I resisted the urge to interrupt and 'splain the value and importance of their benefits. 

What did I learn from this? That it takes powerful communication to get through the 'fog of war' we all live in.  That everyone is focused on benefits to themselves. That everyone is looking for a quick, simple fix for whatever ails them. And that young professionals occasionally live on happy hour snacks and Frosted Flakes.

Also, printing up some t-shirts with the slogan "Wellness is for Suckers" was tempting.

What does it take?  We need to get outside the box in how we reach the "Young Invincibles." If you hand a paper enrollment information packet to a Baby Boomer, they grumble, get out their reading glasses, review the tables and then sign up for the most coverage they can afford, which includes pharmacy for their chronic conditions. Gen X? They skim the paperwork, talk to friends and family about getting the most for the least, and sign up for the mid-priced package.  Millennials?  They never open the paper packets, and grudgingly sign up for the least expensive benefit package allowable. Hey, they're never getting sick.

Three simple rules for modern benefits communication:

1. Know your audience. 
2. Go where they are, and use the channel and language they use.
3. Make it simple.

Oh, and a fourth rule…get outside the box.

I know: You don't have time to do it differently.  You, as benefits professionals, barely have enough time to read your weekly 100 pages of new ACA guidance from the HHS mother ship.  You have a flood of requests for your time on individual cases.

The secret sauce is using the right tools for the job, and the stakes and challenges are doubling every year. 

What stakes? The cost of benefits, and the looming presence of the ACA.  What challenges?  The overwhelming marketing chatter that surrounds all of us, and the climbing expectations of human nature.

You know about the chatter.  The volume of marketing messages hitting us keeps climbing.  The stress levels are climbing right along with the volume.  I just saw a survey that showed the short term memory losses for the youngest generation – the Millennials – is WORSE than the oldest generation, and the gap is blamed on stress levels in the younger workers. These are the benefits consumers most crucial for us.

Allow me to illustrate. 

I wish you could have been there. I was tasked with a job I'd done hundreds of times, and still comfortable with. Every month or so, I clean out the family cars and vacuum all of the leftover bits and stuff out from the hard-to-reach spots. Total time – about 30 minutes. The traditional tool for the job: a standard shop vac, a hose that sucks, but does not reach into the nooks and crannies very well.

Outside the box? I changed tools and reduced the elapsed time from 30 minutes with poor results to 60 seconds with GREAT results. The new tool? I fired up a high horsepower leaf blower, opened all of the doors, stuck the business end under the seats and hit the throttle.  There was a small volcano of napkins, pens, and dried French fries onto the driveway. Wiped the dash with a rag and I was done. The right tool for the job.

Metaphor? See the traditional vacuum as traditional communication styles.  Comfortable but not that effective. A one-to-one effort – only where the nozzle touches feels the effect. The leaf blower is "new media," such as Twitter and Blogging. Push media where the nozzle blast can hit everyone, in all directions.

So, stop reading and look around your workplace. Take inventory of what tools you have to communicate, and what audiences you need to communicate with. Then, and this is the tough part, figure out the gaps. 

Your assignment? Figure out how to get outside the box. Fire up that leaf blower, and pull the throttle.