Communicating the value of vision benefits to employees

Benefits are a valuable part of an employee’s compensation — and a way of ensuring long-term health and productivity in the workplace.

Research by Arizent/Employee Benefit News found that in 2023, 88% of employers offered vision benefits, but only 29% of employees used their benefits to their maximum. Taking advantage of eye care benefits can help reduce eye strain, boost overall ocular health and empower employees to stay productive at work.

Clearly, there’s a gap between employer offerings and the value many employees see in their benefits.

Here are some ways that communicators can better tell the story of why benefits matter — and help employees take control of their vision health.

“The best advice we can give employers when they talk to their workforce about vision benefits and eye care education is to make it all easy to understand and use,” said Dr. John Lahr, vice president, provider relations, and medical director at EyeMed, affiliated with Transitions Optical. “Remind them of the importance of getting an annual eye exam and focus education and communications on the value of the vision benefit.”

Understand the value yourself

In order to tell a story, you must understand the story. And that means arming yourself with information about the value of vision benefits.

Eye strain and poor vision can impact all aspects of a person’s life. It can cause discomfort and fatigue both during the workday and during leisure activities. It also can actively hamper productivity at work: 70% of respondents to a 2023 survey conducted by Ragan Communications in partnership with Transitions Optical say that vision problems — many caused by light sensitivity and eyestrain—affect their work and productivity. Premium lens options like Transitions® GEN S™ lenses—available on all major vision care plans — are engineered to face the challenging light situations employees experience, delivering better vision quality, faster*, minimizing visual disturbances and accelerating vision recovery times.

Vision benefits are obviously an important element to maintaining not only personal health, but also overall work quality and productivity, building both a business case and a wellbeing case for encouraging their use.

How to tell the story

Communicators and HR professionals are the voices of their organizations, and they play a critical role in ensuring that employees know their options and the way eye care can improve their lives and work experiences.

In the case of vision benefits, communicators should connect how we see to employees’ overall comfort and life.

“It’s important to frame the conversation around how seeing well really means living well. Since our eyes are the windows to our world, having healthy vision really translates into our overall wellbeing, and how well we experience life,” said Jonathan Ormsby, senior manager, U.S. Managed Care, at Transitions Optical.

Ormsby shared a number of tips for helping communicators and HR tell the vision benefits story. These include:

• Hold events where employees can learn more about vision benefits. These could include workshops and seminars with optometrists or onboarding sessions exploring the benefits in-depth. Allow opportunities for questions during these sessions.
• Ask questions yourself. Talk to employees about how their vision impacts their work and what problems they may be experiencing.
• Talk to employees who do take advantage of their vision benefits. Use these powerful stories as testimonials to encourage further adoption.
• Tie vision benefits into your overall benefit communications. While much of the attention can fall on medical insurance and 401Ks, repeatedly including vision and touting its benefits can improve overall understanding and adoption. “Repeating the messaging, and weaving vision wellness into overall wellness conversations is key,” Ormsby said.
• Focus on cost. For those who already visit the eye doctor and have corrected vision, vision benefits can significantly reduce out-of-pocket costs. Help employees understand the impact on their pocketbook.

For more information on how to tell the vision benefits story to your employees, download this free report from Transitions Optical today.

*Vision quality improved in challenging light conditions, notably when moving from a bright to a darker environment (source B, Transitions® GEN S™ compared to Transitions® Signature® GEN 8™), in bright to very bright light situations (source A, Transitions® GEN S™ compared to clear lenses) and in low light with peaky stray light (source A, Transitions® GEN S™ c