How to Effectively Market Your Benefits Offerings

Having outstanding benefits options is critical for attracting and retaining employees. But in order to capitalize on those options, employers need to effectively market their offerings to employees and candidates. If employees and candidates aren’t aware of or do not understand the benefits available to them, they do the employer little good. As open enrollment season approaches, employers should consider not only the benefits packages they offer but how to promote those packages to current and potential employees. This article provides tips to help effectively market an organization’s benefits options.

Make Benefits a Part of the Overall Employee Compensation Communication

Benefits are a crucial aspect of employee compensation, and this should be emphasized when discussing an employee’s total compensation package. Including benefits in the conversation allows employees to more easily see the value of the benefits packages available to them, thus increasing their satisfaction and likelihood of staying at their job.

Understand Employees’ Communication Styles

If employees do not understand the benefits that are available to them or their value, employers lose out on a major factor in attracting and retaining employees. Employers may seek to understand how their employees communicate so they can effectively market their benefits. For example, employers might consider providing information in multiple languages that correspond with those used in their respective workforces. They can also supply benefits information in various formats, such as paper collateral, digital copies or in-person information sessions. Presenting benefits information in a way employees can and will consume is key to helping them understand the value their benefits can provide.

Make Marketing a Year-round Strategy

Open enrollment season is a crucial time for ramping up marketing surrounding benefits offerings. However, savvy employers will discuss offerings with their employees throughout the year. When there is consistent messaging about the value of benefits offered, employees are more likely to understand and appreciate their options.

It is also important to have conversations with employees throughout the year about the types of benefits they desire to ensure that the employer is providing the benefits their specific workforce wants. If employees only hear about their company’s benefits offerings once a year, they are less likely to appreciate the value afforded to them. Giving employees time to digest their benefits information, reemphasizing what they get from their benefits and ensuring their current benefits meet their needs are all key components to effective marketing.

Conduct Regular Analysis of Employee Benefit Usage

Employees may not have to be using all of their benefits to get the most out of their benefits packages, but offering certain benefits is only beneficial when employees are using them. To determine which benefits employees use most and those they don’t use at all, consider conducting surveys to see which benefits provide the most value. Those that are not being used can then be replaced with other options that employees are more likely to use and find valuable.

Takeaway

There are many potential benefits packages available to employees; however, these benefits are only at their most valuable to employer attraction and retention efforts if employees can understand and use their benefits effectively. As open enrollment season approaches, employers should evaluate their benefits marketing strategies to ensure that employees see the value in their benefits packages.