Communication is the bedrock of a healthy, productive work environment. This last year has shown how vital healthcare work benefits are to employees. Healthcare plans are not always the easiest to understand or choose. This is why effective communication from Human Resources is non-negotiable.
Avoid These Pitfalls
Not taking advantage of HR and benefits technology is a major mistake companies can make. Failing to engage employees in healthcare benefits can hurt a business’s productivity and raise hire turnover. Taking the time to avoid communication mishaps can save HR time and money in the long run.
Ineffective Meetings
Most work meetings are done over Zoom or Skype nowadays. In the past, companies often tried to utilize in-person company-wide meetings to relay information on healthcare packages and benefits. These meetings were mostly ineffective as a result of information overload in a short amount of time. Healthcare is not the easiest to understand and often takes one-on-one sessions to properly communicate.
Lost Emails
Companies often try to avoid large information meetings by instead choosing to send emails. Emails are tricky because they are helpful for communication after the fact in healthcare benefits enrollment. However, emails can get lost in the ever-growing inbox of employees. Healthcare benefits are too valuable to be left up to an uncertain chance of being opened in a vast inbox.
Snail Mail
Once again, postage mail has its time and place in healthcare enrollment. It’s a good way to send needed paperwork and receive signatures in today’s increasingly remote work world. Many employees may mistake healthcare plan information packets for spam and throw them away.
Future Communication Upgrades
The HR departments of companies need to adapt to new communication channels to maintain effective relationships with employees. If businesses want to increase employee participation in healthcare benefits, HR needs to upgrade their tools of communication.
Zoom Meetings
Allowing employees to choose from a multitude of times to hop on a Zoom call to learn about health benefits can go a long way. Zoom or Skype meetings can be helpful for employees to learn about their options, especially when the group numbers are kept to a minimum. Information sessions kept to shorter time spans spread over a series of days can help ease information overload.
Social Media Outreach
Companies in today’s workplace often have a variety of social media channels. From Twitter to Youtube to Instagram, there is a wide variety of ways to engage with employees in a low-stress environment about their healthcare benefits. Social media can be easily accessed and the information updated as often as needed with little effort.
Text Messages
Almost all employees have a phone in some capacity or another. Text messaging is a solid choice for many employees to engage with HR about their healthcare packages. Text messages allow for consistent channels of communications in a minimal effort way. The most crucial, valuable healthcare plan information can be sent through texts and followed up with phone calls or emails.
Newsletter
A newsletter is different from a typical HR email because employees choose to sign up for a newsletter. Set to a bi-weekly or monthly basis, a newsletter can be an effective communication channel of employee benefits. All resources can be organized in a concise, easy-to-read manner, making the process for employees to choose a healthcare plan as painless as possible.
Healthcare Is Complicated, Communication Doesn’t Need to Be
Communication with HR, especially in larger companies, can be daunting for employees. Companies want to keep highly engaged, healthy employees, and healthcare benefits go a long way in achieving this. Clear communication shows employees a company’s HR team cares. The workplace is growing increasingly competitive over time, and companies are beefing up their employee benefits to attract and keep high-value staff.
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