Let’s Get Digital Communicating Your Benefits in a Virtual World 

By Christina Biddle

While we continue to navigate the complexities of COVID-19, supply chain issues, delayed postal times, and environmental stewardship, the path for communications is becoming clear: employers need to embrace a digital approach. Employees need to hear important guidance and direction from leadership as well as how to access company resources and benefit information – but what if your workers are off-site or not connected to your company network? This requires companies to consider new ways to communicate with employees. Here are a few examples of popular communication solutions that may help you continue to inform and engage your workforce while leveraging digital methods.

Why Move to Digital?

Although printed materials allow you to put something physical in the hands of your employees, where do your benefit guides go after an employee makes their decisions and enroll in benefits? More often than not they get stuffed in a junk drawer or tossed in the recycling bin.

People more and more are wanting instant gratification  – with shorter attention spans. This has created a shift towards what employees now expect. With digital communication methods you can break information down into bite-sized chunks, give quick blurbs then link out to full details. 

Change happens quickly –when you utilize digital methods to communicate you can often make updates or changes to your message in just a snap of your fingers vs. re-printing and distributing materials. And, digital methods tend to be much more engaging.

Telephonic Resources

Services that allow for mass “voicemail drops” let employees hear the human element and tone of voice from your leadership. In a time where many people are craving inter- action, this may be a good option for quick updates and morale-boosting messages. Mass texting is another very effective tool when sending simple, yet targeted messages. Some vendors provide both services in one platform.

Web Pages or Portals

While many companies have added public pages to their existing websites specific to their current COVID-19 or supply chain response, those with non-desk employees may consider adding a private page that workers can access and check for company updates, announcements, policies, procedures, and important benefit plan access.

Organizations with HRIS or benefit administration portals may leverage their web platform if the system allows for customization.

Encourage the Opt-In

You may encourage those who do not have company-provided email access to opt-in to sharing their personal email addresses for company-related communication. Speaking of opting in, you may also want to consider employees opt-in to a text messaging from your HR department. Again, Text messages are great for quick bursts of information, simple reminders, explainer videos, or links to resources pages. QR codes are a great way to both provide information, but also to collect opt-in responses.

There’s an App for That!

Consider utilizing an app or service that can replace email or print altogether while providing a way for conversations to take place. Some mobile services combine communication abilities with additional operational resources such as scheduling, hosting of handbooks, policies and other files, internet links and more, right from a smartphone.

Printed or Mailed Materials

If you are dead-set on providing printed communications, take both production time and cost into account. The supply chain issues in recent news have had an impact on paper availability and other equipment/tools required to maintain print operations. This supply and demand can impact a projects cost and timeline.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor COVID-19 can hamper the U.S. postal service. However, their recently announced increase in standard delivery times can hamper your timeline. Take this into consideration when structuring your communication plan. 

You Can Do This!

Regardless of delivery method, keep the following in mind while crafting your message.

• Do Keep it concise. Information fatigue happens and happens fast. If you have a lot of infor- mation to relay, consider breaking it into separate topics, or, condense information to the most important touch-points then provide direction to where full details can be found.
• Don’t underestimate your employees’ technical capabilities. People in all age groups have adopted technology in their lives. With online banking, video calling family members, various streaming services for entertainment, people are embracing technology now more than ever.
• Don’t pigeon hole your own digital capabilities. Adopting something new will always have a learning curve. Our ancestors may have paved the way with telegraph and telephones – but remember that you once logged in, or maybe dialed in, to the internet for the first time in your life. At some point sending an email or text message was a new concept. You can do this!

Moving to digital allows you to get creative with both delivery methods and messaging. Taking an interactive and encouraging approach may help not just get your message across but may also brighten your audience’s day.