Triple Threat: How Three HR Leaders Create Benefits-Engaged Workforces

If you’re putting together your benefits communication strategy for the year, you might have an idea of what you’d like to share with your employees—but sometimes figuring out the how and when can be a challenge.

And when we’re stumped, we like to turn to the experts and take a page out of their book. (After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?) That’s why we’re sharing some of the most creative ways to communicate employee benefits that we heard from HR leaders during Engage. 

There’s not one magical formula that works for every company, but there are a few tactics that appear again and again in our most successful customers’ campaigns—the companies that have really nailed benefits engagement. Let’s jump in.

1. Customize your messaging depending on your audience

As organizations large and small have increased their focus on DEI initiatives in the past two years, benefits pros are looking for ways to make sure their benefits messages reach and appeal to a broad range of employees. 

One important component of that effort? Reaching every generation within your workforce. According to MetLife, 70% of organizations say leading multigenerational workforces is important to their success over the next 18 months, but only 10% say they’re ready to address this trend.

Lauren Trost of Marsh McLennan Agency highlighted how choosing the right communication channels is crucial to making sure your benefits messages are heard and understood by each generation:

2. Leverage employee resource groups

Like many of us, the HR team at Zendesk was focused on driving higher engagement with mental health and wellness initiatives during the pandemic. And while they used all of the typical communication tactics in their toolbelt to get the word out about new and existing resources, they also tapped into one surprising marketing channel: their employee resource groups. 

Benefits Manager Jen Bergman told us about Zendesk’s Whole Self employee community, a group focused on advancing mental health awareness and wellness within the organization. 

This is one of our favorite communication ideas for large companies especially, because it relies on smaller networks of people in the office that can help you disperse your message to lots of employees, rather than relying on one point person in HR. Arm your employee “influencers” with all of the information they need to help you spread the word about your benefits offerings. 

3. Make benefits accessible to the whole family

Your employees aren’t making benefits decisions in a vacuum. Many have spouses, children, and elderly family members to consider. So making educational materials available to the whole family is crucial when employees are deciding which healthcare plans and other benefits to choose. 

That’s something Kristi Morrissey and her team at Niagara Bottling kept in mind during last year’s open enrollment: 

How did Kristi and her team make it happen? Niagara Bottling mails newsletters to their employees’ homes, and they host live benefits meetings in their offices that are open to family members. Plus, they record open enrollment presentations so that spouses can access the information they need on their own time.