How to communicate employee benefits brilliantly – part 1

At Tusker, we believe effective comms are the key to getting the best from your benefit programmes. Which is why we’ve written this two-part guide on creating and delivering outstanding employee benefit communications that will secure a fantastic return on your investment.

STEP 1 – TAKE A STRATEGIC MARKETING APPROACH

How much money does your organisation spend on employee benefits each year? Depending on headcount, the answer is likely to be anything from tens of thousands to millions of pounds. This money is spent for a reason: to provide the right mix of benefits to attract, retain and engage employees.

But benefit plans also send a message to staff about what the organisation values. Be that supporting health and wellbeing, ensuring staff are well looked after should the worst happen or being a socially conscious employer.

Taking a strategic approach to benefit communication involves constructing narratives around your programmes to reinforce your organisational objectives and explain:

• What’s being provided and why
• The actions employees need to take
• The various consequences of their decision to act or otherwise

To do this effectively, you need a benefit communications strategy that:

1. Identifies what you want to promote – this could mean setting up a high level plan for all your employee benefits or focussing on a particular segment like wellbeing.
2. Is measurable – establish which markers will help you identify success, for example an increase in take-up or usage, reductions in sickness absence or fewer queries directed to your HR team.
3. Includes a range of communication channels – paper, digital and technological solutions should be employed to deliver messages to all employees.

STEP 2 – CREATE A CONSISTENT REWARD BRAND

To ensure your benefit communications land with staff, consider creating a brand that makes it easy for reward communications to stand out.

Establishing a logo, style and tone of voice that you use consistently across all reward related comms means your messages will be recognisable. Whether they’re delivered to inboxes or landing on poster boards, TVs or your intranet.

Many organisations use a subset of their existing brand colours and style to create a reward logo. And the reward tone of voice will often match wider corporate comms to create a seamless communications experience.

STEP 3 – KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

When marketers create adverts, they know exactly who they’re speaking to and what resonates with their audience. This allows them to tailor messages creating a much greater chance of cutting through the noise, landing the message and influencing action.

The same applies to your employees. By taking the time to understand your people and what matters to them, you’ll be able to create messages that stick. Apply this tactic and you won’t be alone: according to research, 71% of organisations plan to segment communications to target employee groups more effectively.

In the second part of this guide, we explore how to establish your messaging, pick the right channels and measure results for your employee benefit communication plan..