Lessons Learned from Lenovo’s Approach to Holistic Well-Being

We want our employees to be empowered and to see their benefits as tools that will work together in a way that can possibly impact their well-being, all aspects of it. So, simply providing the plans and programs isn't really enough. We're working to help employees relate to our benefits content and our communications and see how those benefits can be put to use.

One of the things I admire most about the benefits team at Lenovo is their passion for helping employees understand how their benefits can serve their day-to-day lives, both inside and outside of work. This philosophy underpins everything Lenovo does, including how they approach benefits plan design, work with vendor partners, and communicate with employees.

It’s no secret that engaged employees make for a happier workforce. And with the national unemployment rate at an all-time low, attracting and retaining top talent has become increasingly competitive. To stand out, many leading employers like Lenovo are turning to benefits communications to help differentiate themselves from competitors—and to convey the full value of their benefits to employees.

Lenovo’s goal is to “present information in digestible chunks at the right time and speak to [employees] on their terms and the language that they use...”

This topic—helping employees better appreciate and use their benefits through strategic communications—is the topic of my discussion with Karen Adams, Lenovo’s senior benefits manager, in our webinar, Lessons from Lenovo: Driving Engagement with a Holistic Approach to Benefits Communication.

In our discussion, we highlight how Lenovo’s benefits communications puts employees at the center of all messaging. This includes highlighting how the company’s benefits and programs:

• Support the emotional, physical, and financial well-being of employees and their families
• Make life better for employees and help them achieve their full potential
• Meet and anticipate the diverse needs of its workforce

To bring this employee-centric messaging to life, we created a new visual identity and bold voice that reflects Lenovo’s edgy and unique external marketing brand. We then launched a benefits marketing website that’s easily accessible to employees and their family members. And we continue to work with Lenovo to promote their benefits through fun and surprising year-round campaigns designed to get—and keep—employees engaged in and excited about their benefits.

As Karen describes it, Lenovo’s goal is to “present information in digestible chunks at the right time and speak to [employees] on their terms and [in] the language that they use, making it easier for them to access and relate to it.”

A key ingredient to Lenovo’s success is how collaboratively it works with its vendor partners to link together resources from different areas to better align with employee needs. It’s important to the company that benefits are communicated not in silos but in a way that seamlessly integrates and cross-leverages vendor programs, discounts, and events.

Using benefits to help employees solve problems and improve their well-being starts with thinking about the employee experience holistically. And there’s no better example of this holistic perspective than #lifehacks, one of Lenovo’s most successful engagement campaigns. By focusing on employee needs, the #lifehacks campaign is grounded in consumer marketing best practices. The campaign was built around a series of relatable scenarios followed by practical hacks for everyday problems or challenges through lesser-known or underutilized benefits or programs. For example, one email with the subject line, “No Time to Breathe? There’s a #lifehack for That!” explains how employees can “Get Zentered” by visiting #lifehacks on lenovobenefits.com.

Overall, Lenovo’s benefits communication strategy has been uniquely successful, because it has innovatively shone a new light on how employee benefits can be communicated. As Karen says, “It’s important that all employees are reminded of what's available in a way that's simple and easy to pick up on, because you're already making that investment in the plans and programs, but if you're not marketing the value—and I don't mean just monetary—but what that really means for the person's life, I think that you're really missing out.”

We’re honored to play a role in helping Lenovo’s employees get more from their benefits. To learn more about how Lenovo uses its brand to better connect to employees’ hearts and minds, check out our webinar: Lessons from Lenovo: Driving Engagement with a Holistic Approach to Benefits Communication. If you’re interested in helping employees realize the full value of their benefits, you won’t want to miss it!

We're proud to work with organizations that value their people. If you want to learn more, we’d love to talk.