5 steps to a solid benefit communications program
5 steps to a solid benefit communications program
The key to a winning benefits communications program lies in being open and honest with your employees and following a well-defined plan, says Julie Frost, communications consulting practice leader in Detroit for Towers Perrin, a management consulting firm. The following is Frost’s five-step formula for success in benefit communications:
1. Define your ideal perspectives.
In a perfect world, what would you want your employees to believe (and not believe) about their benefits plan? For example, how do you want them to view their benefits relative to the competition?
2. Identify current employee perceptions.
Ask your employees, and then listen. You can use a number of different tools:
• Interview management to learn their expectations for the program.
• Establish a cross-functional team from various areas of the company that can serve as a working group or as a sounding board to test ideas.
• Conduct surveys, and allow all employees to participate.
• Conduct focus groups, which can be used to target issues and gain information about these issues; provide opportunities to educate employees about new benefits; develop messages that can be used in communication materials; test concepts before the program begins.
3. Evaluate the gaps that surface between the desired and actual perceptions, and develop a strategy to narrow those gaps.
This strategy forms the basis of a work plan that includes a schedule, a media plan, a list of the communications materials required, and designated responsibilities.
4. Implementation.
At this point, 80% of the work may already be done, but be sure to test and retest everything including the messages. And most importantly, be willing to make changes as needed.
5. Evaluate overall effectiveness.
If interim success in meeting goals has been evaluated and refinements have been made along the way, there won’t be any major surprises in the final evaluation.
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