How well educated are your employees on current company benefits? How are employee benefits communicated? Do you have an employee benefits education and communication strategy? These are all questions that your HR team should be evaluating on a regular basis.

A recent Aflac survey indicates that 83% of employers believe that communication, employee education and engagement are integral to overall benefits delivery and 65% rank educating employees about their benefits as a high priority. Despite this, less than 25% of companies are using technology for non-payroll HR functions, like education, benefits and communication.

And this lack of education shows … More than 60% of employees report that making sense of benefits is ‘too complicated,’ and nearly 75% report there is some part of their current coverage they don’t understand.

8) Send Emails

Tried and true, email is still one of the most effective communication and education tools available to employers. The key to winning at email is to keep messages concise and informative, test your headlines to see what messaging sparks the most engagement and use a mobile-friendly email solution. Email is another communication tool that can easily be managed in-house if you are using a modern benefits solution that comes with built-in employee communications tools.

9) Schedule Text Message Alerts

It might surprise you to learn that employees actually don’t mind receiving text messages from their employer on important HR and benefits alerts. Offering a text message alert service will ensure employees receive fast and timely communications about educational opportunities. Text message alerts can easily be managed in-house if you are using an up-to-date technology provider. Be sure that your text system is ‘opt-in’ to only reach employees that want to be reached this way!

10) Offer A Benefits Website

Do your employees have a central place to access all of their benefits materials? Hosting a benefits-specific website is an affordable and effective way to provide on-demand access to important materials. This is also a great place to host your educational materials, like benefits guides and educational videos. Make sure that your benefits website is mobile-friendly and can easily be accessed and navigated across multiple device types.

11) Invest In A Benefits Mobile App

Employees don’t always have benefits questions during OE or even during normal 9-5 work hours. Instead, questions often arise in the moment when visiting a doctor or filing a claim. The best way to be helpful in the moment? Offer a benefits mobile app! By partnering with a technology provider that has fully embraced the mobile-first movement, you can provide employees with timely, relevant info on the fly via a dedicated mobile app.

12) Incentivize Education

All of this education is great, but how can you actually get employees to engage? Try gamifying the process and adding incentives to complete specific training. For example, Fujifilm integrates short, interactive games into their employee education. The games are called ‘tiles’ and are customized to focus on current initiatives. The games only take a few minutes to complete and are rolled out each morning. Employees that complete all 5 tiles in a week receive a prize. And that’s just one example of how gamification can be used for HR. Get creative and make learning fun!

13) Ask For Feedback

Do you know how well educated your employees are? Do you know how satisfied employees are with current benefits communication and education initiatives? These are simple points that can easily be uncovered via an employee benefits survey. Implement a survey annually post-OE for the best results.

14) Provide 1-on-1 Assistance

It’s time to put the ‘human’ back in human resources. One-on-one communication is an oldie but goodie when it comes to educating employees. Speaking with a real person? Crazy, we know. But, your HR staff should be readily available to answer any and all questions that might arise throughout the year. Make sure that your benefits contact is easy to reach and is a person that employees feel comfortable approaching.

15) Share Total Compensation Statements

Do your employees fully understand the full value of their compensation and benefits? Total compensation statements are a quick and easy way to effectively showcase the full value of an employee’s financial rewards and the total value of working at your organization. Statements are highly visual and easy to scan, which makes them incredibly easy to understand. Information included in total compensation statements includes an employee’s base salary (or hourly pay), bonuses, 401(k) or retirement fund contributions, insurance benefits, vacation accrued, voluntary benefits and more, which are all combined into a ‘total annual compensation’ number.

The most important takeaway? Employee benefits education should not be limited to a pre-OE scramble. Instead, embrace a year-round education strategy and open the communication channels around the clock to keep your employees up to date on the latest and greatest benefits news.

Need A Benefits Communications Partner?

If so, you’re in luck. PlanSource happens to be an expert in employee benefits education and communications. Get in touch to see how we can help you drive better awareness, engagement and HR efficiency!