Looking to boost participation in a company benefit plan (401(k), health savings or flexible spending account, etc.)? Then you’ll need to know the answer to this question:
Will our employees have stronger reactions to charts and statistics, or stories and examples?
Consider this study: Three groups were given presentations in an effort to gather donations to help feed the hungry in Africa.
- Group A was shown statistics on food shortages in Africa.
- Group B was told a story about one child’s struggle with hunger.
- Group C was presented with both.
Which group donated the most? Group B — by a large margin.
Researchers concluded people can relate to a story. They picture the individual’s struggle — while stats tend to wash over the audience.
This is valuable info when it comes to benefits meetings.
Sure, some execs (who tend to be numbers people anyway) will want hard data and performance figures — on benefits plans, 401(k) investments, etc.
But individual employees are more likely to be influenced by a short testimonial — about, for example, how the tax benefits of your health savings account saved a co-worker hundreds of dollars last year.
Have you found this to be true of your employees? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
