Employers often spend a large sum on their employee benefits packages – and for good reason. However, some of this money may be going to waste due to underutilization and a lack of awareness. Innovative employee benefits communication strategies can help employees get more out of their benefits.
Do your employees understand their benefits package?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March 2025, benefits accounted for more than 30 percent of an employee’s total compensation package. This is a huge investment, but employees may not be fully aware of all the benefits available to them.
Mental health benefits are a prime example. In recent years, many employers have added mental health benefits to help workers deal with stress, burnout and mental illness. Unfortunately, workers may be underutilizing these benefits simply because they don’t know how to access them.
A poll from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that only 53 percent of workers know how to access mental health care through their employer-sponsored health insurance. Even more alarming is the finding that approximately one in four workers don’t know whether their employer offers mental health benefits, an employee assistance program (EAP), flexible work arrangements or sick days for mental health.
The problem goes beyond mental health benefits. Employees who don’t understand their health plans may delay important preventive care because they’re worried about costs, even though their plan may have preventive care coverage with no out-of-pocket costs. Employees who don’t understand how their HSAs or FSAs work could lose out on funds and tax advantages.
When employees don’t understand their benefits, they can’t use them effectively, which means employers don’t see the return on investment they expected in the form of increased employee satisfaction and improved employee wellbeing.
Rethink How You Communicate Benefits Information
The traditional way of communicating employee benefits consists of sending a thick document full of benefits information during open enrollment and then giving workers a couple of weeks to read through the information and make their enrollment decisions.
Unfortunately, many employees never get around to reading the document. Even those who skim over the pages may quickly forget what they learn. However, there are better ways to approach employee benefits education.
- Digitize your benefit communications. When communicating your employee benefits, digital platforms can have a few advantages over dense benefit documents. For one thing, digital platforms are far less intimidating than a huge stack of pages filled with dense benefits jargon. They also provide information in an interactive way, which supports employee engagement and increases understanding. Digital platforms may even leverage quizzes and gamification techniques to make learning about benefits more fun.
- Make it bite-sized. For effective communication, sometimes less is more. Instead of dumping a massive benefits package on your employees, break up the information into accessible chunks.
- Use visual aids. According to prior research, approximately 65 percent of people are visual learners. In other words, it’s safe to assume that most of your workers are visual learners. This means that handing them a lengthy document won’t be the best way to help them understand their benefits. They will learn and retain more if you appeal to their learning style with visual aids. You can do this by creating charts, infographics and videos that explain the benefits you offer.
- Go beyond health insurance and retirement. Health insurance and retirement plans tend to receive the lion’s share of attention during open enrollment. These two plans are the cornerstone of employee benefits and tend to represent the biggest costs. However, other employee benefits are also important, so you should make sure they receive the attention they deserve. If you offer dental, vision, life, disability and critical illness insurance and other benefits, make sure your employees know what’s available and how coverage works.
- Use multiple channels. Advertisers often use multiple channels to ensure that they reach their audience and that their message sticks. You should do the same.
- Encourage employees to ask questions. It’s smart to have an email address or phone number for employees to use if they need help with something. In addition, it may be helpful to schedule time for questions. Some employees might have questions but never get around to asking them without a little prompting. Carve out time and make it clear that questions are welcome.
- Think outside the enrollment period. Benefits often receive a lot of attention during the annual open enrollment period. After that, you may stop talking about benefits until the next year rolls around. To boost benefit utilization, keep the conversation going throughout the year. Provide regular reminders about available benefits and how employees can access them.
Provide a Total Rewards Statement to Boost Satisfaction
Tell your employees about everything you’re giving them. A total rewards statement is an easy way to show off the many ways you are compensating them for their work. In fact, according to Employee Benefits News, more employers are using this strategy to boost employee retention.
The key is to make the total rewards statement as thorough as possible. In addition to the salary or wages and any bonuses or commissions that workers receive, include:
- Health insurance
- Retirement benefits
- Supplementary and voluntary benefits
- Employee assistance programs
- Paid time off
- Memberships or subscriptions, such as gym memberships
- Employee discounts, such as discounts on travel
- Workplace perks, such as onsite gyms or child care
- Stipends, such as allowances for home office equipment
A total rewards statement serves two purposes. First, it raises awareness of benefits and perks that employees may not realize are available. Second, it emphasizes just how much employees receive by putting everything together in a single statement. Employees may not stop to think about all the compensation available to them and may take some workplace perks for granted. This is a good way to remind employees of the scope of their compensation beyond monetary rewards.
Need help with your benefits communication strategy?
At Higginbotham, we know how important employee benefits communication is. We can help you craft an employee benefits package that takes care of your team and support it with year-round, in-house expertise and services.
Talk to one of our employee benefits specialists today to learn more.
