Thought Leadership in Action

As you look for ways to boost employee retention, one important tool you should consider is a total compensation statement, which shows employees the true value of their compensation — salary, health insurance, voluntary benefits, incentive pay, paid time off and other benefits.

A total compensation statement may be as simple as a computer-generated spreadsheet that details what you, the employer, pay in benefits costs, or it may be an elaborate brochure that provides information about the current pay period and year-to- date payments.

According to William Smith, Senior Director of Businesss Development at Ebix:

Whatever form it takes, the purpose is to help employees see how important they are to you and what you’re giving them in return for their time and talent.

What Should a Total Compensation Statement Contain?

The Society of Human Resource Management suggests including information about salary or wages, the amount paid by both the employee and the employer for medical coverage, information about flexible spending accounts, paid leave, voluntary benefits and retirement benefits.

Bench-marking information should be included as well. If your company places greater investment in areas like employee health insurance than others in the market, that should be presented in your total comp statements.

What’s the Value of a Total Compensation Statement?

When employees have a better idea of the financial value their employer puts on them, they can end up being more satisfied with their compensation. As companies continue to increase their employee retention, through greater employee satisfaction, many will realize how effective a tool like total compensation statements can be.

Using total comp statements to communicate your company’s message to its valued employees, can be a great tactic, but it should be enacted as part of a larger, comprehensive employee benefits and communication plan.

Want to learn how to create and use total comp statements for your employees? Check out our white paper: How to Create a Successful Benefits Statements Project.