Where to go for care. Taking time away when a loved one is sick. Dealing with the unexpected. These are the times when benefits matter most—and when it is hardest to reach employees and their families. Many employees aren’t even aware of all the benefits available to help them through difficult times. And organizations struggle with how to best communicate this to their people.
At the Silicon Valley Employers Forum (SVEF) 2024 Global Benefits Conference, Jen Benz, SVP, at Segal Benz, was joined by Jeannie Franks, Senior Manager, Benefits, at Workday, and Sarah Gregory, Director, Global Benefits, at Marvell Technology, to talk about novel ways employers are tackling communications about health care, leaves of absence, financial well-being, and more, and the positive impact this is having on employees.
Key Takeaways of Navigating the Tough Stuff: How to Help People When It Matters Most
It’s important to have multiple communications channels in place to distribute your messages. Think email, Slack, websites, intranets, and so on. And consider more frequent communications that occur during a shorter time span to reinforce your messaging.
Leaves of absence are a hot topic around all of HR and benefits. They can be very overwhelming for employees, managers, and benefits teams to manage. To help your people understand how your leaves-of-absence benefits work, create visually focused pieces to guide them through the complicated process. And support managers, so they are prepared to help employees and direct them to the right resources.
Using and understanding health care, especially when loved ones are sick, is difficult, because people don’t tend to remember the benefits and resources they have when they most need them.Regularly remind people about the benefits you offer, so you can meet them where they are. This makes it more likely for you to catch them when they actually need to use a benefit. Create where-to-go-for-care content to make it easy to search through medical care resources based on employee need instead of vendor name.
Provide resources like health care advocacy and plan-selector tools, so employees have a personalized way to get answers to questions, feel supported rather than frustrated, and choose medical insurance that works for them.
Mental health support requires a multi-faceted approach, so employees feel supported. Tell your people about the benefits and resources you provide that bolster their mental health. Be sure to send information home to get it in front of decision-makers who might not work at your organization. And finally, focus on destigmatizing the need for care, so your people feel comfortable seeking help if and when they need it.
Communicating the Value of Your Benefits
Decisions about health care, money, and taking care of loved ones are among the most important we make. Benefits play a central role in the lives of your people, helping them through life’s highs and lows. Communicating the benefits and resources to navigate their needs and challenges will help your people feel seen and supported.
Segal Benz is a proud sponsor of SVEF.
We’re proud to work with organizations that value their people. If you want to learn more, we’d love to talk.
Laura Hensley, Senior Writer and Editorial Manager, is an award-winning writer and advocate for the reader. She works with some of our largest clients.
