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 Communications

Measuring the effectiveness of your communications starts with establishing goals. With these goals in mind, you can determine the best ways to assess if you achieved your goals.

These metrics will help you show the success of your communications plan, as well as where you may have gaps so you can pivot communications in the future.

Listed are the top ways that HR/benefit professionals can measure the effectiveness of communications whether for annual open enrollment, new hire orientation or another benefit program launch or change.

Most likely, you’ll use a combination of these metrics to get a well-rounded picture of the ROI on your communications plan.

1. Percentage of employees signing up for a benefit—and how this compares to previous years
2. Total participation by benefit type to understand what employees are enrolling in and value as well as where you may need to increase education
3. Volume of calls to HR during open enrollment or throughout the year
4. Types of questions fielded by HR to assess which messages are getting through and which aren’t
5. Number of incomplete benefit enrollments—this may help you determine if employees need more reminders or if you need to adjust enrollment strategies
6. Post-engagement surveys that ask which communications were most useful
7. Focus groups that reveal more about employees’ preferences or decision-making practices
8. Participation in programs (e.g. well-being, tobacco cessation or employee assistance programs)
9. Interaction with enrollment system
10. Digital footprint, such as email opens, intranet visits, app downloads, etc.
11. Qualitative factors like employee morale and overall attitudes
12. Health and financial outputs, such as preventive care visits or HSA or retirement plan contributions or balances

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