By Meredith Fish, SVP of Human Resources, Lantern
As HR leaders, we put a ton of effort into promoting employee benefits during open enrollment. Throughout January, we field questions as employees get to know the new benefits they signed up for.
But enthusiasm often dips as the rest of the year unfolds, with most employees ignoring their benefits until October comes back around–or they have questions about benefits they need to use.
When we don’t talk about benefits consistently, we miss an opportunity to make sure employees know all about the support they have. We also do a disservice to off-cycle benefits that employees can sign up for and use at any time. And here’s a statistic that might surprise you: 66% of employees say they want to hear more about their benefits year round.
So how can you help keep benefits top of mind? I’ve found that you have to get creative.
Here are the approaches that have worked best for me in my 10+ years as a Human Resources leader. Try them out for yourself and see if you get better utilization– and maybe even fewer confused questions.
1. Use Modern Communication Channels–and Have Fun
Employees receive a flurry of internal communications, and benefit information can easily get lost in the noise. The key is to be creative with your communications and have fun. Employees remember unique communication.
Most companies today use messaging systems like Teams or Slack, and I’ve found these channels work well for reaching employees in real-time. Think about when you send an email versus a text. It may take a while for the person to see your email, whereas they’ll likely see your text right away.
Messaging systems work the same way. I like to create infographics or funny memes advertising new benefits and drop them in our Teams chat. It’s far more engaging than your typical boilerplate email.
Don’t be afraid to get the senior leadership team together and record a fun TikTok or Instagram reel talking about benefits. You can send it out in an email or put it in the all-company Teams channel. Be brief and bright to capture attention.
Also, group together related benefits in your promotions. For instance, if you offer a virtual PT through a service like Hinge or Sword and also provide access to a center of excellence for surgical care, group these benefits together as “musculoskeletal pain” or “pain management” to raise awareness and help employees better understand their options.
2. Meet Employees Where They Are
I can’t stress this enough: You have to meet employees where they are. That means synching communications with employees’ preferences, work environment and daily routines.
You want to get your message out there in different ways. We have several generations in the workforce right now, and they all communicate differently. Use multiple channels to engage different types of employees and tailor your message accordingly.
A benefits email may not reach an employee on an assembly line, but a sign hung by the time clock or in the breakroom will prove more effective. I’ve hung promotions on the snack bins in the office and on the back of the doors in the bathroom.
Snail mail still works well, too. Sending material directly to an employee’s spouse that effectively highlights employee benefits can engage the person often involved in family health decisions.
Make sure to consider different work shifts, time zones and peak productivity periods when sending messages. For remote workers, provide communications that are mobile-friendly and optimized for quick access.
3. Leverage Employee Advocates
I’m a firm believer in having an advocate network among your employees. Put together a group and hold a 15-minute monthly meeting to share benefit information. Then, have your employee advocates go back and disseminate that information, whether it’s in team meetings or their internal team channels.
The message will resonate so much more from a peer, especially if they can personalize it and say “Hey, team, I went and I used this service and here’s how it impacted me.” Stories are inherently compelling and memorable, helping employees connect emotionally with the individuals and services.
When launching a new benefit mid-year, you can lean on your benefits vendor for success stories and other collateral.
4. Offer Incentives
If you really want to raise employee awareness around benefits, make it worth their time.
Whether employees receive a gift card for visiting a vendor’s website or free food for attending a lunch and learn, incentives make the process more appealing and motivate employees to act.
For example, you can do fun things like host a scavenger hunt where employees have to show proof they visited three benefit vendor websites. I’ve also done 15-minute games around lunchtime where I give a prompt and say something like, “Go find who our EAP provider is and put it in the chat.” Then, everyone who participates receives a prize.
I always make sure employees get some type of takeaway so they leave with a lasting memory of the benefit and they’re not just coming for the snacks.
5. Get Executive Buy-in
Executive buy-in starts before you launch the benefit. As you work on plan design, bring leaders into the fold, get them excited as early as possible and make them part of the official launch. Ask senior leaders to speak during open enrollment and throughout the year at town halls and team meetings.
Nothing incentivizes folks like making benefits utilization a part of their own goals and KPIs. I love to see accountability spread out among the leadership team. You can gamify it and show the utilization for each department or team to spark competition and make it fun.
Promote Year-Round
While Q1 provides a timely opportunity to promote employee benefits, HR and benefits leaders must sustain the momentum by consistently promoting benefits year-round.
Employee needs evolve, and introducing new benefits mid-year can address emerging priorities or fill gaps in existing offerings. Make sure to communicate consistently and use creative marketing tactics to ensure your employees take full advantage of their benefits.