Are you struggling to offer fun ideas to keep your clients (and their members) engaged? Even with great benefits, helping employees understand how they work and the best way to use them is like getting someone to use their gym membership.

The bombardment of information at annual enrollment meetings is overwhelming to employees. Add to that, the stagnant delivery of most benefit communications and it’s anything but engaging. For some quick wins, focus on ways to un-complicate the info so employees tune in to the message.

I’m sharing 3 tips for effective communication while keeping the fun alive to drive engagement…

1. Communicate throughout the year  

Work with your HR contacts to create a communication calendar that’s achievable. What schedule works best for the group: monthly or quarterly messages? What resources do vendors have that you can plug into your plan? Consider seasonal themes to connect with specific benefits like promoting Advocacy around Valentine’s Day with a “We got you, babe!” message. This leads me to my next point… 

2. Make communications stand out 

If benefit messages look like everything else, employees will overlook them. How can you capture attention with a single, simple message? Pick some fun themes: music, movies, books, trivia, celebrities, etc. Share a testimonial or video from the employees. For emails, incorporate a funny meme or gif with your message. The goal is to give employees a reason to pay attention to your benefits communications. 

3. Bring the fun

Sometimes, we just need to get back to having some fun (you may have noticed this is kind of our area of expertise here at freshbenies). Below are six great ideas we’ve seen deliver big responses from employees.

1. One group decided February would be freshbenies month and had a specific focus on services and how to use them throughout the month. 

2. One broker created a “Seek & Find” game. Members were tasked with activating their freshbenies accounts and then searching for certain solutions throughout the various services. For example, which service helps with medical billing questions?

3. Another broker had employees watch the freshbenies Power Package video to win a prize. They could be entered into a drawing if they correctly answered questions like, what service did Bonnie use when her hormones went crazy? Or, what did Bonnie buy with the money she saved on Brad’s MRI? What’s the average call back time for a telehealth visit? 

4. One company created a contest for everyone who logged in to the freshbenies app or portal. If they did it by the due date, they won a $5 Starbucks card. Contests and drawings are always a big win with members and the prizes can be just about anything...even a box of donuts will probably work! 

5. Another company decided to let peer pressure work. They set up teams and announced, “every person who a) activates their freshbenies membership, b) sets up their Telehealth account and c) completes their Telehealth profile will earn a $25 gift card IF THE ENTIRE TEAM completes the actions.” They knew it would be “fun” (and effective) to get the other employees working in their favor!

6. Another group decided to assign each freshbenies service to a particular month and focus on that benefit throughout the month…LOVE IT!

Driving engagement comes down to making sure the member understands what they have and how to use it. Making the messages engaging and fun is the secret sauce.

Now it’s your turn! What are some great ways you’ve found to get employees engaged? Comment below or email us at brokers@freshbenies.com.