In today’s job market, benefits can play a considerable role for job seekers. Salary alone is no longer enough to attract and retain top employees.
But how can an organization ensure employees find the available perks useful and make the most of them?
The methods outlined below can help you raise awareness about your company’s benefits.
1. Employee surveys
Surveys are an excellent tool for gauging how employees feel about current benefits. It can also help you forecast future needs, allowing you to customize, adapt, and build suitable plans.
2. Encourage employees to do a yearly audit of their needs
Many times, employees will opt for the same benefits every year. They may feel it’s easier than researching new options. But since people and situations change, employees should be encouraged to re-evaluate which benefits will suit them each year.
Employees should make sure their benefits support their needs and lifestyle, whether due to life changes (like a new marriage or the birth of a child), health changes, or new benefit offerings.
3. Track utilization
Measuring utilization and awareness will help you determine if you need to educate employees on their available benefits further. If awareness is low, consider running a campaign to educate your employees on their available benefits. If the utilization is low despite high awareness, you should re-evaluate whether the benefits you’re offering align with the needs of your workforce.
4. Don’t forget your ancillary benefits
Benefit packages have evolved far beyond traditional health coverage and expanded into financial and lifestyle benefits — everything from micromobility, meal plans, commuter benefits, and health and lifestyle benefits.
These are individual products your employees can select from. So, you will want to make sure you’re effectively communicating that these products are available and the benefits they can bring to your employees.
5. Get your management team on board
Make sure your management team understands the benefits available and uses them. Discuss benefits available during performance and compensation conversations. If your management team fully understands the benefits, they can better communicate them to their direct reports.
6. Educate during onboarding
Consider adding information about your company’s benefits directly into job postings and descriptions. Make education about your offerings to employees during the employee onboarding process. Consider providing a checklist for employees to sign up for all benefits in their onboarding, and have managers check in on this list with their new hire in a one-on-one meeting.
7. Make benefit information accessible
Do you utilize an internal “hub” where employees can easily view and manage their benefits? If so, ensure your employees know where and how to access it. Make it as easy as possible for employees to find all the information they need about available benefits in one easy-to-access place. Provide clear contact information for vendors and insurance companies and utilize webinars or training from providers to explain benefits in detail.
8. Highlight a different benefit each month
Use your most effective communication channel to showcase a different benefit each month (or quarter). Be sure to make it relatable by sharing how this benefit can be helpful to employees. Then you can monitor any changes with the participation of that particular benefit to determine if it’s useful or not to your employees.
How Edenred can help
Today’s benefit packages are more than just health coverage. They can reach into every aspect of an employee’s life to support their physical, mental, and financial well-being.
These tips are meant to be a jumping-off point for you to communicate and build awareness of your benefits with your teams. Schedule a meeting with us to ensure you’re offering the most comprehensive package that supports your employees.
