal language (and too much of it). There’s a skill to writing HR comms that are technically correct yet easy to understand.
