Seven ways to meet wellbeing needs through inclusive communications
Being inclusive has a number of benefits. As well as ensuring that as many employees as possible benefit from the wellbeing initiatives and services you’ve invested in, it also sends out a very positive message about the organisation. These seven tips can help you make your wellbeing communications more inclusive.
1. Know your workforce
Before embarking on any communications programme, it’s important to know your audience. Employee data from sources such as HR records, EAP usage and benefit take-up can give you some insight into the wellbeing initiatives and services that would be of interest. But, with plenty of issues likely to be hidden, conducting an anonymous survey into the services and support employees would like can help too.
2. Have a focus
Everyone’s wellbeing needs are different but trying to cater for all of these at once can lead to some very confusing communications. To make them more engaging, have a monthly, or quarterly theme, such as financial wellbeing, being more active or stress management, and provide a broad range of content and support relating to it.
3. Keep it fresh
Roll out the same message every week and not only will employees lose interest but they’ll think you’re only interested in supporting the wellbeing of the minority. Instead, spice up your communications by picking different topics, varying the style and tone, and using a variety of different channels to get the message out there. Doing this keeps it fresh and, as employees’ wellbeing needs change over time, it means support is more likely to be there when they need it.
4. Think need, not product
Just as some actors become type-cast as villains or thugs, some wellbeing products suffer low take-up because employees think they only offer one thing. Employee assistance programmes are a great example of this: often seen as support for stress and mental health issues, these services can help employees with everything from childcare through to bereavement. Highlighting this in communications will ensure more employees reach out for help when they need it.
5. Get a brand
Creating an easily recognisable brand for all your benefits or wellbeing initiatives helps employees to identify them. By giving them their own identity, employees will know instantly that it’s something that could benefit them.
6. Make it personal
Using employee case studies in your communications can transform a faceless wellbeing service into a very human success story that really engages others. To have the greatest impact, look for case studies that represent different parts of the organisation as this will resonate with more of their colleagues.
7. Seek feedback
Usage, click-through rates and take-up data will show you whether your communications are driving higher levels of engagement across the workforce. However, the best way to find out what employees think of your wellbeing initiatives is to ask them. As well as giving you valuable feedback, finding out what they think shows you care, but be sure to act on any feedback or employees can quickly lose interest.
This article is provided by Legal & General.
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One of the UK's leading group protection providers with over 85 years' experience.
