Human Resources: Confusing Technology Hampering Efforts to Change Employee Behavior, Watson Wyatt Says

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.

Contact

Ed Emerman, 609/452-5967, eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
Emily Rieger, 703/258-7634, emily.rieger[at]watsonwyatt.com

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