Don’t Forget the WHY in Benefits Communication

ANDREA TARRELL
HNI Marketing Director

It’s that time of the year again: open enrollment. Time to dust off the ol' PowerPoint and try to get people jazzed about their benefits. But that trusty slide deck you’ve re-purposed may leave out an important element you need to get across to employees — WHY your company is offering benefits in the first place.

There are lots of reasons to offer rich benefits to your employees. Here are just a few:

Shows employees that you value them and boosts morale
Helps you compete for the best talent
Minimizes turnover
Supports a healthy work-life balance
It’s a tax-efficient way to offer something of value to your employees
Makes you a healthier (and some would argue more productive) company

Don’t Keep It a Secret: Share the Company’s Motivation

Whatever your company’s reason for offering benefits, share it! It could be in the form of a benefits “mission statement” or perhaps a video interview with senior leadership explaining why the company has made this commitment to its employees.

Stating the WHY can help build appreciation and awareness about benefits — in other words, it builds your benefits brand. If you don’t state this from the get-go, you’re leaving employees to guess.

Other Ways to Build Appreciation for Benefits

Beyond open communication about the “why,” in many cases we recommend sharing with employees exactly what their benefits cost the company. To the woe of many employers, most employees don't appreciate their benefits — but that's partly because often nobody ever tells them what the costs are.

Celebrate milestones like dollars contributed to employees’ 401k accounts or tuition dollars reimbursed as part of your annual enrollment communication. In addition, provide employees with a benefits statement that spells out what they're getting and at what cost to the company.

A basic rundown of the employee's individual benefits and what they cost the business can be a very powerful tool. And don’t just stop at health insurance — include things like PTO, wellness offerings, and other “perks” of working for your company!

Benefits Communication at Open Enrollment

Your people deserve effective communication about something as important as employee benefits. Your company is likely making a big investment in what you’re offering — so make sure your employees understand the value of their benefits package.

What are you doing to drive home the message this year at open enrollment? We’d love to hear your tips in the comments!