You have a lot on your plate. There isn’t enough time to sit down with every employee and explain and answer benefit questions over and over again. And, when you do carve out a time to address questions and explain benefits, employees are either tuned out or want to come back later with questions. So, what do you do? Many HR departments are turning to social media and decision support tools to alleviate their workload and educate employees about benefits.
Tips for Using Social Media to Alleviate Your Workload, Educate Employees, and Drive Enrollment
More companies are turning to social media to conveniently and efficiently mass educate employees about benefits. Here are four tips for using social media to communicate about benefits:
1. Hold chats on Twitter about a benefit topic
Employees tweet their questions. You tweet back answers. If one employee has a question about benefits, many others have the exact same question. Social media frees you from having to repeatedly state the same answer to common questions.
2. Share benefit plan information
Broadcast essential information to all employees in one sitting. Instead of planning and prepping for a benefit meeting that’s likely to require additional follow up with employees, spend 15 minutes posting benefit plan information on Twitter or Facebook. All employees will see it and you can follow up with them by tweeting or posting replies to questions at a time that’s convenient for you. For example, you could post information about HSA solutions and make HSA admin easier.
3. Provide reasons why employees should enroll in a specific type of plan
Benefits administration is changing. HR employees and benefits administrators are getting more creative about how they persuade employees to enroll. Social media is perfect for encouraging employees to enroll in specific types of plans because platforms are user-centered. The information that’s posted on each platform is viewed as authentic and helpful, not salesy, which means users are more likely to retweet, like, and share the content you’ve posted, so you garner “social proof” points for the plans you’re trying to enroll employees in—employees are vouching for benefits, increasing the interest of other employees.
4. Announce plan changes and enrollment dates
Keep employees abreast of plan changes and enrollment dates. Even if employees don’t have a computer, they have a smartphone. So, they can easily check their social media accounts for alerts and dates.
Social Media Options for Employers
Best Social Media Platforms to Use
Companies using social media to communicate about benefits tend to use Twitter and Facebook. However, some also use internal workplace communication tools (essentially internal social media).
We suggest using the following social media platforms as they tend to be the most widely used by employers and employees:
• Internal “social media platforms” like Yammer
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Facebook’s Workplace Platform
Overcoming Hesitation to Use Social Media
You know something’s got to give, but you’re still hesitant about using social media because you don’t know how employees will receive the idea of benefits information being communicated this way?
You’re not alone. Many companies and HR directors share this concern.
However, you’d be surprised how receptive employees are to receiving benefit information through social media. Even older employees are on social media these days. And, if employees don’t have a computer, they have a smartphone. In fact, according to American Payroll Associate’s 2017 survey, 12% of employees use their smartphone to access online benefit portals. People are shopping for cars, doing their taxes, and applying for mortgages on their phone. Talking about benefits over social media isn’t much different.
So, proceed with confidence. Use social media to communicate, educate, and drive enrollment. It’s going to save you tons of time and make benefits management a lot less stressful—for you and employees.
Decision Support Tools
In addition to social media, companies are also adopting decision support tools to communicate about benefits with employees. Prevent the need for additional meetings and conversations by providing workers with access to decision support tools.
Though there are many options on the market, we’re proud to offer Ask Emma.
Emma is a decision support tool that helps employees choose healthcare plans. She asks a series of questions, and based on the employee’s answers, she presents a handful of plan options that meet their needs. Employees can then compare the plans she presents and select the best one.
By empowering employees to take control of researching and selecting their health plans, Emma offers HR department personnel several benefits, including:
• Increased worker productivity—employees spend less time selecting plans because plans are easier to select
• Alleviated workload—employees spend less time seeking help from HR because Emma answers their questions
• More savings—Emma guides employees toward smarter healthcare plans, helping them and you save money
Start Now
Your workload is immense. Why wait to alleviate some of it? Get your company setup with social media and start using it to talk about benefits, educate employees, and drive enrollment. Then, get setup with decision support tools and enjoy your new found free time!
