Take one step backwards for voluntary success

Several years ago, a business associate shared an interesting concept with me. He served as a Marine during the Korean War, and one of his responsibilities was participating in operations where his unit was to take over a beach from the enemy. He was taught that sometimes after landing, it was necessary to “take one step backwards in order to take two steps forward.” It was a tactical move that allowed more favorable strategic positioning.

I recalled my friend’s lesson as I was preparing to write this column.

My memory was prompted by another friend of mine, who is completing an advanced degree in digital marketing. He asked a group of people to respond to a survey he created seeking responses to various digital marketing formats, including text messages, banner ads, email messages or newsletters, pop-ups, and targeted online marketing. We were asked to describe our likelihood of buying products/services based on various forms of digital media, on a rating scale and through a forced prioritization exercise.

I started thinking about voluntary benefits, and how we position communication about them with employees before or during open enrollment. Modern thinking about this issue is that employees have various preferred ways of being contacted, and that a multi-faceted campaign should be conducted to most effectively communicate and educate about benefit choices.

Thus, we send text messages and emails to employees to prompt them about enrollment opportunities and products. We set up websites featuring benefit calculators, as well as stories and testimonials from people who have benefited from products. We distribute print material and target specific products based on certain demographics, emphasizing benefits we think are most appropriate to a given person.

Yet studies show that employees are often dissatisfied with these communications. Perhaps it is because we don’t take a step backwards to ask how they prefer to be communicated with, and what methods they like or dislike?

I’ve seen studies indicating that people are much more likely to respond to text messages than emails; however, there may be many who feel the way I do: I think of texts as a great way to communicate with family, friends, and business associates. But because I consider those kinds of messages to be high-priority, I get offended when I receive marketing messages via text. I don’t want to waste my time trying to respond to something that isn’t a personal or business priority. So, in the survey, I ranked text message marketing as my least favored communications media.

Read more: How voluntary benefits have gone from important to critical

My recommendation is that advisors help employers ask employees for their preferences. Such a survey should also ask about communication regarding benefits that are relevant to dependents of the employee, because they may differ. It is simple enough to conduct a survey in advance so open enrollment results lead to more satisfaction with communication as well as better participation.

Take a step backwards and start the benefit education process with a survey. This can build greater employee satisfaction — and greater voluntary success!