21 Aug 2024
by Dawn Lewis

Benefits communication projects set for transformation in next 12 months

REBA’s content editor Dawn Lewis explores why benefits communication is finally being addressed

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Employers are invested in ensuring that communication of benefits is a priority.

Of the large-scale projects planned for 2024-25, communication of benefits tops the agenda, with more than half (56%) of organisations undertaking a project in this area.

The findings from REBA’s Benefits Design Research 2024 also reveal that more than one-third of employers (36%) say communication of benefits requires urgent attention, while a further 18% believe it needs minor improvements.

Benefits communication and, by extension, engagement have always needed a concerted effort to ensure the right employees are getting the right messages at the right time.

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Why the focus on communication?

The combination of a tight labour market, challenging inflation and productivity levels, as well as pressure to retain, reskill and recruit employees to meet business transformation goals, mean employers need to adapt benefits spend to meet shifting HR challenges. 

REBA’s Benefits Design Research 2024 showed that employers are working harder to use their budgets more effectively. Part of this is ensuring that benefits are being fully utilised by delivering better, more effective communications.

There is also a notable shift to focus on improving benefits technology, and a need for transformation to deliver better outcomes for employers.

Technology could help employers meet their aspirations to improve benefits communications through greater personalisation, efficiencies to increase resource capacity and better analytics.

Together these can produce evidence to justify budgets, forecast costs and savings, and model the predicted impact of benefits on key HR and business objectives.