Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement
Driving better benefits decisions and engagement with communication
04.03.25
Having a great benefits offering – and a standout benefits platform in place – is one thing, but if you don’t communicate effectively, your benefits scheme is unlikely to see the traction you’re hoping for.
Recently, Benifex Chief People Officer, Karen O’Neill, was joined by Alexandra Houlden, Head of Communications at Benifex, and Sophie Gilliam, EMEA Benefits Lead at Ciena, to discuss how a considered communications strategy can drive better employee decisions and benefits engagement.
If you missed the session, here are our highlights and strategies for effective communications…
Use a global benefits brand to connect with employees
A large part of delivering effective benefit communications comes down to the benefits brand – which needs to feel authentic for employees.
To be authentic and engaging, your benefits brand should be aligned with the organisation’s overarching brand and culture. By linking messaging to existing company structures, such as wellbeing pillars and the wider employee value proposition, your communications will sit seamlessly alongside the trusted employer brand, removing much of the grunt work typically associated with establishing a new brand.
When developing a global benefits brand, it’s important to bring all the relevant stakeholders on board – ensuring that the final global reward brand will meet local needs.
Cater to global and local audiences
So, you’ve launched in the UK, you’ve had a positive reception and now you’re looking to roll out this scheme to multiple countries. But every country is different, and there isn’t a universal benefit offering, so how can you make sure your roll out goes smoothly?
Using communications toolkits creates a consistent feel for employees, wherever they are in the world. And a toolkit approach reduces the time needed to prepare communications, while maintaining a personal feel.
By engaging with local teams, you can ensure bespoke requirements such as translation, transcreation and culturally relevant imagery are hitting the mark. It’s also important to be aware of different attitudes and taboos in different countries – asking teams on the ground to sense-check communications.
Take an audience-of-one approach to communications
Behind every screen is a person with unique needs and priorities. And while OneHub offers varying degrees of personalisation, ensuring communications are pertinent is key to a successful campaign. That’s where Communications Manager comes in. The tool can target specific groups with personalised messages, and includes personalisation elements to encourage interaction. You can use live data to quickly iterate your communications campaigns and drive further engagement – these could be focussed on a specific group or even promoting certain benefits.
By sending targeted communications through OneHub, Ciena achieved a 24% increase in the number of employees logging on at their UK annual enrolment.
Don’t forget about deskless populations
Not all employees are desk-based, which means you can’t always rely on emails. It’s important then to understand how you can best reach them, whether that’s via direct mail, digital screens, posters, brochures or table talkers.
In a global rollout, there are two main ways to do this… You can create bespoke local communications that meet the audience’s specific needs. Or alternatively, if this is a global challenge, consider incorporating tactics to the global toolkit that can be applied at each implementation.
The value of stakeholder communications is particularly relevant for deskless employees, as managers must effectively communicate any key messages. Stakeholder guides are an increasingly popular addition to global toolkits, helping to contextualise the rollout for global HR teams and elucidate the technology and offering for local management.
Communicate beyond annual enrolment
According to our research, 93% of employees want to hear about their benefits year-round. Plan a content calendar that promotes the scheme throughout the year, educates employees on their offering, and incorporates employee feedback. Two-way communication is critical to building a scheme and communication approach that both engages employees and meets their needs.
Ready to transform your benefits communication strategy?
Get in touch to discover how our experts can help you drive better decisions and engagement through communications.
Lucy Buchanan
Senior Copywriter Communications, Benifex
04.03.25
