Co-authored by Kris Datwyler, Sr. Benefits Consultant, AVP at Newfront.

Staying ahead of the OE seasons starts long before your renewal arrives. It begins with addressing your company’s desired employee experience at the start of each year.

A well-executed communication strategy can effectively educate employees and positively influence attitudes towards the rewards you offer.

• Interestingly, communications can have as much impact on employee satisfaction with your rewards program as the range of rewards offered, or the perceived dollar amount of employer contributions.

• Indeed, the perceived value of total rewards directly influences their importance to employees when selecting a job or decision to stay with their current employer.

Collaboration and ongoing open communication year-round drive the planning process with your insurance carriers and vendors, and Human Resources team with employees’ feedback enables you to develop a strategy that maximizes your total rewards offerings for the upcoming plan year—kicked off at open enrollment.

One size does not fit all. That is why understanding your unique company characteristics (company profile, employee generation mix, and roles—leveraging demographic data) is critical to your strategy. Crafting a communication campaign with your unique employee profiles in mind allows you to meet employees where they are, which further increases perceived value.

Once your communications framework is complete, it is on to the execution phase, which includes everything from the system set up and custom communications to post-open enrollment activities. A good project plan and coordination process are important to help keep vendors, carriers, and the HR team on track, and materials are available for your review early for final approval and feedback to the team.

Each year, studies show companies with good employee engagement are more profitable than those without. Communication strategies are ever-evolving. Now, more than ever, employer communications include real-time updates, delivered through a variety of channels to reach employees and their families.

At Newfront, we work with you to ensure your employee communications are meaningful, easy to access, and digest.