Speaker Q&A Directory

Using Technology to Encourage Behaviors and Engage Employees
Technology is opening doors to new levels of employee engagement, lending a more personal touch to corporate communications. Scot Marcotte, Global Technology Solutions Leader for Buck Consultants, will join Randy Keuch, VP Total Rewards for H. J. Heinz Company to discuss how employers can more effectively use technology to boost employee participation and satisfaction in benefit plans.

Q: What’s the gist of your session?

A: We’re going to look at all the data we have in the human resources space that gives us a phenomenal opportunity to help employee make informed decisions about their health and wealth. We’ll discuss the ideal ways to use that data in the most productive way to engage employee behaviors.

Q: What are some of the ways employees need to be engaged in their benefit plans?

A: They may not be taking full advantage of their 401(k) plan, for example. Or they may be losing out on an opportunity for wellness incentives.

Q: How can technology help engage employees?

A: Human resource departments can now push messages in a proactive way, using a variety of media: email, messages delivered to a handheld, and even print in some cases. There are so many different modes of communication now. We can even drop these nudges into a calendar: “Your self-assessment is due for your performance appraisal” or “Your stock options are about to expire.” It’s an opportunity for us to have an ongoing dialogue with employees throughout the year.

Q: What is H. J. Heinz doing to improve employee communications using technology?

A: Heinz is using this model to aggregate information and target messaging around the career “health and wealth” system. For example, they send targeted emails out to engourage retirement plan savings, based on individual participation levels. Heinz will share the ROI of its program at the session.