Developing an Employee Benefits Communication Strategy, Part 6 of 6 — Designing and Implementing Evaluation Mechanisms. As we wrap up our six-part series on developing an employee benefits communication strategy, let’s take a look at some key points from each installment: Set clearly-defined communication goals – know where you’re going before you take offIdentify and get to know your audience – analyze who will receive your messageCreate strong, clear messages – use simple, persuasive language to accomplish your goalUse high-impact communication vehicles – ensure your audience uses the channel you usePlan a communications schedule – avoid your message being lost in the mix Now, how can you measure communication effectiveness?
As a final step, measuring your results is the only way you’ll know if you have met your objectives that were defined in step 1. Measuring results will also ensure that you have: In setting up your evaluations, use SMART goals … You can even create a measurements dashboard like the one below to help you track the effectiveness of your communications: Reward staff with peer-to-peer recognition on your intranet. At Interact we believe that no kind act should go unrewarded. We believe that people benefit from being able to reward each other and that your business environment, people’s motivation and ultimately the efficiency and productivity of your business can be massively improved with the simple step of recognising hard work and positive attitudes. Setting the Scene: For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of one of the possibly many, people who work for you. Know your audience: Stats on finances, health, benefits and more.
Cost cutting and consumer-driven healthcare put employees in charge of their wellbeing benefits, says Mercer. David Woods , 31 Jan 2012 This year the health and benefits industry will operate within a context of heightened cost-cutting and consumer-driven healthcare and benefits options that put the employee in charge when it comes to choice and control, according to a report from Mercer.
The consultancy has marked out six main areas that companies should focus on in 2012 when organising their health and benefits offerings. Most businesses faced a "stop-start recovery" in 2011 due to an unstable economy and volatile markets. This left many organisations questioning the feasibility of maintaining their health benefits schemes against a backdrop of rapidly mounting healthcare costs as well as a rising tide of government regulation and legislation. Mercer predicts six key trends in the health and benefits market in 2012: 1. 2. With the default retirement age (DRA) phased out, employees now have the choice to work longer should they choose to do so. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Why you should invest in benefits communication. This guest post is by Jennifer Benz, chief strategist and founder of Benz Communications. Are you getting your money’s worth from employee benefits? Many companies spend 30% of their compensation budget on benefits such as medical, dental, insurance and retirement plans, but they might be skipping simple steps that ensure they get the full value from that investment. Even though effective benefits communication is strongly linked to employee job satisfaction and loyalty, only a third of people think their company does a good job communicating their benefits.
This can put small and midsize companies at a tremendous disadvantage when competing with larger employers for talent because large companies invest tremendous resources in benefits communication. They build websites, hire external agencies to create multimedia campaigns and send copious amounts of print material home. Engaging employees through education. Tammy Burns | April 5, 2012 At Western University in London, Ont., the students aren’t the only ones getting an education. For the past 10 years, the university has made learning top of mind for staff—thanks, in part, to its annual Staff and Leaders’ Conference held every February. According to Nancy Stewart, learning and development facilitator with Western, the purpose behind the conference is threefold.
One, the university wants employees to learn about trends in higher education and information relevant to their work. Two, it wants to build awareness among its staff about the work and research that Western does. Stewart explains that Western wants to create a culture of lifelong learning in its employees—a culture that encourages employees to engage not only with their employer but also with one another. “It’s designed to be as accessible as possible for staff.” The inaugural conference took place in 2003, with approximately 700 employees in attendance. Get a PDF of this article.