Whew! You made it through your annual open enrollment—the Super Bowl for HR benefits teams and the focal point of benefit communication for many organizations.
However, relying on this once-a-year communication blitz no longer meets the needs of today’s workforce. Consider this:
- 66% of employees wish they were more informed about their benefits throughout the year to get better value from them. (Employee Benefits World)
- Yet, 64% of employers only communicate about benefits during open enrollment. (Naaya)
If your benefits communication strategy is limited to an update around annual enrollment, it’s time to rethink your approach. A year-round communication strategy is crucial for ensuring employees fully understand, utilize, and appreciate their benefits.
Rethinking “One-and-Done” Communications
Many organizations focus their benefits communication on a once-a-year task: open enrollment.
However, many employees glance at their benefits information and quickly forget about it as soon as open enrollment is over. This “one-and-done” approach doesn’t reinforce the value of your benefits or help employees stay informed about changes, deadlines, or new offerings that could help them. And that results in trends every HR professional wants to avoid:
- Lack of Long-Term Retention: When benefits are only discussed one time a year, employees often forget key details shortly after open enrollment—typically before the new benefit year even begins.
- Missed Opportunities for Engagement: A once-a-year push doesn’t encourage employees to engage with the benefits offering throughout the year—that leaves many missed opportunities for employees feeling appreciative at the benefits and resources available to them.
- Uninformed Decision-Making: Employees who aren’t continually reminded about the value of their benefits might miss out on programs that could improve their well-being or financial security.
Why Year-Round Communication Matters
A year-round communication strategy helps employees understand, trust, and take full advantage of their benefits. By making benefits an ongoing conversation, you can:
- Increase Engagement: Regular touchpoints ensure that employees are consistently reminded of available resources and benefits, making them more likely to engage—and experience higher satisfaction with their employer.
- Boost Utilization: Continuous communication ensures that employees don’t forget about valuable benefits—such as wellness programs, EAP services, or retirement savings tools—that can enhance their lives.
- Improve Employee Satisfaction: When employees know their company is invested in their well-being, they feel more valued and supported. This can lead to increased satisfaction, loyalty and productivity.
- Drive Better Decision-Making: By communicating about benefits regularly, employees can make more informed decisions about which programs are right for them and their families.
Five Steps Toward an Annual Communications Plan
Step 1: Segment Your Audience
One-size-fits-all communication rarely works. Different employee demographics have different needs.
The Solution:
- Segment Your Audience: Group employees based on age, life stage, or benefits needs. Create communication strategies for each group.
- Tailor the Message: Use language and benefits examples that resonate with each demographic. For example, for younger employees, you might focus on flexible working hours or student loan repayment programs. For employees with families, you might highlight dependent care or healthcare coverage.
Step 2: Use Multiple Communication Channels
Relying on just one or two communication methods (like email or intranet) isn’t enough. You need to reach employees through the channels they use most, whether that’s email, text, mobile apps, or internal social networks.
The Solution:
- Diversify Your Channels: Use a combination of emails, video messages, Slack or Microsoft Teams posts, intranet updates, and even text messages to ensure all employees have access to benefits information in the format they prefer.
- Visuals Matter: Use videos, infographics, and quick polls to keep the content dynamic and engaging. Short video clips explaining benefits can be more memorable than long text-based messages.
Step 3: Set a Regular Communication Schedule
Simply sending out a random email once every few months isn’t enough to maintain engagement. Without a consistent schedule, employees may forget key details or miss out on new offerings. Oftentimes, benefits aren’t relevant until you need to use them, so regular reminders may hit someone at just the right time.
The Solution:
- Create a Calendar: Plan benefits-related communications for the entire year. (Pro tip: Check out our toolkit and templates!)
- Send Regular Reminders: These can include key dates (like open enrollment), but also regular reminders about ongoing benefits, changes, or new offerings. Include tips for making the most of specific programs.
Step 4: Measure Engagement and Adjust Your Strategy
How do you know if your communication is effective? Without tracking engagement, you won’t know if employees are engaging with the benefits.
The Solution:
- Track Key Metrics: Measure metrics like email open rates, clicks on benefits resources, or participation in benefits-related webinars.
- Survey Employees: Regularly ask employees how well they understand their benefits and what information they need more of.
- Iterate and Improve: Use the data to refine your communication strategy. If one channel isn’t working, try something new. If employees are requesting more information about a specific benefit, provide it.
Not sure where to start? We have a checklist for that!
The Bottom Line: A Year-Round Approach Is Essential for Employee Engagement and Retention
Don’t let your employees forget about the benefits you’re offering—or the value they provide. By making benefits communication an integral part of your workplace culture, you ensure that your workforce remains informed, engaged, and loyal.
Ready to create your own year-round benefits communication strategy? Contact us for personalized strategies or check out our on-demand workshop, Creating an Annual Communications Plan.
