8 Ways to Sustain Employee Benefits Engagement Year-Round

It’s an age-old story: Benefits are extremely valuable to employees, helping them cover medical expenses, save for retirement, navigate caregiving responsibilities, take time away from work, and more. But often, they’re extremely confusing to employees, and even at times a little dull.

So explained Lauren Winans, CEO and principal HR consultant at consulting firm Next Level Benefits, at SHRM25 in San Diego. 

“Benefits is a really tricky animal,” she said. “It’s really complicated; it’s got a lot of buzzwords, a lot of vernacular that isn’t used regularly. Employees don’t like benefits because they can’t understand them.”

Adding to the problem is that employers, despite reiterating the importance and value of benefits, often do a poor job explaining their offerings to employees. And they primarily only promote benefits during open enrollment. That’s a mistake, Winans said.  

She said employers can benefit from better communication about benefits and increasing employees’ understanding of the offerings. Those pay off in increased employee engagement, retention, and attraction.

To get employees to understand, value, and use their benefits, employers should create and follow a year-round strategy, Winans said. Here are eight ways to get started.

Find out what benefits matter to your employees. An annual employee survey is a good thing, but creating ongoing opportunities to find out how employees feel about benefits is even better, Winans said. “Survey employees. Talk to them about what their needs are and what they are looking for,” she said. Also, don’t be shy about asking their opinions on specific benefits, whether the organization is thinking about adding it or if it already is an option. 

“Let’s say you roll out a new benefit during open enrollment,” Winans said. “Maybe once the new plan year starts, put out a survey and ask employees, ‘Hey, we rolled out this new benefit during open enrollment. Have you used it yet? Have you had a chance to check it out?’ Sometimes that’s going to be the first time someone finds out about that benefit. A lot of times, you have to tell people the same thing over and over again.” 

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Develop a communications calendar. Focusing on benefits communication only during open enrollment is simply ineffective, Winans said. Because communication is needed year-round, creating a communications calendar — identifying when to talk to employees and about which benefits — can be a game-changer. “If you align a lot of your messaging to the natural flow of the year, that relevance will actually help people to be more engaged,” she explained. In January, for example, organizations might communicate with employees about certain plan basics and how benefits save them money throughout the year, or send them a full benefits statement so they know every available option.

“Building it out is really like a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Then you know what you’ll focus on month after month, year after year,” Winans said. “It’s definitely worthwhile to plan it out.”

Get employees excited about their benefits without overwhelming them. Employee benefits don’t have to be dull. They can be valuable, interesting, and yes, even fun, Winans said. 

“Think about aiming to excite employees about their benefits, and don’t necessarily speak at them,” she said. “You’re trying to sell them an experience. Make sure you’re marketing it that way.”

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Use diverse channels beyond email. Simply sending emails about benefits isn’t going to cut it. Different employees benefit from different forms of communication, so it’s best to embrace a variety — from mailed, paper information to signs around the office to text messages, she said.

“Sometimes emails end up working best. Sometimes having face-to-face meetings works best. Sometimes doing a text message campaign is going to be more valuable,” Winans said. Others prefer home mailers because their spouse also sees that information.  

“Sometimes you don’t know,” she added. “I highly recommend you think through different channels available to your organization. It’s going to help to reach people where they’re at and how they like to receive information.”

Leverage technology and other tools to convey benefits information. Employees often don’t know that certain benefits are offered by their company, Winans said. But making sure that information is available easily, and digitally, can help. 

“It’s a great way for employees to access information when they need it. We know that there are a lot of employees that, while they might know that they have access to certain things, when they’re in a moment of crisis or a moment of need, they don’t always know where to go,” she said. “Technology can solve that for you.”

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness and competitiveness of benefits offerings to adapt to changing employee needs. Staying static with offerings isn’t necessarily going to be helpful. Although stalwarts such as health care and retirement will likely stay fairly consistent, make sure to try other offerings to match what employees need and want. Looking at utilization and other metrics can help employers determine what impact certain benefits are making, Winans said. 

Prioritize employee health and well-being by ensuring that benefits meet the diverse health needs of employees. “The more you can meet the needs of a wide variety of individuals, the better and stronger your program is going to be,” Winans said. At the same time, organizations’ benefits strategies need to go beyond simply adding more benefits when they want to make a difference. Instead, benefits and HR leaders need to ensure employees know about any benefits they have that can improve their health and well-being, as well as how they can use them.

Establish a consistent benefits experience across different markets and locations. Even for large or global organizations that may not be able to offer the same benefits to employees across the board, make sure the messaging behind the benefits is consistent, she said. Employees should understand that they are getting the same kind of help and support from their organization.

“Creating a consistent experience across the board is really going to help people to feel like you’re looking out for them,” Winans said. “Ultimately, that’s what we do as benefits professionals when we’re offering programs, plans, and benefits to employees to better their lives, to be there when they need them, to prepare them for retirement. 

“It’s important that the experience is consistent for all, so that everyone feels valued and everyone feels like that package is something that they can rely on.”