Benefits have become an increasingly important consideration for workers. Especially given last year’s global pandemic that sparked national conversations on workforce benefits, including mental health coverage.
Today, many job seekers are even willing to take a lower-paying job that offers superior benefits over a higher salary with inferior benefits.
In fact, 83% of employees indicate health insurance is important when deciding whether to change jobs.
Knowing healthcare is top of mind for employees, you would think organizations had benefit communications down to a science. However, benefits communication still leaves a lot to be desired in organizations with a mobile workforce.
Benefits are vital to employee welfare, as well as creating a sense of security and peace of mind.
They can:
- Attract top talent
- Build trust
- Enhance loyalty
- Promote satisfaction
- Reduce turnover
Increased engagement sounds great. right?
Unfortunately, benefits packages have become increasingly complex, so many people don’t fully understand all that is available to them.
Additionally, frontline, essential employees who arguably need solid benefits communications more than any other employee group are usually left out. How? By:
- Sending information through email versus a mobile-first platform
- Making it difficult to find benefits information in one place
Where’s the value in having benefits if employees don’t know what they are, how to use them, or when to take action? Here are a few tips on how to improve engagement with benefits communication with a mobile workforce:
Schedule Automated Reminders
Many benefits are centered around deadlines—the biggest example being open enrollment. This period is when workers are eligible to change their healthcare benefits, making it one of the most important aspects of any successful benefits program.
Unfortunately, many HR departments struggle with getting colleagues to enroll or make changes on time. This is often due to employees, especially those on the front line, not receiving vital information in a timely manner. That includes open enrollment deadlines.
The best way to ensure frontline workers enroll on time is to start early, communicate often, and make it mobile.
With mobile communication apps, you can set up automated notifications/reminders in an easily digestible way that attracts employees’ attention.
The most effective mobile communication platforms also allow for”
- Inline translations, so employees are reviewing vital benefit information in their native language
- Rich data that can identify who is and isn’t engaging with the reminders
With detailed analytics, HR departments have insight into what works and what doesn’t to continuously improve their communication strategy.
Send Confirmation Campaigns
Frontline employees are busy.But, for critical matters, such as participating in open enrollment, businesses need confirmation that a message has been read or a document/video has been viewed.
Enter: confirmation campaigns.
Confirmation campaigns provide an extra level of accountability. Management can know for certain who has seen the information. If employees don’t take action, they will know who needs another round of outreach.
Consistent communication is the key to success. Colleagues need to be reminded of what the program offers with regular prompts, notifications, and other messages. Communication from the top level is also important as people will be more likely to participate if they know there is support from all levels of management.
Distribute Employee Surveys
One key way to improve your mobile workforce’s communication engagement is by going directly to the source. Simply ask colleagues what is most convenient and useful for them.
With a mobile platform, companies can distribute polls and employee surveys to elicit quick feedback and learn how they can be more effective.
Creating employee surveys and compiling responses sounds time-intensive (and it is when physical questionnaires are involved). But new digital workplace tools make the process so easy you’ll wonder how you did it any other way.
You can create, distribute, and collect feedback in mere minutes using a predetermined list of employees. If and when people don’t send responses, you can even automate reminders.
Once everyone has completed the survey, all the data is captured in the analytics dashboard where you can:
- Better analyze responses
- Develop a strategy that works for everyone
- Refine content and communications to drive better engagements
Or, if there isn’t a “one size fits all” solution, employees can be segmented into targeted groups so they will receive more relevant content.
With a mobile-first communication strategy, HR leaders and frontline employees don’t have to dread the upcoming open enrollment period. Instead, they can start to embrace, engage, and maybe, even come to appreciate it.
