April 12, 2010
Benefits site gets a fresh new look
The Office of Human Resources wants Johns Hopkins employees to know their benefits. The picture just got a lot clearer.
The office went live today with a greatly revamped benefits page and a new HR Facebook page that will feature a wealth of benefits information. An updated Total Rewards statement will be available on Wednesday.
Heidi Conway, senior director of benefits and Human Resources Shared Services, said that the previous Web site had become outdated and needed to become more user-friendly. The site was last fine-tuned five years ago.
“We wanted an updated, streamlined look that is consistent with the university brand, as well as offering a positive experience for the user,” Conway said. “We’re really excited about the changes. We think the new site offers much easier navigation, with a logical flow for users to find information on our benefits, news and events.”
The benefits home page includes a news feed and upcoming events listing, such as when a representative of a mutual fund brokerage firm will be on campus for one-on-one meetings.
The new site features a top-oriented toolbar of tabs that include Health and Life, Wellness, Retirement, Tuition Assistance, Life Events, Your Resources and Other Benefits. In the Life Events section, employees can examine issues to consider, or actions to take, when adding a child or getting married.
The pages offer descriptions of each benefit—which have all been rewritten for consistency and clarity—and relevant links to forms. The Health and Life section, for example, has easy-to-find links to all medical and dental
plans, and other information related to disability, flexible spending accounts, insurance options and other topics.
The site will include a slightly updated Total Rewards statement for employees to get the full picture of compensation. The statement, an annual personalized look at a person’s benefits, shows what JHU pays and what the employee pays in terms of health care, financial protection, retirement plans, tuition assistance and other benefits.
“The JHU portion of benefits is significant and is often overlooked, misunderstood or not known by the employee,” Conway said. “The real value of the statement is to understand the full benefits offering and the value you receive in addition to your salary. We want to educate people along those lines.”
The Johns Hopkins HR Facebook page will offer announcements, information on events and relevant information, such as how health care reform impacts Johns Hopkins. The site also allows for feedback and engagement with benefits staff.
For more information, go to http://benefits .jhu.edu. To view the Facebook page, go to www.facebook.com and search for “Johns Hopkins University Human Resources.”