Creating actionable communications

These communications best practices can help boost benefits engagement:

Personal, relatable messaging. Incorporating employees' pain points and goals into benefits messaging helps make it personally meaningful and actionable. Using real-life examples of how benefits save money or improve results can also drive interest, buy-in and action.

Simple, streamlined copy. While not always easy to achieve with complex benefits concepts, using common language (with minimal use of jargon) and focusing on one message or objective can keep information down into its most basic parts. The copy should drive employees to take the desired action – so make it a straightforward path.

Clean, clear format. Subheads, bolded text and bullet points help readers follow along and digest the content so they know what to do next.

Single, obvious call to action. Since your messaging, copy and format are driving readers to take a specific action, make it impossible to miss. Attract their attention (and clicks!) with a colorful button and/or bolded hyperlinked content that takes them exactly where they need to go.

Convenient, intuitive process. Making it easy to complete required tasks, from enrolling in benefits to updating policy information, minimizes friction and provides a more satisfying experience that reinforces a positive perception of your benefits brand.

Preferred, multimedia channels. For benefits messages to be noticed – let alone engaged with – they need to be sent through the most impactful channels, and usually more than one. So, whether employees like to engage with benefits information over email, text messaging, social media or more traditional methods (e.g., postcards and paper), take their lead.
Effective, frequent-enough cadence. Repetition, repetition, repetition. LIMRA research reveals that 7 in 10 employees say they prefer to receive benefits information at least a few times or frequently throughout the year. Bombarded with messages from every corner while tackling long to-do lists, employees may need plenty of reminders to keep benefits top-of-mind.

A winning employee benefits experience is a consumer-grade experience. So, the more we can do as employers and benefits advisors to make the employee benefits experience engaging – that is, ensure benefits products and programs fit employees' personal needs and are easy to understand, access and use – the more likely we are to satisfy employees and help them achieve better outcomes across all facets of their wellbeing. And isn't this exactly what we want benefits programs, and the communications that inspire them, to achieve?

Instant Insights /

How actionable communications create consumer-grade benefits experiences

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You