How To Increase Employee Benefits Retention By 850% With Video

Did you know: Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it on video compared to only 10% when reading it in text.

That’s an 850% increase in information retention! I know what you’re thinking, “why aren’t we doing everything on video?!” – and fret not, I’ll guide you through some easy ways to get started and some best practices below.

But first, how well do your employees understand your company’s benefits offerings – really?

Well, according to recent studies, not that well.

Only 52% of employees indicate that they understand their health benefits and another 39% report that their employer provides no education or advice on benefits*.

Whoops.

You might offer killer employee benefits and competitive compensation packages, but if employees don’t know (or care) about your perks, what’s the point?

It might be time to upgrade your benefits communication efforts and video is the perfect place to start.

How Can Video Be Used?

There are several simple and effective ways to integrate video into your benefits communication strategy! From open enrollment announcements to a full video library that can be referenced throughout the year, learn about all of the unique video applications and how to improve your employee communications.

Announce

Open enrollment is often one of the most critical times of the entire year for your HR department. Why risk employees missing critical info via a novel-length email when you can better inform them of important open enrollment information through an engaging video?

Kick-start your open enrollment on a high note with an open enrollment video postcard. These eye-catching animated videos convey critical open enrollment messaging in a clear and concise manner and can be repurposed across multiple channels – email, in private internal chat forums, and via a dedicated benefits website.

Not sure what a video postcard looks like? View an example below.

Educate

Many updated benefits enrollment platforms offer built-in video functionality to allow you to place videos directly into the benefits shopping experience. This on-demand education will make sure employees have the information they need at the precise moment when it matters the most. Additionally, you can host these informational videos in an on-demand video library for reference throughout the year.

See an example video below and check out the full PlanSource library of FREE educational videos for inspiration.

Support

Decision support is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ feature as employees expect to be guided through the benefits shopping experience. By using a modern benefits enrollment system, you’ll ensure that baked-in features, like decision support, are easy to access on a moment’s notice. A great decision support tool should be able to help employees understand benefits terminology, easily compare plans and pricing and even offered customized recommendations with clear explanations.

Nurture

Benefits education isn’t limited to open enrollment! Your HR department should support a year-round benefits education strategy with events and reminders each and every month. Video can be used year-round to help support education and promotional efforts to communicate plan features and changes, plan terminology and definitions and technology training.

How To Get Started With Video

Getting started with video, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the medium, can be intimidating. However, rest assured that there are plenty of options for budgets of any size and any tech experience level.

If you want to tackle videos in-house, invest in some affordable (but quality) equipment for filming and editing. If you are looking to outsource your efforts, check with your benefits or HR software provider to inquire about products or services that they might offer. For example, PlanSource offers a full video library that can be used as is or that can be branded and customized. These videos are can also be added directly into the benefits shopping experience and can be hosted online via a benefits website for on-demand consumption. If your technology provider does not offer any baked-in solutions, research other video providers, preferably someone experienced with benefits communications.

Be sure to see my full post on video for benefits education for more tips on video best practices, use cases, and how to get started.