(CHICAGO - OCTOBER 8, 1998) - The Profit Sharing/ 401(k) Council of America (PSCA) recognized companies for excellence in their plan communication and investment education programs through their annual Signature Awards program. Entries were judged in several categories for clarity, creativity and effectiveness. The winners were announced at PSCA's 51st National Profit Sharing/ 401(k) Conference & Exhibition in Orlando. The Signature Awards are designed to encourage quality plan education and communication by identifying excellence in these areas and sharing it with others in the plan community. Once the components of an effective program are identified, it becomes easier for plan sponsors to offer quality education and communication programs to their participants. The primary objectives of the Signature Awards are: - To reward and encourage excellence in profit-sharing and 401(k) plan communication and investment education
- To encourage the sharing of communication ideas
- To provide a means of outside, objective recognition of companies' efforts
- To give feedback to participants from knowledgeable judges
This year, the Signature Awards put greater emphasis on assessing a program's effectiveness. Entrants were encouraged to include qualitative and/ or quantitative information demonstrating their program's results. One example might be a financial literacy survey of employees taken both before and after the program's inception, documenting improvement in employees' knowledge of saving and investing. "Entrants who submitted quantitative or qualitative measures tended to fare better in this year's Signature Awards," according to David Wray, president of PSCA. "Evaluating the effectiveness of one's education and communication program is important - it enables companies to see what works and what doesn't, and to respond accordingly." "Any quality education program must incorporate effectiveness measures," says Betty Meredith, president of Discover Learning and vice-chair of PSCA's Communication Committee. "Although we did not require Signature Award entrants to submit documentation showing they are measuring effectiveness, doing so did help companies gain points in the awards. Such measurements demonstrate a solid commitment to providing quality communication and education programs." The other major change in this year's Signature Awards is in the award categories themselves. In the past, programs were compared according to media type. For example, videos were compared to videos, printed documents were compared to printed documents, etc. This year, however, the awards were categorized according to what sort of problem the program was trying to solve. For example, there was a category for programs designed to increase participation. This also enabled multimedia programs to compete in a single category. Applicants were judged in the following nine categories: Introducing Plan Design Changes, On-going Communication, Asset Allocation, Financial Planning, Complete Campaign, Increasing Participation, Increasing Deferrals, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Language Diversity. The following are this year's Signature Award Winners: Introducing Plan Design Changes - Announcing plan design changes in a way that is easy-to-understand, educational, and non-alienating to employees
1st Place:
THE DCH GROUP OF COMPANIES
prepared by: AMERICAN EXPRESS RETIREMENT SERVICES
2nd Place:
CANON U.S.A. INC.
prepared by: THE VANGUARD GROUP INC.
3rd Place:
THE BOEING CO.
prepared by: STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS On-going Communication - Continuing communication efforts designed to achieve and maintain various plan goals
1st Place:
ALLIEDSIGNAL INC.
prepared by: HEWITT ASSOCIATES LLC
2nd Place:
GREYHOUND LINES INC.
prepared by: AMERICAN EXPRESS RETIREMENT SERVICES
3rd Place:
BAYER CORP.
prepared by: THE VANGUARD GROUP Asset Allocation - Educating employees about the basics of investing, their available investment options and incorporating an asset allocation strategy
1st Place:
TIMEX CORP.
prepared by: SCUDDER UNIVERSITY
2nd Place:
BLACK AND DECKER CORP.
prepared by: T. ROWE PRICE
3rd Place:
LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP.
prepared by: PUTNAM INVESTMENTS Financial Planning - Addressing education issues about retirement planning within the broader context of financial planning
1st Place:
MONSANTO CO.
prepared by: ERNST & YOUNG LLP
2nd Place:
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA INC.
prepared by: BMW OF NORTH AMERICA INC. Complete Campaign - Addressing numerous plan issues such as enhancements to plan design, increasing awareness, increasing participation, increasing deferral rates, and investment education
1st Place:
HELMERICH & PAYNE INC.
prepared by: THE VANGUARD GROUP INC.
2nd Place:
MBL LIFE ASSURANCE CORPORATION
prepared by: MBL LIFE ASSURANCE CORPORATION Increasing Participation - Increasing awareness, appreciation and participation in the plan
1st Place:
EMI MUSIC
prepared by: T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT SERVICES INC.
2nd Place:
J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT INC.
prepared by: PRUDENTIAL INVESTMENTS RETIREMENT SERVICES Increasing Deferrals - Encouraging employees to save at maximum levels
1st Place:
STRONG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC.
prepared by: STRONG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC.
2nd Place (tie):
BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD OF WEST NEW YORK
prepared by: MASSMUTUAL RETIREMENT SERVICES
2nd Place (tie):
COCA - COLA BOTTLING CO. CONSOLIDATED
prepared by: PUTNAM INVESTMENTS Mergers & Acquisitions - Accommodating the unique concerns of companies and plans that are being combined into one entity due to mergers and acquisitions
1st Place:
NEWMONT GOLD CO.
prepared by: THE VANGUARD GROUP INC. Language Diversity - Meeting the communication obstacles associated with language diversity among the employee population
1st Place:
CLOVERNOOK
prepared by: PNC BANK |