Why I Wrote The Unboring of Benefits:

My name is Jill Freeman and I am the author of The Unboring of Benefits: Build a Communication Blueprint.

Benefits are often the second-largest employee investment organizations make after payroll, and possibly the least effectively explained. Employers are spending a fortune on benefits while employees are still asking their coworkers what a deductible is or which doctors are in-network or where to find the EAP info.

In a nutshell, I wrote this book because I’ve seen what happens when benefits communication works. It is pretty amazing as good stuff happens: retention goes up, employees say good things unprompted about their benefits (right?!?), and employees know about and effectively use the benefits organizations are paying a small fortune to provide.

Over my career, I’ve helped employees and families navigate some of the hardest moments of their lives from serious illness, medical uncertainty, loss, caregiving, and complicated healthcare decisions. Over and over, I saw the same thing during these life events —benefits aren’t boring, or even broken, the way we communicate them is.

How My Book Helps

Too many organizations spend millions on benefits and then explain them with:

• Complicated jargon
• 42-page PDFs
• Portals no one logs into
• Emails employees immediately ignore while pretending to “circle back later”

Employees can’t value what they don’t understand.

This book is about changing that. It’s about making benefits communication more human, useful, modern, relatable and yes, a bit more interesting. Think, benefits strategy with better storytelling and fewer acronyms. But be warned, lousy designs, unreadable fonts, and giant insurance jargon PDFs were harmed in the making of this book.

I have no regrets!

Who This Book Is For

This book is for HR leaders, communicators, consultants, and benefits nerds (said lovingly since I am one!) who are ready to stop creating jargon-filled PDFs nobody reads and start building benefits experiences employees and their families connect with. It’s written for the brave souls explaining deductibles before 9 a.m. I see you and I’ve been in your Birkenstocks ™.

Benefits Communication Lab 

A hands-on workshop for HR and benefits leaders ready to enhance how benefits are communicated. Bring your current materials. Leave with stronger messaging and a clear engagement plan!

About the Author

After spending a career working on benefits delivery for large self-funded employers, Jill experienced first-hand just how valuable benefits are for employees and their families, when they need to use them. She earned her B.A. from Valparaiso University and her Masters from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Her theory is benefits are such a big investment by employers, they need effective communication to make them understandable and accessible. She’s spent the past 10 years crafting and designing benefits communication content and experiences for employers.

A native Midwesterner, she calls Portland, Oregon home (Go Timbers and Thorns!) and has a Shih Tzu, Little Joe, who loves learning about pet insurance as he’s a regular user!