Last fall, when I read about the new UP wristband from Jawbone, I was excited. Ecstatic. I had visions of activity and technology dancing in my head.

I had plans of buying one as soon as I got an iPhone. The turquoise one, to be exact.

But it never happened. Why? Quite simply, the reviews are terrible. Horrible. The band works great for a week or so, but never fully recharges again. Some people report that their UP has been “bricked” – it doesn’t turn on or off and is nonfunctional within a few days of purchase. That’s disappointing.

from CNN:

In his statement, Rahman says that Jawbone has “temporarily paused production” of the bands, and will once again begin taking orders after the hardware’s technical issues have been resolved.

from engadget:

Though the company says a minority of users have reported breakage, it’s telling that both of the units we tested over the past month have bricked — one of them within 24 hours. Worse, Jawbone hasn’t yet diagnosed the root cause of these problems, a collection of maladies that run the gamut from a rapidly draining battery to a silent vibration motor. We still feel that the Up has promise, but until its engineers iron out the kinks, we can’t in good faith recommend it.

Although Jawbone committed to fixing the product, it doesn’t appear that they’ve nailed it down yet.

Sigh.

But I still want one. Jawbone, please get the issue fixed. Otherwise I’m looking at the Fitbit Ultra, which looks neat but not nearly as cool as the UP.

Do you use any technology like the UP wristband? Let me know in the comments.

Before you start putting away your finest china from your Thanksgiving feast, we have one more holiday to recognize this month. No, I’m not counting the extended hours of Best Buy’s Black Friday event.  I’m talking about November 30^th, which is the day Lipitor comes off patent.

Why should we celebrate this special day?  More than likely, this brand name drug ranks in your top ten list of most frequently used prescription drugs.  More than likely, you and your employees have been paying top dollar for this drug since its inception in 1997.  And more than likely, all are ready for low
cost but equally effective alternative.

Well, your time is now.  And you may not even have to switch to generic.

By coming off patent on the 30^th, this cholesterol-lowering medication allows for generic alternatives, which have not been available to date, to enter the market. Traditionally, once the patent ends, name brand drugs would be discarded by their maker as the low cost alternatives take over the market.  But as this Wall Street Journal article explains, in an effort to keep revenues flowing in, Pfizer is making some unique moves.  These include creating a direct mail order program through Pfizer in which Lipitor customers can receive generic pricing.  Pfizer also recognizes the importance the pharmacist plays in this  role, and are working on partnerships to help stop the mass exit that traditionally occurs when generic prescriptions are offered.

Whether or not you agree with these moves, they do offer the benefit of choice.  The choice if Lipitor has worked for you, to keep using it but at a discounted rate.  Or the choice to go with a generic option at a significant saving compared to today’s prices.

And that is reason enough to celebrate!

It’s time to get the word out.  Big changes are coming.  There will be meetings.  A deadline.  Lots of information to cover.

So what do you do to make sure you communicate a clear message to your employees?  You cram all of the details into one email and blast it out to your employees, of course!

There.  You did it!  It’s out.  Employees know the message.  They will do what you told them to do.  Why?  Because it was in the email.

Now all you need to do is to wait.  Wait for the employees to come to the meetings.  Wait for the paperwork to arrive well in time of your deadline.  They may have questions but they’ll refer to the email.  Right?

Wrong.

Maybe a handful of folks attend a meeting.  You have phone calls and emails to return with lots of questions to answer, all while running around the office to gather the stragglers who haven’t completed your paperwork yet.  And there are only 60 minutes left before your deadline.  Didn’t they read the email?!?!?

They did.  Or at least the first paragraph.  Maybe just the first sentence until the realized it was another email from HR. They’ll get to it later. No offense.

Fact is, employees want to know what is going on with their benefits and costs.  They just want to it to be delivered simply and understandable to them.  In fact, you want that as well so that they aren’t taking time away from doing the things that you actually hired them to do.

So, rather than just resend your original email, how do you do better?

Make your communications relevant.  Yes, benefits should be important to everyone, but so is getting a major project out the door that could significantly increase revenue for your company.  You’re busy and so are your employees.  Make sure you message your communication to showcase the pertinent issues. Here are some of our favorite examples:

Keep it simple but interesting so that it grabs the attention of the reader.  Sometimes tough to do when dealing with open enrollment and benefits, but doable.  In my former life as a HR manager, I once created a communication for the company before open enrollment started that included a picture of a handful of $20 bills that were on fire.  Underneath it said “Don’t do this with your open enrollment elections for next year” and then listed the dates and times for the open enrollment meetings.  Not saying you have to go to that extreme, but it definitely got the message across.  Some examples not involving fire:

Think about how many emails you receive during the day.  I’d imagine your employees receive more, if not the same, during the day.  Make your message one that they’ll remember.

Open enrollment season can be tough for anyone.  This includes the HR folk who wrestle with the needs of their workforce while trying to come within their budget, but also the lowly employee who is left to try to make sense of it all and come to a decision each year.  It could make anyone want to hide their head in the sand until it all goes away.

During an employee meeting I was leading last week, I ran across someone who attempted to do just that.  We were at a point in the meeting where we had just covered multiple changes that would occur to his benefit plan next year, including a significant increase out of his paycheck.  I paused for questions and he muttered under his breath “This isn’t my problem; why should I care?”  Fair response, given the amount of changes and the lack of change he had experienced with his benefit plan over the past few years.  But still necessary of a response.

“You need to wake up, man.”

That wasn’t my line.  That was from one of his co-workers. Then another employee said “We can’t ignore these issues; we all need to do better.”

I stepped back and let the magic happen.  This group of employees didn’t let their colleague plead ignorance; they started telling each other how they all needed to take their health, and the way they looked at their insurance, differently.  The conversation couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes, but the words they said were what mattered.  I heard “responsibility”, “ownership”, and “consumerism”.  Granted, they read that last one of the slide that was still up on the screen, but at least they were listening!

Lucky for this employee that his coworkers wouldn’t let him ignore what was going around him.  Lucky for the organization that these employees weren’t willing to hide from the issues .

The FirstPerson open enrollment tour continues!  Last week, I had an opportunity to deliver open enrollment meetings to another awesome client.  A great organization with a thriving culture, who has been knocking it out of the park when it comes to the performance of their health benefit program. In fact, they’ve been able to maintain employee costs at the same level for the last three years!

How did they get there?  For one, they’ve introduced a simple wellness program that allows employees to participate easily, and at a level that is comfortable for them.  The company has also had luck on their side over the last few years—avoiding the high claims that can sink anyone’s battleship.

At the heart of it, though, is the fact that they keep increasing the volume.  Many companies who see a rate hold for three years (or heck, even one year) just continue on the same path.  Not this group.  This year alone, the organization is rolling out a program which provides free preventive drugs to help manage diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.  They took the advantage of their rate hold and made the benefit better. And, I just got a message from HR saying they want to increase wellness efforts.

No time for sleep—this group is increasing the volume to 11!  Where are you setting your volume?

We’ve started the open enrollment road tour this month and we are getting to visit some great clients. One in particular is going through an interesting open enrollment season. They are eliminating their PPO plan and going to an all HSA-based program.

No big deal you say? What if I told you they currently had 80% of their workforce enrolled in the PPO. With union locations…throughout the Rust Belt.

You don’t have to be a seasoned HR professional to realize that this move could be difficult.

However, this client had a strategy built around their decision.  They knew they wanted to make steps to promote individual health and responsibility, not only for the sake of the company’s bottom line but also for the bottom line of employees’ health and finances.  Their strategy consisted of the following components:

• Leadership. The drive to push the company’s culture to a more consumer focused group has been moving along for some time now and has been led by their CEO.  They introduced HSAs a few years ago and have been considering going down this road for some time now. To announce the changes, the CEO sent a letter to all employees addressing the change and why the organization was moving in that direction.
• Consistency. Consistent messages of supporting employee’s health by providing employee benefits has existed for the past few years.  They introduced HSAs and included an employer contribution.  They started requiring all employees to visit their doctor and impacting their insurance premiums if the employee chose not to go.
• Communication. I mentioned the CEO letter, but in addition, managers lead off each onsite meeting by talking about why the
  decisions were made and talk about the goals for the next year.  We’ve provided a communication plan consisting of onsite meetings and educational communication guides.
• Partnership. You knew this was coming.  The client has been driving the bus the whole time, but we’ve provided the directions, the guidance, and guardrails where needed.  It’s what we do.

Early indications are that this strategy is going as planned.  Employees are hesitant of the change but are hearing the message and appear open to it.  They even clapped for one of their HR professionals who led the meeting. Good times.

As you look to start your open enrollment season, how does this compare to your strategy?

I took this picture on a recent family trip to Lake Michigan. I walked into the water for a quick swim when this sign caught my eye. What was it telling me? Was it OK to swim? Was it warning me of some hidden danger? The sign was blunt but it got my attention. So I did exactly what the sign told me to do- I walked back to my spot on the beach and did not drown.

Perhaps that wasn’t the true message the makers of the sign were trying to get across. Maybe they meant for me not to swim in that area or didn’t want me to jump off the wall. All I know is that I what was asked and I did not drown.

As you start preparing for open enrollment, messaging your employee benefits will be critical in how you engage employees in your health program and overall strategy. Will you simply post a memo; hoping employees will read about next year’s benefit changes on the way to their next meeting. Or perhaps you’ll write a “War and Peace” email listing out every possible detail that may simply get lost in the whirlwind of the daily inbox.

Or, will you lay out a plan that involves early notification, interactive employee sessions and easy to read and understand communication materials? Maybe you’ll even use our Go Live Smart platform this year with our updated messaging focusing on staying healthy, staying education and staying connected.   

Let’s hope it’s the latter. Let’s hope you’re engaging employees and starting to review your communication materials now so that employees are informed and know exactly what you’re trying to tell them.

But whatever you do, just don’t drown.

We’ve all been there before.  Maybe you’ve said these words to someone in your past or perhaps have been on the receiving end of that heartbreaking sentence.  You’ve been in a relationship for a long period of time. The connection just isn’t the same. They never send you flowers. It’s not you, it’s me.  And it is time to move on.

Easy to do, right? Not always.  There are emotions, memories, and ah yes, the good old days.  Some people try to go it alone, but it can be messy.  They fumble to find the words or the other party comes back with a better offer.  Heck, maybe they even throw in a two year rate hold to get you to stay.

You knew I was talking about employee benefit changes, right?

Leaving a long time benefit plan provider can be about as gut wrenching as your high school break-up.  But luckily this time around, you have help.

Over the last few weeks FirstPerson has been walking our clients through their benefit renewal decisions.  Some have had great long-term relationships with service offerings, plan performance, or that really hip online tool.  Others perhaps haven’t had it so lucky.  That’s where we have come in to help ease the blow by:

• Managing the awkward conversations.  We reach out to the current provider to give them warning that things aren’t as rosy as all had hoped.  Perhaps we give them second try to make things right.  
• Making connections. We schedule “first dates” with other providers.  Maybe we even come along with to make sure everyone has a good time.   
• Analyzing commonalities and points of differentiation.  We put everyone down on paper to make sure we’re comparing all factors so that you are able to make an informed decision.  A little more detailed than the “He loves/He loves me not” idea, but you get the idea.
• Helping all parties move on.  If the choice is made to move, we help the new couple through the early steps of the relationship.  There are many first steps, but they’re needed to make sure both sides know the expectations.  Our goal is for a positive long term relationship and we definitely don’t want to be back in the same place next year.

Breaking up can be hard to do, but not if you have FirstPerson by your side.  Believe me; there will be some tears through the process, but in the end we’ll have a relationship that we’ll be proud enough to show off to mom at the end of the day.

Are the people you work with your organization’s greatest strength?

Do you believe that your company benefits offer value and importance in your recruitment and engagement strategy?

Are you ready to make a decision that you knew would be resisted by your employees but that you believed was the best for them and the organization?

The first two questions were fun, right? The third question…not so much. Before we go much further, let me introduce myself to the blogging world. I’m Mike Bensi, Account Executive for FirstPerson. I have the opportunity every day to ensure our clients are able to answer “yes” to the first two questions by providing a holistic approach to achieving their health strategy. When the situation calls for it, I help walk some of those same clients through that decision process of the third question. Maybe that means moving away from a long time medical plan carrier, or ditching a highly utilized PPO plan in the place of a consumer driven health plan that may be unknown to the workforce. It could also mean introducing wellness incentives and linking them to the ability to obtain HSA contributions. Tough decisions if you haven’t been there before, but also decisions that can ultimately lead to great outcomes.

Prior to joining FirstPerson, I led Human Resources teams within various departments at the State of Indiana, including an extended stay at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Prior to arriving in Indiana with my wife six years ago, I was a HR Manager for a marketing communications company and before that, for a worldwide manufacturing company. Add these experiences up, and I have over 10 years within the human resources world. Not tenured by any means, but thankfully enough experiences in which I was exposed to some great employers who thought of their employees as their main strength and supported that strength by making difficult decisions during tough times.

So, how did I land at FirstPerson? I was looking for an opportunity to mesh my HR experiences with my interest in marketing and finance. This opportunity allows me to do just that by working with organizations on issues that impact not only their bottom line, but also their workforce and culture. But most importantly, the group at FirstPerson gets it. All throughout the office, you feel how much they understand the value of a great culture and the need to offer a valuable benefits program within the organization. And not only do they show it with their clients, but they also show it to their own employees.

So whether your workforce is the strength of your organization or you’re considering walking down a path to make some tough decisions within your firm, I look forward to the chance to work with you soon!

We first wrote about the “grandfathering” component of health care reform more than a year ago.  Believe it or not, not much has changed! As a reminder, here are the key reasons that an employer would strategically elect to retain a grandfathered status for their plans:

• Fully-insured employers who have a benefit design or contribution differential in favor of highly compensated employees must maintain a grandfathered status to ensure they are allowed to continue this practice
• Avoids the requirement that plans provide preventive services at no cost to the member including the newly expanded women’s health requirements
• Are not subject to the new state or federal review of insurance premium increases of 10 percent for individual policies or small business plans
• Do not need to follow a rule allowing consumers to appeal denials of claims to a third-party reviewer
• Small employers (<100 employees) will not be required to meet the minimum essential benefits test in 2014 – Large plans (100+) will be required to pass these tests regardless of grandfather plan status

We recently came across a well written article from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation’s “Health Reform Source” page.  Not only is their article Grandfathering Explained worth a read but so are the rest of the resources regarding reform.