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3 Ways to Improve Your Employee Benefits Communication

3 Ways to Improve Your Employee Benefits Communication

by | Nov 1, 2023 | Blog

3 ways to improve your employee benefits communication. Use these 3 strategies to improve your employee benefits communication and help your team make the most of your benefits offerings.

Even the most robust employee benefits programs can fall flat without clear communication. More than 40% of employees do not feel adequately informed about the programs their employers offer, according to a Financial Health Network poll.

Better employee benefits communication is key to a happier, healthier workforce. Use these three tips to give your communication strategy a boost.

a surprising statistic about the importance of clear employee benefits communication

Why aren’t your employees using their benefits?

A lack of communication keeps employees in the dark: Simply put, if employees don’t know what you offer, they will not use their benefits.

Overly complex benefits intimidate employees: Important benefits such as private health care, retirement or life insurance often feel too complex for employees to tackle. A 2021 study from Bend Financial found that 56% of Americans admitted to feeling “completely lost” when trying to understand how their health insurance worked.

Financial strain diverts employees from investing in their benefits: According to CNBC, 58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. When employees struggle to cover basic bills, they may not be willing to pay for extra benefits.

3 Ways to Improve Your Employee Benefits Communication

Better benefits communication starts with clarity, simplicity and personalization. 

1. Keep open lines of employee benefits communication.

It is most important to clearly communicate the value and purpose of each benefit you offer to your employees. 

This can start from the onboarding process, where new employees can learn and take advantage of your company’s benefits package. According to MetLife, 55% of employees note that benefit programs are necessary benefits to accept a new job offer. 

Beyond that, creating a dedicated and easily accessible place where employees can find detailed information about benefits is another great way to improve communication. This may include forms, links and other resources that can help employees learn about all the benefits you offer.

Benefit fairs and workshops can also be a useful way to promote new benefits or bolster old ones. Discuss relevant information, such as how to apply, enrollment deadlines and any other updates. This strategy keeps benefits top of mind for employees and encourages them to make use of what they are being offered.

Determining how you communicate these benefits is also a major factor in how your employees respond. For example, in-person meetings might be good for new hires, while employees who already know about existing benefits might respond more positively over email. All of this depends on your employees and what kinds of benefits you offer.

2. Regularly review your employee benefits communication strategy.

Whether you feel your benefits strategy is working or not, it’s worth it to review it periodically so that you can reassess and implement new approaches. 

Annual benefits reviews with employees can help you better understand their needs and whether your offerings are actually relevant to what they need. This is especially important if you have employees who are reaching major financial milestones such as student loans, children or retirement. You might also consider including extra perks for those who take advantage of what you offer. 

Communication goes both ways, so be sure to create avenues for employees to provide feedback on each benefit you offer. This can help you understand what’s working well and where you can add improvements, as employees are willing to engage with benefits relevant to them. In fact, 49% of employees would bear more of the cost to have access to more benefits that fit their needs, according to the same MetLife report.

3. Personalize your benefits offerings to meet the needs of your team.

Personalizing benefits to suit your employees is the next step after reviewing your current package. With employee feedback, you should be able to make a more informed decision about what your workforce needs and how you can best help them. 73% of employees would be encouraged to stay with their current employer for longer if offered access to more relevant benefits, according to MetLife.

Programs that are part of the benefits package, such as financial wellness solutions, can encourage employees to participate in these programs and improve their overall well-being. By providing clear information, support, and personalized guidance, you can help employees make the most of their benefits and set themselves up for success.

Maximize your financial wellness benefits with Best Money Moves.

Best Money Moves is a mobile-first financial wellness solution designed to help dial down employees’ most top-of-mind financial stresses. As an easy-to-use financial well-being solution, Best Money Moves offers comprehensive support toward any money-related goal. With 1:1 money coaching, budgeting tools and other resources, our AI platform is designed to help improve employee financial well-being. 

Whether it be retirement planning or securing a mortgage, Best Money Moves can guide employees through the most difficult financial times and topics. We have robust benefits options for employers, regardless of their benefits budget. 

Our dedicated resources, partner offerings and 700+ article library make Best Money Moves a leading benefit in bettering employee financial wellness.

To learn more about Best Money Moves Financial Wellness Platform, let’s schedule a call. Contact us and we’ll reach out to you soon.

Financial Wellbeing & Its Role in a Complete Employee Wellbeing Program

Financial Wellbeing & Its Role in a Complete Employee Wellbeing Program

by | Jun 6, 2019 | Blog

Financial wellbeing and its role in a complete employee wellbeing program. In this guest post, DHS Group‘s VP of Employer Solutions, Rich Siegenthaler, recommends four ways your employee wellness program can keep up with changes in the benefits industry. The opinions expressed in this blog belong to the author and DHS Group.

It’s getting more and more common to see employers focusing on strategies to assist their employee population in managing their complete wellbeing rather than one single area. They’re accomplishing this by adding programs that benefit the financial wellbeing and mental health of employees. This is a step in the right direction that’s quickly leading to healthier employees in every sense of the word.

Maybe you’re already putting some of these strategies to work or maybe you’re hoping to in the near future. Wherever you are in the journey, DHS Group’s VP of Employer Solutions and experienced employee wellbeing professional, Rich Siegenthaler, has a few recommendations to get you started and make sure you’re on the right path to complete employee wellbeing.

Expand Beyond Traditional Wellness Programs

Traditional wellness programs put surface programs at the forefront – think: step challenges – while these are important, the industry is changing and what employees are looking for is changing.

Integrate Mental Health Programs

For years, mental health has been something that both employees and employers have strayed away from discussing with each other. However, as mental health conditions are spreading rapidly – with issues like anxiety, depression and worry being dealt with by people everywhere – employers can’t afford to not offer these types of programs as part of their wellbeing plans.

Provide Financial Wellness Programming

The number one stressors in American households today are financial. While employees do need to understand how to invest their resources in traditional ways (like 401Ks), the new trend is to provide tools for employees to manage their day-to-day and month-to-month budgets. 

Many times, employees say they understand they need to put more into their 401K, but know that if they do, they will not be able to pay their bills.  Financial wellness programming helps people look at their earnings, bills and expenses, and learn how to manage them more effectively. It is a day-to-day management strategy that helps employees lead a more comfortable and accountable lifestyle when it comes to their financial health. 

Improve Communication

However you decide to start expanding your wellbeing program to a more complete package – communication is key. There will be growing pains, but in order to help lessen those, remember that your employees are people too. Open up the lines of communication to hear from your employees about what they’re looking for overall and what they are looking for in their wellbeing programs.

Before you do anything, the ultimate first step is to look at your workforce, your employee demographics and how your very own organization operates. Then, with these details in mind, alongside Rich’s recommendations above, you’ll be well on your way to a complete wellbeing program that benefits the employee AND the employer.

Learn more about bringing complete wellbeing to your employees with DHS Group’s HealthSpective Engage program here.

More on Employee Wellbeing and Wellness Programs:

From Employee Wellness to Wellbeing: Transforming Your Workforce

4 Big Employee Benefits Trends for Family Planning

How to Support Mental Health at Work

Employee Benefits Success is All About Communication

What’s Wrong With Wellness Program Incentives?

What Benefits Do Employees Want in 2019?

How to Support Mental Health at Work

How to Support Mental Health at Work

by | Jan 8, 2019 | Blog

How to support mental health at work: Manage work-related mental illness risk factors and encourage employees to engage with available mental health programs and benefits for improved health and higher productivity.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. workers have been diagnosed with depression and 40 percent of them take an average of 10 days off from work each year because of their mental illness, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity. The good news? WHO also estimates that for every $1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity.

Employers can start to minimize the effects of mental illness in the workplace by identifying work-related risk factors and simplifying access to mental health benefits.

The WHO identified work-related risks, like inadequate health and safety policies, poor communication and management practices, limited participation in decision making or low control over one’s area of work, low levels of support for employees, inflexible working hours and unclear tasks or organizational objectives, as factors that could negatively impact employees’ mental health. The WHO recommends offering flexible hours, job-redesign, addressing negative work dynamics, and supportive and confidential communication with management to help people with mental disorders continue or return to work.

Traditionally, employees have accessed mental health benefits using an employee assistance program (EAP), a time-consuming process where they’re screened by phone and directed to an in-network provider. Benefits providers have started looking for solutions that streamline access to mental health benefits, acknowledging how frustrating the traditional model can be.

Fairview, a health system based in Minneapolis, places a behavioral health provider onsite, or at the nearest clinic, for employees to consult with in person. “The system eliminates barriers; people will know where to go for help. And getting help sooner means that we’re more likely to resolve the issues earlier in the process. We believe that will save the employer money, both with claims costs and productivity,” says Rene Coult-Calendine, Vice President of Market and Product Development at Fairview.

Organizations should develop integrated health and well-being strategies that include mental health intervention, covering prevention, early identification, support and rehabilitation to better support mental health in the workplace. Communicating available programs or benefits, and, more importantly, encouraging their use can make a real difference when it comes to managing mental illness in the workplace.