How the pandemic proves the importance of benefits communication

Picture it: Employees are suddenly dismissed from your office to hunker down in their homes. They’re glued to social media, facing unprecedented challenges to work-life balance, and experiencing stress like never before.

Amid all this pressure, even routine tasks become increasingly difficult. Shopping for groceries feels more stressful. Walking the dog becomes a game of dodging people. Taking the kids “to school” leaves little breaks from parenting.

Can we really expect employees to add navigating the murky, confusing web of employee benefits to this list? To truly help employees right now, and in the future, we must overhaul the way we approach benefits communication.

New working arrangements make old methods obsolete

The way we work has changed. Companies that were once all-in on open office collaboration are now surviving through virtual conferencing. Even those returning to work are encouraged not to gather. That likely means the end of benefits meetings, presentations, and break room posters. Communication that relies on gathering together isn’t our way forward.

Neither are communications that require close reading, careful examination, or long periods of attention. Across every industry, our new work arrangements are exhausting. Employees experience “Zoom fatigue” and unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression. It’s unreasonable to expect that benefits education will occupy much of our employees’ worried minds.

It’s a paradox, because this moment of prolonged national crisis means employees need more support than ever before. To thrive, they must understand their employee benefits and how to use them.

Employee benefits can only help if employees use them

None of us can truly predict how the workforce will look, or what it will need, in 2021 and beyond. We may see an increased need for some trending benefits, like flexible virtual care. We could see more robust wellness and mental health offerings in response to 2020’s endless stressors.

No matter what your employer clients add in 2021, it’s important to remember that benefits are only beneficial if employees use them. Simply adding new benefits in response to this crisis won’t solve underlying issues of communication, navigation and utilization.

Do your clients’ employees know how to find testing? Is it easy to use telemedicine or have their prescriptions delivered? Can they reach a virtual counselor when they need support? Poor communication strategies are a barrier to utilization and, more than ever, to employee health.

In 2020 and beyond, benefits advisors and their employer clients can no longer afford a lackluster benefits communication strategy. Before open enrollment is the time to start considering how you can solve this dilemma.

Consider navigation, communication, and ease of use

It may be time to toss old communication strategies out the door. Instead of just “moving them online,” take a step back to reevaluate.

Perhaps you and your clients need a replacement for the traditional open enrollment meeting. You could host a virtual version for the company. Or, you could meet with employees in small virtual groups for a shortened presentation and extended Q&A. The latter might help answer questions so employees can start using their benefits more efficiently.

If questions about navigating benefits or using problems typically top your clients’ HR to-do list, consider creative ways to help even remote, dispersed, or staggered employees understand their benefits. Post helpful screenshots to the company intranet. Create a how-to email series that covers one benefit each week. Host virtual office hours employees can access no matter where they’re working, and be ready for screen sharing and tutorials.

In short, it’s crucial that benefits communication strategies that rise to the challenge of this moment. Instead of thinking in terms of adapting old strategies, look to create new ones.

We can never go back, and in terms of benefits communication, we shouldn’t try. Rick Ramos is The Chief Marketing Officer for HealthJoy, a benefits experience platform.