There is no downplaying the value and importance of communication in running a successful business. Communication is an essential tool for achieving desired outcomes, meeting the expectations of employees and customers, and marketing products effectively.
Strong communicators within your organization play pivotal roles in keeping all operations running smoothly. You can rely on your management teams to communicate this information.
Still, you can also implement internal communication platforms such as internal blogs and intranets where employees can seek out information themselves.
One of the many areas where communication is imperative is communicating administrative information to employees. This is especially pertinent when it comes to anything associated with finances. After all, the most likely reason that employees work for your company is that they need a paycheck.
Making changes without effectively communicating to employees is not only extremely unfair, but it also stands to cause significant disruption. Employees who feel caught off-guard by changes in their financial status at a company are far more likely to raise complaints with HR and search for another job elsewhere.
If you are thinking of making financial changes to your company here are examples of when they should be brought into the decision process.
Pay Adjustments
Perhaps one of the most important pieces of financial information to communicate with employees is related to their pay and pay scale. All employees deserve to have forewarning if this will change, and if your company isn’t making an effort to be transparent, then it should be. Not only that, but all employers — whether they are unionized or not — have the legal obligation to allow employees to discuss wages with one another.
To stay competitive in most markets, it is occasionally necessary to update the work pay scale and structure. If the salary structure doesn’t reflect the value of employees in a certain marketplace, you’re bound to start hemorrhaging all of your highest performers.
Conduct studies and evaluate potential impacts of the changes, and when the company is ready to announce the change, take the time to educate employees about it before implementing it. Making sure they understand the reasons for the change is essential to success.
Unfortunately, there are also rare instances where it is necessary to make changes to the pay scale that will negatively impact an employee’s salary. Most employees expect regular pay raises, so a cut is often hard to take. In many circumstances, it is legal to cut employee pay, but it is imperative to communicate with them because it is illegal to do so without their knowledge.
Healthcare Benefits Information
Of course, pay rates are not the only financial changes the company could make that will impact employees. Another big one is related to healthcare and other insurance benefits. Companies are legally required to inform employees of any changes to insurance benefits that could reduce the benefits they are currently receiving within 60 days via official mailing.
Benefits are a powerful tool to attract prospective employees, and strong benefits packages are known to be strong recruiting tools. Because of this, any major changes to a benefits plan or insurance package should be well thought out. Though not legally required, it is considered a good form to give employees knowledge of these changes before they are made.
There are plenty of other ways to be a Good Samaritan when discussing healthcare benefits with your employees. Of course, you cannot direct which insurance company they must pick, but you can provide them with literature and knowledge of their other options. For instance, some employees may qualify for Medicaid and use it instead of insurance to get better coverage for certain conditions.
Cost of Living and Remote Employees
In today’s world, many employees may also be working remotely. If this work style is working for your company and allowing you to attract more talent from a broader pool of candidates, great! However, there are a few important financial things to make sure your remote employees are aware of.
The biggest of these is associated with the differences in taxation. Many remote employees have a hard time deciding where they should live, but understanding some of the tax situations they may face in different states can help them with that decision.
For instance, if employees live in a different state than the company is based, they will likely have to file two state returns. Some states have “convenience rules” that could lead to employees being taxed twice on the same income.
There are other tax tips that the company can be reminding all employees of in the name of financial communication. For example, the company can encourage employees to review withholdings on their W-4 forms. These reminders can help employees better prepare for tax season and make sure that there are no nasty surprises later on.
Conclusion
The communication of administrative and financial information is a quality of a good employer and one that all should strive to achieve. Pieces of financial information that employees deserve to know about include things like pay scale changes, benefits, and taxation situations.