Are your benefits emails and brochures gathering dust? The secret to cutting through the noise lies in knowing your employees’ work environment. You may have a large number of employees who sit behind a desk all day and are used to enrolling online. Or maybe your inbox is filled with benefits questions on Monday or in the mornings from all your “after hour” employees. Because of that, your benefits communication strategy can’t be one size fits all. But by analyzing the data of organizations in similar industries and the behaviors of your own workforce, you can formulate a communication strategy tailored to connect with all your employees, no matter where they work.
Not all workdays look the same, and neither does the way employees engage with their benefits. Desk workers can sip coffee while clicking through an online portal. On-the-go employees, like busy nurses or retail pros, need quick, scroll-friendly updates that don’t eat up their packed schedules. And for folks in manufacturing or roles with little computer access? Sometimes it takes several text messages to get them enrolled.
Challenge: Steering employees to the right information and benefits is critical in eliminating confusion and increasing satisfaction in the education industry. As one Superintendent for an educational co-op said, “Generally, educators don’t know what’s in their benefits package. So, when they’re making decisions, they oftentimes don’t even know which questions to ask. And looking at paper (plan guides) doesn’t help them.”
Solution: Leverage a benefits administration platform that allows for targeted email and text message communication for specific employee groups—ensuring employees see only what’s applicable to them.
Challenge: Your employees are most likely on their feet more often than not. Getting them to access and activate their benefits in a busy environment can be tricky. In addition, they may struggle with pairing the right benefits to support their health and lifestyle needs.
Opportunity: Utilize a mobile first solution for easy access on the go, AI-powered support for after-hours/weekend assistance, and decision support to ensure the right benefits that meet their needs. 34% of healthcare services employees engage with their benefits platform 4+ times after enrollment. This number goes up even higher when HSA and FSA accounts are also managed through the enrollment platform.
Challenge: With hospitality and retail workers working odd hour shifts, their need for assistance may most likely be after or before your HR team has clocked in.
Opportunity: 92% of retail and hospitality employees chat with our virtual benefits assistant to get real-time answers to their questions and summaries of their benefits, meaning a drastically lower number of follow-up calls, emails, or knocks on your door.
Challenge: Employees in the business services sector are increasingly in need of understanding which benefits can help them achieve more financial stability, as well as getting support after hours and on the weekends.
Opportunity: 69% of business services employees use AI tools for help with their benefits currently. Look into the utilization of AI support to help guide employees to the right information whenever, wherever.
Challenge: You support a wide, complex variety of employees working in a variety of work environments. Getting the right benefits communication details out to not just the right member groups, but the right segment of employees as well, can be difficult.
Opportunity: Simplifying your benefits into one place has cascading beneficial effects in terms of benefits communication for employees. Within the pool or association, each member group has the option to offer resources branded for its employees. This includes a branded website, employee messaging, and much more—reducing confusion and improving streamlined communication for employees, no matter where they work.
Challenge: A large portion of manufacturing employees don’t have time to access their benefits during office hours and therefore need support after hours and on weekends. Additionally, being unable to access HR during hours means they don’t have the support to help guide them through their enrollment.
Opportunity: 61% of manufacturing employees chat with our virtual benefits assistant to get real-time answers to their questions and summaries of their benefits. 85% of those chats stay resolved, meaning no follow-up calls, emails, or door knocks for them or you.
No matter how different employees’ work environments are across industries, one thing stays the same: 8 out of 10 employees feel confused about their benefits. The way we address this isn’t a simple one-size-fits-all solution. It’s all about using a multi-channel approach to meet employees where they are.
Because while text messages may work better for employees in healthcare or retail for instance, communication gaps can still exist.
That’s where tools like AI-powered support are stepping in to bridge those gaps, providing help precisely when and where employees need it—whether they’re sitting at a desk, in-between patient appointments, or taking a break from stocking shelves.
Would you love to have direct insights into your employees and how they interact with your benefit communications? Check our Benefits Insights Dashboard and how it’s providing game-changing insights for organizations.
