COMMUNICATING YOUR BENEFIT PLAN Developing a Successful Communication Engagement Plan

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1 COMMUNICATING YOUR BENEFIT PLAN Developing a Successful Communication Engagement Plan A publication of

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3 Good communication is critical to any successful operation. When you invest considerable time and money in employee benefit programs, you want to know that your employees understand how the plans work, appreciate how valuable they are as part of a total compensation package, and know how participants can affect the bottom line. Developing a comprehensive communications strategy (designed to engage and inform employees) that is inviting and reflective of your workforce and culture, is paramount to good communication. In fact, effective internal communications is one of the key drivers of employee engagement which has been widely researched and proven to add significant value to organizations on all metrics from productivity. A good communication plan must: Educate, engage and motivate employees Guide employee behaviors Foster understanding of your benefits to a variety of employee audiences

4 So how do we get there? A useful first step in identifying the needs of employee communications is performing a communications audit to: 1. Assess communication needs/objectives what messages need to be communicated effectively? 2. Reveal stakeholders and audience profiles 3. Identify the channels/vehicles available for communication and assess how effective they are From there, you can: 1. Create messages not just to convey information, but to influence behavior, or persuade people to take action toward the identified goal 2. Select the appropriate channels to deliver the messages that are sure to reach the various stakeholders and audience profiles 3. Develop a way to evaluate and measure success of your communications

5 Use the right tools. HCW has developed tools to assist clients with developing a multi-year communication strategy. Our clientspecific communications strategy ties in with our client s overall benefits strategy. These tools assist clients in assessing the audience of a specific group, identifying the available channels and vehicles for communication, and developing a way to measure effectiveness. All of this information is pulled together in a rollout calendar. A successful strategic organizational communications program can boost morale, change the culture and create shared knowledge and values at work. Obviously we don t know all there is to know about these pieces of your organization. But we do hope this is a starting point for you to build a strategic communications approach in your organization.

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7 CHAPTER ONE: ASSESS THE AUDIENCE To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. Tony Robbins, motivational speaker

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9 Recognize diversity. The attributes that define each employee as a unique individual including age, education, race, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, gender, language, religion, and physical and mental challenges Diversity describes the multifaceted ways in which human beings can be both similar and different. Workplace diversity is a people issue, focused on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. The center of the wheel represents internal dimensions that are usually most permanent or visible. The outside of the wheel represents dimensions that are acquired and change over the course of a lifetime. The combinations of all of these dimensions influence our values, beliefs, behaviors, experiences and expectations and make us all unique as individuals.

10 Understand the differences diversity requires. For example, take the following generational differences: Boomers are good team players, love the social interaction at work, will work all hours, and are willing to invest time in working their way up the corporate hierarchy. Boomers like handwritten notes and phone calls. Gen Xers are so much more skeptical, think the boomers are crazy to work so hard, and are determined to do a good job but also go home at night and have a life. Gen Xers mostly respond to . Millenials have no patience at all; if they re not happy, they won t work through it they ll leave. Millenials respond best to text or instant messaging. (Millenials)

11 Use the right tools. HCW has developed tools to assist clients with developing a multi-year communication strategy. Our client-specific communications strategy ties in with our client s overall benefits strategy. These tools assist clients in assessing the audience of a specific group, identifying the available channels and vehicles for communication, and developing a way to measure effectiveness. All of this information is pulled together in a rollout calendar. A successful strategic organizational communications program can boost morale, change the culture and create shared knowledge and values at work. Obviously we don t know all there is to know about these pieces of your organization. But we do hope this is a starting point for you to build a strategic communications approach in your organization.

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13 CHAPTER TWO: IDENTIFY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS I speak onstage to try to establish some method of communication. The songs are supposed to be a way of communicating. But speech and drinks and sometimes chocolates are also a way of communicating. Jarvis Cocker, singer-songwriter

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15 Create your inventory of communication channels. An inventory is an essential tool for building a successful framework for your communication strategy. Multiple channels will be necessary! Did You Know? 74% of companies acknowledge that social media provides an easy, convenient way for employees to obtain benefits information.

16 Recognize the channel limitations. For example, if most of your participants do not have regular internet access, it s not a good idea to send important communications via . Retirees may react differently to an message than younger participants who use as their primary communication method. So, you may want to use a traditional mail piece for retirees and an communication for active participants. Match the channel to the desired level of interaction and feedback. If participants are going to have questions about a communication, you will need to have a mechanism to address those questions. TIP! Use the Communications Inventory worksheet to document what your available channels are and who they reach.

17 Communication Inventory Communication Channels/Vehicles (I.e. Careers webpage, online articles, leadership communications, internal newsletters, recruitment brochures, internal presentations, P&Ps, etc.) Audience(s) (see "Defining Audiences Worksheet") Owner (Who in the company is responsible for the comm channel - marketing, HR, leadership, etc.)

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19 CHAPTER THREE: DEVELOP A ROLL OUT PLAN thinking and planning. Let our advance worrying become advance Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister

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21 Document and schedule. Create the messages, noting the audience and designated channels and vehicles you will use. Use the Communications Engagement Plan worksheet to lay everything out. Use the Communications Calendar worksheet to address the When? question. FYI 34% of employees said they d like to see more frequent benefits communications.

22 Communications Engagement Plan Organizational Objective Objectives What are the main things that need to be addressed in order to be sure the company is moving in the direction identified (taken from Strategy Scorecard)? Be thinking of the actions or behaviors desired. Measurement Result Objective (Taken from "Objectives of Communication Plan" above) Audience (What specific groups of people will you target in order to modify behavior or influence their decisions?) Operational Plan Solution(s) What are the few key things you can do to to work towards reaching the objetive defined? Message What is/are the specific message(s) that will hit home with the audience(s)? Channel What communication method will you use to communiate the message to the audience? Timeline When will you launch the message(s)? 1

23 Communications Calendar January February March April May June Audience Comm Piece Message Audience Comm Piece Message Audience Comm Piece Message

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25 CHAPTER FOUR: DEVELOP WAYS TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year. John Foster Dulles, former U.S. Secretary of State

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27 Design and implement evaluation mechanisms. You have a winning approach, you ve begun to implement your plan now what? Meaningful measurement enables Continuous evolution and improvement Better accountability from all your resources internal and external Ability to communicate success to leadership and get the credit that HR deserves TIP Use a measurement dashboard to see if you met your goals! (see example)

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29 COMMUNICATING YOUR BENEFIT PLAN Developing a Successful Communication Engagement Plan A publication of Visit us online at or call us at We have office locations in the Triad, Triangle & Eastern North Carolina.