Cigna (spelled using all capital letters as CIGNA) is a global health services company, owing to its expanding international footprint and the fact that it provides administrative services only (not insurance) to approximately 80 percent of its clients. The corporate headquarters are located at Two Liberty Place in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. CIGNA also has a major footprint in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area running a full-service staff-model HMO with satellite clinics throughout the region.[1]
Cigna International Expatriate Benefits also operates under CIGNA corporation and provides benefits to customers around the world.
According to its most recent investor report[2] from 2009, CIGNA has approximately 29,300 employees.
With unemployment rates continuing to fall and firms battling to draw in and keep quality staff, employers ought to pay close consideration to the importance being placed on the significance of health care by employees. We've seen a number of times a lot more and far more that workers are first wondering about the benefits plan and then about salary. It is obvious that cost-effective medical care is a growing concern of prospects.
For existing workers, we've found that providing greater benefits contributions rather than salary increases is a well received notion. Little companies have their eyes on the bottom line and labor costs are one of the hardest hitting elements. By giving higher contributions to advantages programs business employers can reduce the overall payroll expenses. This is an area that most employers do not invest plenty of time looking at since they believe they are under the impression it'll be too costly. An additional misconception is that for an excellent advantages contribution plan, an employer need to purchase a group policy. This isn't the case, a resourceful HR person will assist firm leaders in researching alternative advantages options like mini-meds (miniature medical plans with lower maximum coverage and limited visits), individual medical plans particular to every employee (frequently times significantly lower cost than group rates) and Health Savings Accounts just to name a couple of.
Small companies should undoubtedly take into account benefits options now as there are proponents of legislation to make benefits mandatory for modest to medium size businesses. At the end of 2005 California voters were presented with possible legislation that would require that specific employers supply health coverage for their employees and in some instances dependents through either (1) paying a fee to a new state program primarily to buy private health insurance coverage or (2) arranging directly with health insurance providers for health care coverage. The state would also establish a new program to assist lower-income employees to pay their share of health care premiums.
This referendum lost by just about two percent so we have been keeping our eye on this to resurface again within the extremely near future.
As noted, adding a company sponsored health care option can drastically increase retention of your employees.
3 million part-time employees, in 1 99 7 that figure climbed to
4.5 million and today, there are an estimated 6 million part-time
employees. An estimated 70 percent of organizations employ part-
time professionals who once were full time. According to a study by
Catalyst, 46 percent of respondents who had switched from full-time
to part-time work reported an increase in productivity, morale, com-
mitment to the company, and retention.
Flexible work options, such as part-time employment and job
sharing, are becoming increasing attractive to employees. Flextime,
for example, has become the most popular flexible work arrange-
ment and results in a bonus to employers and employees alike. The
solution allows full-time employees to work at convenient times and
offers employers a low-cost method of providing personal time off,
extending service hours (without overtime pay), and reducing absen-
teeism and turnover.
CIGNA Corp., which has businesses in health care, insurance, and
financial services, has discovered that by letting employees work part
time or in a compressed work week with full benefits saves money
by reducing turnover, lowering training and recruitment costs. Of
CIGNA's 37,000 employees, 1 2,000 work part time, a third of them
in professional and management positions, and any employee
working more than 2 4 hours a week receives full benefits.
Even though Noridian Mutual Insurance Co.'s 11.5 percent employee turnover rate is below the 12.2 percent industry average, company officials wanted to improve the retention of its 2,000 employees. "We want to be the employer of choice in Fargo," says Pam Lawrence, assistant vice president of human relations for the carrier. "Employee retention is important to maintaining a productive company."
So, in 2002, Noridian (Fargo, N.D.; $907 million in premium income), which operates as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan in North Dakota, embarked on an analysis of the reasons employees resigned to determine if anything could be done to improve employee retention. But the carrier quickly realized that its exit interview process was insufficient. Human resources staff used pen and paper and lacked a way to analyze exit interviews, which are conducted on a voluntary basis.
Related Resources
Modernizing Insurance Legacy Systems for a Leading Provider of Annuity ProductsInsurance ModernizationNext Generation Insurance Practice
So, Noridian sought an automated system for conducting exit interviews to streamline the process and allow for efficient analysis, relates Lawrence, who was on the carrier's technology selection team and was lead manager on the implementation project. The solution, according to Lawrence, needed to be Web-based, partly to increase participation and partly to enable information to be compiled in a database, which would facilitate analysis, retention and retrieval.
The selection team examined products in 2003 and selected Nobscot Corp.'s (Honolulu) WebExit Online Exit Interview Management System. The Web-based subscription service fit the bill and was reasonably priced, Lawrence relates, so the carrier forewent a formal RFP process. "We liked the idea of a subscription service," she says.
Noridian Mutual purchased a 12-month subscription to the service in June 2004. Though no hardware was required to support the hosted solution, it took about four months to customize it, which involved reviewing the actual exit interview questions and setting up a structure for data tracking and reporting. Nobscot trained a single human resources representative - who in turn trained other HR staff - in just a few hours. The last three months of 2004 served as a pilot period, and full implementation started at the beginning of 2005.
About 47 percent of departing employees participated in the pilot, a marked improvement over earlier participation rates, Lawrence notes. It was more convenient for departing employees to take the Web-based exit interview, she explains, and employees now have the option of completing the WebExit interviews anonymously.
Though the pilot didn't reveal any clear problems, the solution recorded departing employees' positive attitudes toward the company, providing reinforcement for policies that work, according to Lawrence. In fact, information from exit interviews showed that employees viewed Noridian's management and policies favorably and were generally satisfied with compensation and the safe working environment. The information, Lawrence says, is valuable in maintaining a quality working environment.
Cigna International Expatriate Benefits also operates under CIGNA corporation and provides benefits to customers around the world.
According to its most recent investor report[2] from 2009, CIGNA has approximately 29,300 employees.
With unemployment rates continuing to fall and firms battling to draw in and keep quality staff, employers ought to pay close consideration to the importance being placed on the significance of health care by employees. We've seen a number of times a lot more and far more that workers are first wondering about the benefits plan and then about salary. It is obvious that cost-effective medical care is a growing concern of prospects.
For existing workers, we've found that providing greater benefits contributions rather than salary increases is a well received notion. Little companies have their eyes on the bottom line and labor costs are one of the hardest hitting elements. By giving higher contributions to advantages programs business employers can reduce the overall payroll expenses. This is an area that most employers do not invest plenty of time looking at since they believe they are under the impression it'll be too costly. An additional misconception is that for an excellent advantages contribution plan, an employer need to purchase a group policy. This isn't the case, a resourceful HR person will assist firm leaders in researching alternative advantages options like mini-meds (miniature medical plans with lower maximum coverage and limited visits), individual medical plans particular to every employee (frequently times significantly lower cost than group rates) and Health Savings Accounts just to name a couple of.
Small companies should undoubtedly take into account benefits options now as there are proponents of legislation to make benefits mandatory for modest to medium size businesses. At the end of 2005 California voters were presented with possible legislation that would require that specific employers supply health coverage for their employees and in some instances dependents through either (1) paying a fee to a new state program primarily to buy private health insurance coverage or (2) arranging directly with health insurance providers for health care coverage. The state would also establish a new program to assist lower-income employees to pay their share of health care premiums.
This referendum lost by just about two percent so we have been keeping our eye on this to resurface again within the extremely near future.
As noted, adding a company sponsored health care option can drastically increase retention of your employees.
3 million part-time employees, in 1 99 7 that figure climbed to
4.5 million and today, there are an estimated 6 million part-time
employees. An estimated 70 percent of organizations employ part-
time professionals who once were full time. According to a study by
Catalyst, 46 percent of respondents who had switched from full-time
to part-time work reported an increase in productivity, morale, com-
mitment to the company, and retention.
Flexible work options, such as part-time employment and job
sharing, are becoming increasing attractive to employees. Flextime,
for example, has become the most popular flexible work arrange-
ment and results in a bonus to employers and employees alike. The
solution allows full-time employees to work at convenient times and
offers employers a low-cost method of providing personal time off,
extending service hours (without overtime pay), and reducing absen-
teeism and turnover.
CIGNA Corp., which has businesses in health care, insurance, and
financial services, has discovered that by letting employees work part
time or in a compressed work week with full benefits saves money
by reducing turnover, lowering training and recruitment costs. Of
CIGNA's 37,000 employees, 1 2,000 work part time, a third of them
in professional and management positions, and any employee
working more than 2 4 hours a week receives full benefits.
Even though Noridian Mutual Insurance Co.'s 11.5 percent employee turnover rate is below the 12.2 percent industry average, company officials wanted to improve the retention of its 2,000 employees. "We want to be the employer of choice in Fargo," says Pam Lawrence, assistant vice president of human relations for the carrier. "Employee retention is important to maintaining a productive company."
So, in 2002, Noridian (Fargo, N.D.; $907 million in premium income), which operates as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan in North Dakota, embarked on an analysis of the reasons employees resigned to determine if anything could be done to improve employee retention. But the carrier quickly realized that its exit interview process was insufficient. Human resources staff used pen and paper and lacked a way to analyze exit interviews, which are conducted on a voluntary basis.
Related Resources
Modernizing Insurance Legacy Systems for a Leading Provider of Annuity ProductsInsurance ModernizationNext Generation Insurance Practice
So, Noridian sought an automated system for conducting exit interviews to streamline the process and allow for efficient analysis, relates Lawrence, who was on the carrier's technology selection team and was lead manager on the implementation project. The solution, according to Lawrence, needed to be Web-based, partly to increase participation and partly to enable information to be compiled in a database, which would facilitate analysis, retention and retrieval.
The selection team examined products in 2003 and selected Nobscot Corp.'s (Honolulu) WebExit Online Exit Interview Management System. The Web-based subscription service fit the bill and was reasonably priced, Lawrence relates, so the carrier forewent a formal RFP process. "We liked the idea of a subscription service," she says.
Noridian Mutual purchased a 12-month subscription to the service in June 2004. Though no hardware was required to support the hosted solution, it took about four months to customize it, which involved reviewing the actual exit interview questions and setting up a structure for data tracking and reporting. Nobscot trained a single human resources representative - who in turn trained other HR staff - in just a few hours. The last three months of 2004 served as a pilot period, and full implementation started at the beginning of 2005.
About 47 percent of departing employees participated in the pilot, a marked improvement over earlier participation rates, Lawrence notes. It was more convenient for departing employees to take the Web-based exit interview, she explains, and employees now have the option of completing the WebExit interviews anonymously.
Though the pilot didn't reveal any clear problems, the solution recorded departing employees' positive attitudes toward the company, providing reinforcement for policies that work, according to Lawrence. In fact, information from exit interviews showed that employees viewed Noridian's management and policies favorably and were generally satisfied with compensation and the safe working environment. The information, Lawrence says, is valuable in maintaining a quality working environment.