…So this evening I read a really interesting predictions piece from Josh Bersin here and want to share an interesting takeaway that from it (see page #8, excerpt below):

Bersin gives non-total rewards examples above, but from a benefits standpoint this is powerful for me because it drives home the point that – regardless of how value added our total rewards programs can potentially be to our employee population – for our employees to realize said value, our offerings must be easy for them to use and easy to understand.

This means it’s important to always consider how colleagues across all segments of our workforce are engaging with our HR platforms… and also to think about how accessible the information housed on them is. Because if an employee doesn’t understand how a benefit works (or it isn’t otherwise intuitive to use), the most likely action that they’ll take with regards to said benefit is no action. This harms (1) the employee because they may be underutilizing a product that could significantly improve their health, engagement, or retirement/financial security outcomes. And it (2) harms the Company because we’re paying for a benefit that isn’t being used by our population (resulting in unnecessary expense and a failure to realize what might otherwise be an offering’s retentive value).

The above is in many ways common sense, I suppose, but as I read this article it struck me how often I assume my audience knows things that they may not. After all, just because a communication or SOP is sent out doesn’t mean it was read. And just because it was read doesn’t mean it was understood.

My big takeaway? Regardless of the platform I am working from in 2016, I want to be mindful to stop and ask myself three questions when communicating/explaining a benefit to someone:

1. What is this audience’s current level of knowledge about the offering? If I don’t know the answer to this question for sure I need to clarify it before communicating anything.
2. How can I augment my audience’s knowledge in such a way that they (1) feel confident about how the offering works and (2) empowered to use it to improve their lives in some way?
3. Does my audience know who to contact if they have additional questions about the product / offering?

Simple, yes. Value added, hopefully?

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory