Reaching the Household A Strategic Communications Shift

As workplaces continue to shift and transform, employers must adjust their employee engagement strategies.  Remote or hybrid working, shortened attention spans, and navigating a multigenerational workforce have created several hurdles to engaging household decision-makers. In short, benefit communications must reach beyond the office walls.

As benefit selections are rarely made by a single household member, it is important to consider others who may be involved in the decision-making process. Whether that be a spouse, partner or elder dependent, extending communications that take these groups into consideration is extremely important.

Understanding Who Your Healthcare Decision-Makers Are

Data analysis can reveal things such as who is enrolling and whether they have dependents, who is calling support lines, contacting support emails, etc. Understanding who is engaging with the various components of your organization’s benefit plans can provide insight and direction as to the forms and types of communications that would be most effective in reaching these decision-makers.

Communicating the value placed on the well-being of employees is a critical component to the success of many employers' health plans. Effective communication to the entire household, highlighting how benefits support the entire family’s overall well-being, is the cornerstone of promoting a healthy workplace. Providing easy access to information via online portals, hotlines, and other educational avenues, including webinars and videos, can be great steps to take.

A proactive approach not only empowers employees and their families to be active participants in their healthcare spending but also cultivates a supportive environment where the importance of health and well-being is recognized and encouraged.

Crafting an Effective Communications Plan

Many decision-makers only think about their healthcare benefits during annual open enrollment or when they use their benefits. Here are some advantages to educating employees and their families about their benefits year-round:

• Continuous Engagement: Regular communication keeps employees informed and engaged ensuring they understand and utilize benefits effectively, including lesser-known benefits or point solutions that might be highly valuable.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: With consistent information, employees can make better decisions, such as choosing the right health plan or retirement options.
• Timely Notification: Monthly observances, awarenesses, or crisis management communications (for example, winter flu shot notifications) can help bolster important initiatives such as preventative screenings and employee wellness programs (i.e. smoking cessation or flu shot programs).
• Cost Efficiency: Educating employees about their benefits can lead to more cost-effective use of those benefits, potentially saving both the employee and employer money.

How to Effectively Communicate with Your Population

Ensuring your organization's employee benefit communications are clear, concise, and easily digestible will help boost their effectiveness. Healthcare decision-makers must be able to understand what each communication is targeting to take any kind of action after consuming the information.

Multiple communication channels are effective in reaching diverse populations that prefer to consume information differently. For an employer, this could mean sending communications via various channels:

• Email Newsletters: Regularly scheduled emails can provide updates, reminders, and detailed information about benefits.
• Intranet Portals: A dedicated section on the company intranet can serve as a central hub for all benefits-related information.
• Webinars and Workshops: Interactive sessions where employees can learn about benefits and ask questions in real-time.
• Printed Materials: Brochures, posters, and flyers can be distributed in common areas or mailed to employees’ homes.
• Text Messages: SMS alerts can be used for urgent updates or reminders about important deadlines.
• Video Messages: Short videos from leadership or HR can make the communication more engaging and personal. 
• Surveys and Feedback Forms: These can be used to gather employee input and improve the benefits communication strategy.

Staggering delivery timelines alongside your carriers’ approaches can be a great way maximize results. Some best practices when it comes to best reaching household are:

• Clear, Jargon-Free Messaging. Benefits language can be complex. Try to simplify educational material with plain language, visuals, and real-life scenarios that resonate with families.
• Involve the Family in the Conversation. Host virtual Q&A sessions or webinars where spouses can attend. Providing additional decision guides and question paths that can be custom tailored can encourage joint review and discussion.
• Timing is Everything. Sending communications during evenings or weekends when families are more likely to review them together can help reach a wider audience. Align messaging with key decision windows like open enrollment or back-to-school season.

The Payoff

Keeping employees and their families educated and aware of their benefits is a large part of the success of any good health plan and clear communication is key to making that happen. Organizations that reach the household see higher engagement, fewer HR inquiries, and greater satisfaction with benefits offerings. These strategies emphasize a human-centered approach that recognizes employees as part of a broader support system.