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INSURANCE UPDATE

IMPROVING EMPLOYEE

BENEFITS ENGAGEMENT

THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS

HUB INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

orkers can’t engage with benefits they don’t know about or how Millennial has the same hot buttons or interests, and not every
Wto use. Yet communications and engagement with benefits can Boomer is a technological laggard. Understanding employees’ needs
often be an afterthought to an organization's overall strategy when the at any given time of their lives through persona analysis helps identify
ultimate goal is to drive quality employee experiences. the right benefits and communication opportunities to generate
Getting it right can have a huge payoff. And there are engagement.
indications that benefit plan sponsors and members know targeted
communications are key: nearly eight out of 10 Canadian plan Access on demand and related issues
sponsors are interested in sending targeted benefits communications Good communications creates trust, but what exactly is “good”?
to plan members, while 62% of plan members would consent to Good starts with delivering information on employees’ terms, making
receive targeted communications based on their personal use of information easy to find and in a format that suits them. Service portals
benefits. and web guides will have higher usage if the portals have mobile
components that appeal to certain workers.
Delivering strong communications To boost employee benefits engagement, organizations need a
The best recipe for strong communications for engagement with multi-channel communications strategy, aligned to the employee
benefits starts with identifying the audience — not only who works population’s interests and preferences. Choosing the right channels is
at an organization, but speaking to the stage of life they’re in, knowing important: For example, 75% of employees would rather view a video
what benefits they may resonate with and what type of platforms are explaining benefits than read an email or text.
best for delivering those messages.
Often, how communications are delivered is as important as what’s Language and tone are important
being said. Workers need to access information on their terms, rather And finally, language is important. What people want is information
than having information dumped on them. This often overlooked on their terms, that doesn’t stereotype or make assumptions about
aspect of communication is key to appreciation of the employee them. It usually entails straightforward and short sentence structure
benefits program. and verbiage; simplicity is best. Communications that seemingly
Consider some of the factors that need to play into the embrace a stereotype (“You will like these benefits because you’re in
communications strategy: XYZ group”) or that is too general (“Employees in your age group”) are
less likely to resonate.
Improving employee benefits engagement through insights HUB International’s employee benefit specialists consult with
Because employees are often segmented into large categories, employers of all sizes and in all industries on every aspect of employee
it inhibits an organization’s ability to target communications. For benefits program planning and management.
instance, simply dividing employees by age does not mean each
person in a given age group will respond to a certain message or type THE ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY
of communication. Such segmentation does not account for a person’s In the absence of a strong communications strategy, even the best
lifestyle, motivations or where they are in their career that influence employee benefits will be underutilized. Optimizing communications
their preferences on benefits. will result in an improved employee experience.
Generational segmentation is one, of course. But not every

8 LBMAO Reporter - May-June 2023 www.lbmao.on.ca