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Five Tips for Creating an Effective Employee Benefits Communications Strategy
Benefitfocus
Clear communications can enhance every facet of modern life – and employee benefits are one area where individuals may benefit the most from effective, actionable messaging. Benefits can be complex, personal and impactful, and successful communication leads to real results. But here’s where the push-pull comes in.
Employees want (and need) targeted communication, yet HR teams may feel overwhelmed by where to begin when it comes to benefits communications. While HR teams shouldn’t be expected to become expert marketers, employee communications can be a key part of an effective benefits strategy. Here are five tips you can consider on how to hit the right notes:
1. Think Mobile-First
As of June 2024, mobile phones account for 60 percent of all global web traffic1, and 97 percent of Americans2 own a mobile device. These days, most of our lives can be managed on a mobile device, and employees expect benefits to be no different. Some might say a mobile app is more than a nice thing to have; it might be a necessity.
It’s not simply about being able to shop for benefits during your enrollment period. Employees should be able to quickly view all active benefits, coverage details and ID cards. Likewise, if they’re at the pharmacy and want to check their Health Savings Account (HSA) account balance, they should be able to do so.
Mobile apps can be another communication outlet for HR teams. With features like push notifications, reminders and embedded resources, HR teams can use mobile apps to drive awareness and action from anywhere.
2. Embrace Storytelling
Remember story time at the library? In the same way we were captivated by stories in our youth, it’s important to bring that to employee benefits experiences today. Storytelling has the potential to make the abstract real. An employee may not understand what taking advantage of a voluntary caregiving benefit means, but suppose a coworker shares a three-minute video explaining how that same benefit relieved stress for them and provided guidance and support when they needed it. In that case, that story has the potential to make a real impact on both the employee and you as their employer.
Ultimately, employers that embrace personal and inspirational storytelling may find it easier to show workers how benefits help them nurture their total well-being.
3. Measure Results
If you do all the work but don’t take the time to understand how well employees engage with your communications, you won’t be able to make improvements that drive better outcomes. But what should you measure? And where do you even begin? Here are a few metrics to consider tracking:
- Open rates: show the percentage of employees who open an internal communications.
- Click-through rate: shows the percentage of individuals who click on a specific link within a communication.
- Page views: confirm that a person landed on the destination and fully loaded after clicking on a link.
- Read time: How long did someone stay on the page? This is what read time answers.
- Video views: important to track when including video content in your strategy.
4. Multi-Channel Is a Must
It may seem obvious, but relying on a single communication channel puts your message at risk of being unnoticed or even ignored. And in our digital age, there are many channels at your disposal:
- Digital: Email, text messages, videos, internal communication channel postings, mobile app pushes and more
- Analog: Mailers, flyers, posters and other communication assets that employees can physically take to digest now or later
- Live and in-person: Team meetings, manager check-ins, benefits fairs and lunch-and-learns (even if these occur online)
Communication plans should respect employees’ preferences for channels and timing, with both “push” and “pull” options, from online portals and HR hubs to mobile apps. Push communications are like those mentioned above; they “push” the employee to act, visit your benefits portal, access your mobile app, etc. With pull communications, the responsibility is on the employee to access and use the information that’s been placed in a benefits portal or mobile app on-demand.
New research3 shows a wide range of employee communication preferences. Overall, when looking at employees holistically, there are no dominant channels.
5. Keep it Simple (as much as possible)
Throwing everything but the kitchen sink regarding employee benefits communication can be tempting. You want employees to take advantage of everything, especially when you’ve worked hard to offer more comprehensive benefits. In fact, 83 percent4 of HR managers have added new benefits in response to today’s hiring market.
But the truth is that "more benefits” only adds to the complexity of benefits management. One-third (31 percent) of Americans5 admit the thought of annual enrollment makes them feel “overwhelmed” or “discouraged,” with Gen Z (45 percent) and Millennials (36 percent) feeling the most overwhelmed and Gen X (31 percent) and Boomers (32 percent) feeling the most discouraged.
Ultimately, it’s a balancing act to prioritize employee communication in a way that boosts engagement. You can still raise awareness and provide education, but the point is to tailor (and simplify) that communication to highlight what matters most to different cohorts of employees.
For more information on benefits strategy from this sponsor, visit Benefitfocus.
The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content herein is provided for general informational purposes only.
1. Statcounter, Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share Worldwide
Jan 2024 - Jan 2025
2. Pew Research Center Mobile Fact Sheet, February 2024
3. MetLife’s 22nd Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study 2024
4. Robert Half: Top 6 HR Challenges Professionals Are Tackling Today, October 2024
5. Fidelity Investments Fall 2023 Health Care Outlook
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