A company's benefits offering is key to attracting and retaining talented people. But it’s not enough to just offer competitive packages—you also need to communicate their value clearly and effectively.
In our sponsored Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report, “Boost Competitiveness by Leveraging Global Benefits and Total Rewards,” we surveyed leaders at 214 global companies to understand what tools and strategies they're using to keep employees informed and engaged with their benefit programs.
Through these conversations with leaders at companies like Atlassian, BCG, and Iveco, we’ve identified the five most effective strategies you can use to enhance your benefits communication.
1. Ensure Clear and Consistent Messaging
We discovered that only 57% of respondents believe their organization communicates compensation and benefits information clearly and effectively. This means that a significant portion of employees are confused or unaware of their true compensation.
Mark Kelly, Global Head of Benefits and Wellbeing at Boston Consulting Group, noted, "Across the industry, we’ve focused on making sure that we feel packages are competitive, but often that’s not being made [clear] to the people that are benefiting from them."
To guarantee that your employees fully understand and utilize their benefits, it’s important to maintain frequent, easy-to-understand messaging across all communication channels. While such outreach efforts might seem time-consuming, a benefits platform can streamline the manual process and automate your messaging.
2. Harness Technology for More Effective Communications
87% of respondents in our survey believe that employees expect more from their benefits packages than ever before. It can be hard to keep up with this growing demand, and even harder to demonstrate to employees how your efforts are being directed.
Integrated benefits platforms can support your communication initiatives by providing a centralized hub for all benefits-related information, making it easier for employees to access and understand their compensation packages.
By integrating technology into your benefits processes, organizations can create a more transparent, engaging, and supportive HR ecosystem. Additionally, a benefits platform can be used to collect valuable data: enabling you to create personalized communications that resonate with employees on an individual level.
3. Personalize Benefits Communication
Modern benefits platforms enable organizations to communicate information efficiently and engage with employees in meaningful ways. However, sometimes using a benefits platform can lead to generic messaging that doesn’t make employees feel seen, instead leaving them feeling like their needs aren't being taken into account.
Incorporating personalized communication strategies into your benefits program allows you to address the specific concerns and needs of different employee groups. This kind of tailored messaging is especially valuable: for instance, 32% of our respondents said that their current benefits tool doesn’t support all phases of the employee lifecycle.
Whether it's for new hires, long-term employees, or those nearing retirement, personalized communications ensure that every employee receives the information they need, when they need it, in a way that makes sense to them. Lydia Wright, Senior Manager, Global Benefits at Atlassian, commented, “You’re able to give people that white glove experience, and have a seamless, frictionless experience for employees.”
4. Focus on Employment Engagement and Satisfaction
When employees feel that the information they receive is customized to their individual circumstances, they are more likely to feel valued and supported by their employer. 58% of the leaders we spoke to said they had made improvements to ensure employees are engaged and satisfied at work. For many, these improvements were focused on better internal communication around benefits.
Regular feedback mechanisms, such as feedback rounds and focus groups, can help gauge employee comprehension and satisfaction regarding their benefits, allowing organizations to adjust their communication strategies accordingly.
When employees understand and appreciate their benefits, they're more likely to feel valued and remain committed to an organization. However, there can be too much of a good thing — so how can companies avoid drowning their employees in an overload of information?
5. Avoid Communication Overload
In any organization — especially global ones — the volume of updates and communications about benefits can be overwhelming. The sheer amount of information employees receive daily can lead to information overload, causing important messages to be missed or ignored.
As Sebastian Reiche, professor in the Department of Managing People in Organizations the IESE Business School, puts it, “There’s a huge need to communicate, and the way we’ve ‘solved’ this is to bombard people with information.” However, this approach often dilutes the effectiveness of a communication strategy.
To solve this, organizations should choose the right communication channels for specific messages, ensuring that crucian benefits information doesn’t get lost in the noise. For example, important updates might be delivered via direct email, while general reminders could be communicated through internal newsletters or directly within a benefits platform.
This strategy, helps prevent information from feeling overwhelming, making your communications more meaningful and impactful.
Moving Forward
In today’s competitive market, what sets some organizations apart is an understanding that benefits communication is essential to meet rising expectations, improve satisfaction, and retain top talent. Investing in an integrated benefits platforms can be key in reaching your benefits communication goals, ensuring information is easily accessible and can be shared across different systems.
“We are leaning into the importance of communication, particularly for the value and impact of our programs and benefits,” says Lydia Wright. “We really feel that the benefits we are providing impact lives in a positive way—and you need to be able to communicate that to employees.”
To learn more about how to enhance your organization's benefits communication strategy, download the full sponsored Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report.
