How can you communicate benefits to new hires?

1 Plan ahead

Before you start communicating benefits to new hires, you need to have a clear and consistent plan. This means you should know what benefits you offer, how they work, how much they cost, and how they align with your company goals and vision. You should also have a timeline and a strategy for when and how you will communicate benefits to new hires, such as during the recruitment, onboarding, or orientation stages. Having a plan will help you avoid confusion, errors, and delays, and ensure that new hires receive accurate and relevant information.

2 Use multiple channels

Different new hires may have different preferences and needs when it comes to learning about benefits. Some may prefer to read a brochure or a website, some may want to watch a video or a webinar, some may like to talk to a representative or a peer, and some may need a combination of these methods. To accommodate these diverse learning styles, you should use multiple channels to communicate benefits to new hires. For example, you can send an email with a link to a benefits portal, host a live or recorded presentation with a Q&A session, provide a phone number or a chatbot for inquiries, and distribute a printed or digital handbook with FAQs.

3 Simplify and personalize

Benefits can be overwhelming and intimidating for new hires, especially if they involve technical terms, complex calculations, or multiple choices. To make benefits more accessible and appealing, you should simplify and personalize your communication. This means you should use plain language, avoid jargon and acronyms, explain the benefits in terms of value and impact, and provide examples and scenarios that relate to the new hires' situations and goals. You should also segment and tailor your communication based on the new hires' demographics, interests, and needs, and highlight the benefits that are most relevant and attractive to them.

4 Encourage engagement

Communicating benefits to new hires should not be a one-way or a one-time process. You should encourage engagement and feedback from the new hires throughout the communication process. This means you should ask questions, solicit opinions, invite comments, and acknowledge concerns. You should also provide opportunities for new hires to interact with each other, with existing employees, and with benefits experts or providers. By encouraging engagement, you can build trust and rapport, clarify doubts and misconceptions, and motivate new hires to take action and enroll in the benefits.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?