Establishing and maintaining internal communications campaigns is an important part of running a successful business. However, when communicating with employees about their benefits, it becomes even more vital, as many employees highly value the benefits their employers offer. Because of this, employers should make their benefits campaigns easy to understand, engaging, and accessible.
Here are five methods that your company can use to help improve your benefits communications campaigns:
1. Use Interesting Mediums
One of the biggest challenges companies face when it comes to their benefits communications campaign is making their employees interested in the content. While a simple booklet or PDF might seem like the obvious choice, these mediums actually tend to fall short when it comes to employee engagement. Utilizing other mediums, such as videos or infographics, can make the information much more engaging.
Visual methods of communication are more intriguing, helping to capture the attention of employees and get them to actually read the various benefits that the company offers. They also help them better understand it as well, with 41 percent of employees reportedly learning better when visuals were provided instead of solely text.
2. Have a Continuous Campaign
When employees are given large chunks of information all at once, they often feel overwhelmed. For this reason, a benefits communication campaign should be created to run all year round, distributing small doses of information as the year progresses. This will make the content easier for employees to digest. It also provides employees with a steady stream of content that continuously boosts engagement.
3. Keep It Short and Simple
Using lots of industry terms and jargon can alienate the employees who are meant to read the material. If people don’t understand the way something is phrased, the chances that they ask clarifying questions or seek further information is small. In fact, over 20 percent of employees cite complex language as the reason why they are confused about their benefits plan. Instead, ensure that the material is kept short and uses simple terminology to better help employees understand their benefits.
4. Make the Content Easily Accessible
Another key part of efficient communications is accessibility. One of the best ways to make a benefits campaign easily accessible is to post it in a central channel, such as an employee app. This will prevent employees from having to dig through hundreds of emails and documents to find the material. A centralized location will also make their benefits easily comparable, helping your employees make the best decision possible regarding their healthcare choices.
5. Plan Content Out Beforehand
The last thing that a company wants to do is rush the creation of their benefits communications campaign. This will likely result in it being subpar and failing to address all the areas that it needs to for the employees. To avoid this, plan out the content beforehand and create a strategy early on, ensuring no information gets missed or overlooked.
By implementing these five strategies, you should see a massive improvement in the quality of your benefits communications campaign. They also work hand-in-hand. Preplanning is vital when building a benefit communication campaign, and allows your team to try out different mediums for your content. It also helps you to break your content into simple and effective posts, where a central portal can be used to keep the information accessible and easily navigable.
To get further help with making the most out of your benefits communications campaign, contact us today.
