As we launch into 2024, we’re gearing up year-round communications strategy and planning. Together as a team, we reflected on what we believe will drive employee and benefit communications in the year ahead.
1. Mental health as a continued focal point—with an expanded focus on total well-being.
The pandemic brought a positive focus on mental wellness, and we’re proud to partner with multiple customers who have been working to help their employees think differently about mental health. Now, a few years post-pandemic, there’s an even greater awareness that mental well-being is impacted by many factors. In 2024, we expect to see an expanded focus on other aspects that impact mental health such as financial, physical and social.
We think the focus on financial wellness and how it impacts mental health is particularly important. According to the 2023 Workplace Benefits Reportfrom Bank of America mental health program, the overall financial wellness of U.S. employees has declined by 10% since 2021. Employers are beginning to recognize that financial stress not only affects their employees’ personal life, but potentially their professional one as well.
What you can do in 2024:Communicate about the financial benefits you offer that can help employees of all ages plan for their financial future.
2. Renewed focus on culture and employee experience
One thing that has become clear over the past few years is that people want to enjoy their jobs and their employers. A positive employee experience—the journey an employee takes with your organization—is becoming a critical recruitment and retention tool. It should include touchpoints in the employee life cycle, and intentional ways to connect and build trust with your workforce. We love this because it’s a win-win-win: the employee, company and community all benefit!
One key way you can improve the employee experience in your organization is to take a marketing approach to your internal communications by adopting similar tactics and strategies often used in consumer marketing. A few ways to have a big impact with your communications is to:
- Create employees journeys that target messages to employees at the right time, in the right place, and in the right context. One key area we recommend focusing on is your new hire journey – what does the first year look like for an employee?
- Use impactful copy in your messaging. Eye-catching design can also greatly increase engagement levels among employees. It’s all about grabbing attention and conveying the message in an easy-to-understand manner.
- Use a technology platform to help segment your audiences. These tools can support in creating personalized messages, delivering them via preferred channels, and measuring their impact.
What you can do in 2024: Evaluate your communications from a marketing lens. Employee communications should strive to be meaningful, data-driven, personalized, and measured to check if you’re hitting the mark.
3. A doubling-down on chronic condition management
As employers try to manage rising healthcare costs, they’re homing in on better chronic condition management communications to employees with diabetes, hypertension and obesity. The goal is to connect employees to programs specifically designed to help minimize their risk or better manage their condition, giving them a sense of ownership over their health journey.
Clarity, accessibility, and empathy in these communications is important! Best practices include:
- Using simplified language and avoiding medical jargon as much as possible.
- Crafting messages that emphasize the outcomes, such as improved quality of life and better control over symptoms
- Using multiple channels to reach a wider audience.
What you can do in 2024: Make healthcare navigation easy for those that need it most. By leveraging your health data and identifying employees with certain health conditions, you can provide targeted campaigns about your chronic condition management programs and related concierge services.
4. Continued exploration of how to integrate AI into every day workflows
We like to think about AI as a “great intern”—helpful to have, but limited without much experience. With that in mind, we use AI tools to drive efficiency and help:
- Jumpstart brainstorming and generate ideas at scale
- Suggest alternative headlines or email subject lines
- Transcribe videos
- Take notes during meetings
However, AI is not a subject matter expert, nor a substitute for the writing and design done by real professionals. We make sure to use AI wisely and check all AI-generated content for accuracy. It’s also vital that organizations implement AI guidelines that align with ethical standards and industry best practices, and regularly review and update these guidelines to reflect technological advancements
What you can do in 2024: Stay ahead of the curve by familiarizing yourself with the basic concepts of AI and AI-powered tools. And always remember, the power of AI is not about replacing humans, but about augmenting human potential.
2024 is sure to be an exciting year ahead for communicators! If we can assist with your efforts, reach out at guy@westcomm.com or follow us on LinkedIn for more insights.
