NBJ PR Wire

Confusing Technology Hampering Efforts To Change Employee Behavior, Watson Wyatt Says

Release Date: April 3, 2007

Contact: Janice Andrews

"Google Effect" Also in Play

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2007 - Efforts to encourage employees to take more responsibility for health care and retirement planning are at risk of being undermined by the lack of a unified technology and content strategy, according to experts at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm.

"Changing the way employees choose and use their benefits involves more than simply providing reams of information on a multitude of Web sites," said Michael Rudnick, national eCommunications and portal leader at Watson Wyatt. "Employees are much more likely to change their behavior and become more discerning benefits consumers if they can find relevant, personalized and meaningful information. Employers who send employees links to five to 10 provider Web sites or HR applications and expect them to navigate the system will not see the results they are seeking."

These developments come at the same time that employees of all ages are using technology - particularly the Web - seamlessly in their personal lives. And they expect their employers to provide a similar, consumer-grade online experience.

A soon-to-be-released Watson Wyatt survey of 2,000 employees has found that employees rank the Internet as one of their preferred ways to receive benefits information. Sixty-two percent like to receive information this way. This preference is relatively uniform across generations - 63 percent of employees ages 18 to 49 like to receive information via the Web, as do 60 percent of those ages 50 to 59 and 53 percent of those 60 and older.

"There is a 'Google effect,'" Rudnick said. "Employees have come to expect the same level of personalization, flexibility, intuitiveness and ease of use that Google and other advanced consumer Web sites provide. This is upping the ante for employers and particularly for human resources departments. Content, data and applications from a plethora of internal and vendor sources are far more useful when integrated in a way that makes sense to employees and is easy to navigate."

Many organizations are trying to improve the user experience by moving to an employee portal that integrates content, applications and vendor sites and can be accessed with a single sign-on. Such integrated systems, coupled with simplified navigation and terminology and the use of multimedia, can make it much easier for employees to understand benefit plans and make the right choices for themselves and their family. However, only 16 percent of the companies that took part in CedarCrestone's 2006 "Workforce Technologies and Service Delivery Approaches" survey have established specific user-experience criteria to guide changes to their systems. CedarCrestone is an independent technology research firm.

More information on how the Google effect is transforming employer-employee communications can be found at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/whitepapers/wprender.asp?id=2006-CA-0162.

Information about Watson Wyatt's portal offerings can be found at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/services/servicerender.asp?ID=15128.

About Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is the trusted business partner to the world's leading organizations on people and financial issues. The firm's global services include: managing the cost and effectiveness of employee benefit programs; developing attraction, retention and reward strategies; advising pension plan sponsors and other institutions on optimal investment strategies; providing strategic and financial advice to insurance and financial services companies; and delivering related technology, outsourcing and data services. Watson Wyatt has 6,000 associates in 30 countries and is located on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.
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