Employees need an online space to find everything they need to know about their benefits. While we always encourage employers to build a benefits website (especially one outside of the firewall so spouses and partners can access it!), an HR portal or benefits section on your company intranet is another great option to house benefits information for employees.
A well-designed HR portal can be the cornerstone of all of your benefits communication. It can serve as both a hub and launching pad—it’s a repository for all benefits information (documents, resources, contact info, etc.) as well as the conduit to other benefits tools like online calculators or benefit vendor websites.
Here are six ways to make your HR portal the go-to place for everything benefits:
Be sure your HR portal is well-organized
Your portal should be simple to navigate and use. When a site is more intuitive, employees easily find what they need and are more likely to make repeat visits.
Make your HR portal searchable
Be sure to include a search bar that allows users to find content quickly. (Hint: This could also cut down on calls because aren’t’ frustrated that they can’t find what they need.)
Design a portal with the employee in mind
Use language that’s easy to understand—meaning no HR or insurance jargon. Also consider creating a “quick links” to the information employees are most interested in. Tip: Check website analytics for individual page views. What your employees are viewing may surprise you! It may also help you refine existing sections and develop new content.
Make it two-way
Add a chat functionality so employees can ask questions and get responses in real-time. Another creative way to converse with employees is through quick one-question surveys that help you keep a pulse on what’s important to them.
Add interactivity to your HR portal
In addition to pulse surveys, we recommend using videos, online medical plan calculators, podcasts and other digital tools to get employees engaged in benefits information in a variety of ways.
Maximize functionality
Employees want to do things online, right in the moment, so move your HR forms and other processes online to make it easy for today’s digital employees. Other ideas for added online functionality include registering for internal events like open enrollment webinars or tracking participation in wellness programs.
Keep It Fresh
An HR portal helps shape the employee experience and culture—for better or worse. It either allows employees to get informed and feel equipped to maximize their benefits or it leaves them feeling frustrated and unsure how to get questions answered.
With that in mind, it’s vital that you don’t create or update your HR portal and then just forget about it. It quickly becomes stale. Because benefits are something employees need to be engaged with all year long, keep content and visuals on the portal fresh and relevant. Regularly review website analytics to better understand your workforce and their benefits communication needs throughout the year. Use these findings to inform your design and content decisions so employees view the HR portal as a space to get informed and stay connected.
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