In our digitally-connected world, there’s so much competing for our attention. Whether it’s work emails and deadlines, COVID protocol updates, or endless social media feeds, we’re all struggling to keep up with the surging amount of information coming our way. This is why every employer needs to be strategic about how to communicate the value of their employee benefits plan.  

The reality is that if your employees don’t know about all the perks you offer, they could start thinking greener pastures are out there. To ensure you remain competitive in attracting and keeping your talent, you need to make sure your team understands everything that’s on offer in your employee benefits plan. 

More than that, when your employees get the most value from your plan, you win too. After all, what’s the point of investing in a robust employee benefits plan, if no one really takes advantage of the full offering?

Below, we’re highlighting some key strategies that can help you effectively communicate the value of your employee benefits plan. 

5 ways to better communicate your benefits to employees

1. Host educational hangouts – Scheduling time to walk your employees through your various perks can be immensely helpful in communicating the value of your plan. And much like everything else we’ve been doing lately, these hangouts can all be hosted virtually. Whether you want to show them how easy it is to submit claims online or explain how your employee and family assistance plan works, there are endless topics to expand on in a virtual meet-up. 

2. Brand your benefits offering – Creating a unique visual identity and brand for your benefits offering can help make any communication about your plan stand out. This might include designing a logo and defining the ‘look-and-feel’ of all benefits-related content. When you send out updates or share infographics, your employees will be able to quickly recognize and easily attribute each content piece to your employee benefits plan offering. 

3. Work with an advisor – But not just any advisor, one you trust and who understands what your goals are. If you think your employees are not grasping the full value of your plan, your advisor should be able to step in and help. This could mean discussing specific issues directly with employees or addressing the more hard-to-answer questions about the benefits plan details. Sometimes, it’s just easier to let the experts handle that. 

4. Keep your plan fresh – As we’ve seen with COVID-19, a lot can change in a little amount of time. The benefits plan you created a year ago might not be serving the needs of your team today. Because of that, they might not have an interest in what you’re offering them. That’s why it’s important for you to constantly review the structure of your benefits plan and make sure it encompasses the most valuable perks for all people in your organization.  

5. Collect employee feedback – How can you know what your team wants in the benefits plan offering if you don’t ask them? How do you know what information they’re missing if you never bring it up? Regularly polling your employees is one of the best ways to not only collect feedback about your plan offering, but also find out where the information gaps might be in how you’re communicating your plan. Responses can remain anonymous and still provide you with tons of insight on which benefits are not valued, known about, or properly understood. From there, you can take action. 

A final tip about communicating your employee benefits planDifferent companies will require different communication strategies. And figuring out what will work best for your team isn’t always straightforward. Working with a trusted benefits advisor can be helpful when that happens. If you’d like assistance in crafting a solid communication plan for your benefits offering or want a second opinion on what you’ve planned, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to provide tailored assistance to make sure your benefits plan has the biggest impact.