You have 30-Minutes to Communicate Your Benefits
Prior to 1993, Domino’s Pizza pledged to deliver your order in 30 minutes or less, or else it was free. The 30-minute guarantee resonated so well, with so many, that it continues to be a part of our culture.
Fun fact for HR professionals, Unum Group recently identified another 30-minute limit. 1,227 U.S. workers surveyed revealed that the average employee spends 30-minutes or less per year understanding their benefits prior to enrolling. Let’s sit down with a slice of pepperoni and unpack this 30-minute limit and consider how communications should change to address it.
Imagine you’re purchasing a new car or SUV. You agonize over the details and read any professional review you can get your hands on. You MUST pick the best vehicle for your family while limiting costly future repairs. PLOT TWIST: Now imagine dealerships gave you only two weeks to choose a new vehicle, and if you don’t choose one, one will be chosen for you. There’s no way the car chosen for you will be perfect, so prepare yourself for something impractical.
This is a great example of the stress put on many employees during open enrollment. U.S. workers assert feeling anxious, nervous, and confused about the process. To compensate for the small amount of time employees dedicate to making benefits decisions, many experts recommend auto-enrollment. That’s right, employees are asked to make expensive, complex decisions in a short period of time or accept the benefit plan chosen for them. Additional recommendations are townhall meetings, 1-on-1 meetings, or meeting-leader presentations, but it’s asserted that employees are only going to give you 30 minutes. Doesn’t all this seem counter-intuitive? Perhaps it’s time to pivot to video-first strategies to address this challenging communications environment.
Radio ads used to be 60 seconds long. Now, many are 15 seconds and even five seconds long. That’s right, the Ford commercial on your favorite radio station is very brief. That’s because Ford embraces the idea that consumers have short attention spans. When it comes to benefits, most employees have short attention spans too. Yet, they have to sit through long presentations and read cumbersome benefits summaries to ultimately make an expensive annual decision. Honda would never hand a potential customer a 45-page paper packet, or ask them to sit through a 45-minute meeting. Consumers want short videos, concise messaging, highlighted features, and brief comparisons.
Let’s agree that we aren’t going to get more than the 30 minutes employees already give us. Communications must be concise and on message to capitalize on the limited period of time we get. Humor us as we outline some of our top tips based on decades of experience helping organizations do communications with video and technology:
- Video is a must. 10 years ago video was expensive. These days, modern video production companies have lowered their costs by embracing efficiency and proprietary processes while delivering excellent videos. Look to organizations that specialize in benefits communications, use production best-practices, and prioritize efficiency. LearnYour Benefits has assembled proprietary processes and an expert team to deliver short, concise benefits and wellness videos for a fraction of the price of contemporary producers and competitors.
- SHORT videos are a must. 15 second commercials, 9 second attention spans, and non-linear learning inclinations are the norm. Look to producers that are comfortable with brief videos. Embrace that employees are more likely to watch multiple short videos than one long video. With non-linear learning inclinations, employees will move from topic to topic to learn at their own pace. Employees do not want to watch a 45-minute video hoping to get one data point preceded and followed by complex jargon. If you wish to do voice-over PowerPoints, we recommend multiple brief videos rather than one long one.
- Less is more. Cover critical information in your videos and save supplementary data for paper infographics. You do NOT need to cover every detail in one long video.
- Mobile accessibility is critical. There’s a reason online and mobile advertising is a monster business. That’s where the people are. They’re on their phones, on the subway, on the bus, or in their family room. Younger employees will go days without opening a laptop at home. Offer your employees brief videos in a mobile internet browser. It’s where they want them, and they want them WHEN they want them.
We understand that for many HR teams, resources are tight. Many rely on their brokers and consultants for “free” communications. However, given the massive shift in consumer preferences, NOW is the time to shift to video. Your employees are only going to give you 30 minutes. You must communicate as much information as you can, via high-quality content, in a condensed period of time. Like Domino’s Pizza, you have 30-minutes to deliver and failure to do so can be costly for your organization if your goal is lower healthcare costs.
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LearnYour Benefits is a fast-growing benefits communication and technology company. We specialize in helping organizations visually-articulate their benefits and wellness programs with brief videos and mobile streaming technology. We combine deep-expertise in video production and advanced streaming technology to create solutions for employers, consultants, pooled-benefits-organizations, and CDHC partners. We’re regularly recognized for our high-level of service, expertise in communications, and ultra-affordable pricing. How can we help you today?
Unum Group research: https://www.unum.com/about/newsroom/2018/august/unum-auto-enroll
