14 Jul 2020

Five ways that technology is revolutionising workplace benefits communication

Good communication is an essential part of every relationship, including the important relationship between employee and employer.

In recent years, communication in the workplace has advanced at incredible speed. In the first half of 2018 alone, $1.33 billion was invested in HR technology, surpassing the total spending of 2017, according to Larocque LLC. And that was just for new technologies, not upgrades to existing systems.

Today's leading organisations understand the importance of adopting a mobile-native mindset. Technology has given organisations the ability to reach their workforce anytime, anywhere and on any device, including the communication of employee benefits.

Here are five ways that technology is revolutionising the communication of benefits:

1. Employee benefits platforms

In addition to reducing HR administration through automation and creating greater employee self-service through the enablement of digital enrolments, benefits platforms have revolutionised the employee experience, including communication.

Whenever employees log in to their personalised benefits platform, they can read company messages and see announcements posted on their welcome page. The welcome page is the perfect place for administrators to post messages about new benefits or changes to existing benefits.

If you're using a benefits platform with its own integrated communication engine, you can also automate the delivery of messages, reminders about enrolment dates and invitations during specific life events, such as work anniversaries.

2. The ability to reach your entire workforce via smartphone

What would we do without our phones? According to research, the average adult spends 3.15 hours per day on their mobile phone (not including voice calls). Other studies show that the average person checks their phone every 12 minutes, with 10% checking their phone every four minutes.

With approximately 80% of workers globally said to be "deskless", being able to communicate to your entire workforce on the one device that's always with them gives today’s employers unparalleled reach.

Employers can send push notifications to communicate new benefits, exciting offers, reminders about enrolment dates, or changes to existing enrolments directly to employees' phones.

3. Personalisation through targeted communication

Today, we are all bombarded with information. The only way to cut through the clutter and to get your message through is with personalisation.

Using the communication tools inside your benefits platform, you can use targeted communication to create unique and personalised messages. Targeted communication allows the sender to adapt the content of the message and then send variations of it to specific target groups so that it is personalised.

With the help of different filters, you can send your message to specific individuals, groups, departments, and even countries. For example, if you have a new benefit that is only relevant to specific employees or specific regions, you can send your message to only those who it concerns. You may also wish to communicate changes to a benefit and, therefore, only want to send the message to those who are enrolled in the benefit.

4. Multiple channel reach

Different generations have different communication preferences. Today, employers can use multiple channels to communicate with their workforce based on employee preferences.

Employers can use collaboration tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to communicate information about benefits with their workforce immediately. Most collaboration tools also allow for the creation of channels and sub-channels so you can send specific messages and updates to specific groups.

By using a benefits platform with an inbuilt communication engine, platform administrators can use self-service communication tools to post in-platform messages, send e-mails, or send push notifications to employees' phones, all from one source.

This way, employers send the right message to the right person through the right channel.

5. Engage your global workforce virtually

With workplaces everywhere currently working from home, video and virtual meeting platforms such as Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become an essential part of every company’s communication.

Set up virtual company-wide meetings monthly or quarterly where you inform all employees – wherever they may be located – of important benefit enrolment dates, changes to benefits, new offers and much more.

Additionally, record video messages or webinars to communicate your benefits and then post the videos on the welcome page of your benefits platform, intranet or even company social media channels.

Today, you need to use all the communication tools you have available to reach your employees and to increase both benefits awareness and appreciation.

This article is provided by Benify