How to Foster Open Conversations About Mental Health in the Workplace Through Employee Communications
The spotlight is shining on mental health in the workplace—and with good reason. If employees are struggling at work, they’re likely struggling outside of work, too—and vice versa. So, to improve engagement, performance, retention (and don’t forget…
Transforming DE&I from Policy to Culture: The Power of Storytelling in Creating an Inclusive Workplace
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial components of any successful organization. While many tend to think of DE&I as a human resources policy, the truth is that to be successful, DE&I must become part of an organization’s…
10 Strategies for Employee and Internal Communications to Increase Engagement
Effective internal communications have a significant effect on your overall employee engagement. If you want to maximize your employee communications or benefit communications plan in 2023, then consider these 10 strategies to up the ante with your…
How to Improve the ROI on Your Employee & Benefit Communications
Post-COVID-19, the battle to attract and keep good employees has intensified significantly. In many professions, employees can work from anywhere, so their job options—and opportunities for growth—have greatly expanded. And in other…
5 Internal and Employee Communication Trends to Watch in 2023
When it comes to your employee communication strategy, one thing is constant and enduring—internal communications should always be honest and authentic. Communications should be timely and, where possible, encourage two-way conversation.…
5 Benefit Communication Trends to Watch in 2023
It’s easy to make a business case for strategic benefit communications — just consider these statistics: Employees were 25% more likely in 2022 than they were in 2012 to say that benefits are an important reason they came to their…
How to Use Employee Communications to Help Prioritize Mental Health in Your Workplace
Mental health in the workplace is an important issue. This is not a new revelation—for some time, many companies have offered free counseling sessions for employees and their families through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). What’s…
Resource: Open Enrollment Debrief
Open enrollment is complete—almost. There’s one final step: debriefing what worked and what could have gone better. It may sound overwhelming, but this process is essential to ensuring ongoing success for the next year. Debrief #1:…
What Employees Need to Know About New Lifetime Income Illustration
When your employees review their 401(k) statements, they’ll see a new feature: a lifetime income illustration. Companies are required to share this illustration at least once per year as part of the SECURE Act, but more importantly, it’s…
Resource: Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Communications Plan
Before you launch your HR/benefit communications plan, it’s important to begin with the end in mind. What do you want to accomplish? What behaviors are you trying to influence? What are the desired outcomes? 12 Ways to Gauge Your Benefit…
Webinar: New Insights Into What Works
With shifts in the workforce over the past few years, one thing is clear: employee benefits are increasingly important to both recruitment and retention efforts. Join Westcomm President Guy Westermeyer and Susan Baier from Audience Audit…
Resource: New Benefit Program Communication Checklist
Introducing a new benefit or employee program? If you have a change coming, you should begin planning for it well before it’s time for employees to choose their benefits. When employees don’t understand why a change is happening, it can often lead…
6 Things Employees Want to Know During Open Enrollment
HR and benefit communicators routinely face the challenge of getting and keeping their employees’ attention. You know what employees need to know;, and you want to make sure they read, watch and listen to the materials you distribute. One…
Resource: Open Enrollment Communications Timeline
Although employees enroll in benefits within a span of days, planning for your annual open enrollment period begins weeks (months, really!) in advance. 12 weeks prior to Open Enrollment Develop a communications plan with key messages…
9 Ways to Ensure Your Employees Pay Attention To Your Communications
Getting—and keeping—people’s attention is becoming more and more challenging as we’re swarmed every day with instant communications and immediate, on-demand news. For those in HR and internal communications, this can be even more of a…
5 Support Tools to Help Your Employees Make Better Benefit Decisions
Which medical plan should I choose? Do I need voluntary benefits? What about life and disability insurance? If you are a benefits professional, it’s likely you’ve been asked these questions multiple times. When employees are going through new…
How to Build a Brand for Your Employee and Benefit Communications
Most organizations spend a lot of time and money marketing themselves externally. We believe that the same effort should be applied internally as well! Just consider The Great Resignation, labor shortages, and the new era of remote…
The Advantages of Elevating Your Employee & Benefit Communications
One third of U.S. adults report not fully understanding their health benefits— a fact that’s costing employees and employers alike. Additionally, 66% of employees wish they were more informed about their benefits throughout the year so…
5 Insights from the 2022 Westcomm Benefit Communication Survey
The 2022 Benefit Communications Report: New Insights into What Works! report highlights the key findings from a comprehensive study of the attitudes and values of HR and internal communications professionals–straight from them!…
2022 Benefit Communications Report: New Insights into What Works
We’re excited to bring you the 2022 Benefit Communications Report: New Insights into What Works! This report highlights the key findings from Westcomm’s Benefit Communications Survey, a comprehensive study of the attitudes and values of…
How Behavioral Science Theory Can Improve Your Employee Benefit Communications
Benefit communicators can take a page from the marketers’ handbook. For decades, marketers have been studying consumer attitudes and behaviors that influence buying decisions. After all, marketing is about defining a problem or unmet need and then…
How to Keep Your Brand “Real” Online
Having authentic, engaging content attracts the right audience for any business. Consistency builds trust between what is produced and what the reader expects. If a company becomes known for very useful content, that will be the ongoing…
Three Tips to Protect Your Intellectual Property in the Age of Social Media (And How to Get Your Employees On Board, Too.)
Individuals love to express their ideas on social media. And let’s face it—your employees are probably on social media before, during, and after work hours. So, what happens if employees express ideas on social media that could impact other…
Four Employee Benefit Communications Trends to Make Traction in Your Organization
What’s the best way to communicate with employees about benefits? We commonly get that question, and the answer is—there’s not just one way. Benefit communications don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution. And there are a lot of reasons for that:…
Three Simple Ways to Help Your Employees Understand the No Surprise Act
The No Surprises Act, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, means healthcare providers and insurance companies can no longer charge you for out-of-network care for most emergency services and non-emergency services (e.g., radiology,…