Why You Need A Separate Communications Platform?

A separate benefits communications platform can help you increase your ROI on benefits!

Many employers offer fantastic benefits, yet they don’t sufficiently market them to employees. This means wasted opportunities to connect with employees and drive results through that benefit.
Benefits can cost you 25% to 40% of an employee’s salary. For example, if you’re paying an employee $50,000 per year, you’re potentially spending anywhere between $12,500 and $20,000 on their benefits alone. 

Moreover, you’re investing in benefits for a reason. Failing to promote your benefits undercuts the return on your investment in that benefit. And unfortunately, you spend money on benefits whether your workforce uses them or not. If you have great benefits, but employees don’t know about them or how to access them, you’ll face higher turnover and decreased productivity…while still paying for unused benefits.
 

How do well-communicated benefits increase your return on investment FOR THAT BENEFIT? Communicating your benefits well is vital to increase the Return on Investment (ROI) on employee benefits. Here’s how it increases your ROI:
 

• Leads to healthier employees, which increases employee productivity. 
• Makes employees happier. US employees are 4 times more likely to value workplace benefits over extra salary. And 70% of employees feel more loyal to companies with good benefits, which means you will drive retention.
• Minimizes care avoidance, which is when your employees avoid treatment. They continue to work in poor health because they can’t afford the costs of healthcare. This is called presenteeism, and it has been estimated to cost employers 10 times more than absenteeism.

Keep reading to learn how a separate benefits communications platform can help you increase your ROI on benefits!

The shortcomings of an HRIS or a Benefits Administration System

Before we dive into why you need a separate platform to communicate your employee benefits, let’s look at the shortfalls of other Human Resource applications.

A human resource information system (HRIS) is an essential tool for HR teams. An HRIS offers data entry, tracking, and management of all HR operations in an organization. For example, using an HRIS, you can track applicants and employees, time and attendance, and payroll processes. A Benefits Administration System is an aspect of an HRIS. It helps employees select their benefits.

However, both an HRIS and a benefits administration system are solely data-driven. Meaning, they don’t teach employees about what benefits are available to them, which to pick, and how to use them. 

Let’s think about a benefits administration system like this: it’s a shopping tool. It’s like Amazon.com for benefits, but with no explanatory information. It doesn’t help employees make the most of their benefits.

Most sellers don’t simply upload their products on Amazon.com and hope people buy them. Instead, they develop marketing plans to engage with consumers and encourage them to buy their products. That’s exactly what you should do: market and explain your benefits to employees.

Why You Need a Separate Communications Platform 

When it comes to benefits, a separate communications platform is the content marketing for your employee benefits. Rather than just posting your benefits for employees to choose from, this platform helps inform. 

By marketing benefits to employees, you create more informed consumers. Using language that people understand will help them know which benefits are available to them, how to select the correct ones, and how to use them. 

A separate communications platform (such as LearnYour Benefits) is also more accessible, unlike an HRIS or a benefits administration system. Family members can easily hop on and do some research. You don’t know who handles these decisions in an employee’s family, so the information should be readily accessible.

Plus, this platform markets to employees year-round, preparing them for Open Enrollment season, but also meeting people where they’re at. Think about your employee: they are making decisions year-round that could affect how and when they use their benefits, not just at Open Enrollment.

Marketing benefits will create increased and more effective utilization of them. By communicating your benefits well, your employees won’t be as stressed about their coverage. They’ll be healthier and happier now that they know how to make the most out of their benefits!

Focus on Your Employees First

HRIS and benefits administration systems exist for a great reason, but prioritizing the well-being of your employees isn’t one of them. For these platforms, communicating effectively to your employees is an afterthought (if that thought is even there at all). 

This article first appeared here.

Katie Palmer is a Marketing Communications Manager at LearnYour Benefits. Visit https://learnyourbenefits.com/ Connect Katie Palmer