Essential technology for a great communications strategy

By Cheryl Clements, head of business development, Tusker

Communications today rely on the effectiveness of the technology that powers them. Without the right tools, most campaigns lack the substance to engage staff. This drains much-needed time and resources that could be allocated elsewhere.

In recent years we have experienced surging demand for automation and personalisation, rewriting how internal communications need to be conducted. Employees recognise and expect the same flawless, personalised and mobile-first experiences at work that they are used to in their personal lives, and employers who don’t embrace the newest technologies can be left behind.

Here’s a look at the technologies you can use to ensure your benefit communications strategies resonate with employees and drive engagement:

Video content

While the participation of video content once elevated communications, it is now a critical foundation to engage employees with their benefit options. Short-form videos are part of our daily lives, with the average person spending 2 hours 20 minutes on social media platforms, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. It’s important to harness the appeal and familiarity of employees’ favourite platforms in your communications.

In fact, when given a choice, 72% of people prefer watching videos over reading about a product or a service. And with the wide range of technologies we now have access to, creating videos can be even simpler than writing. A short video from your phone with AI-assisted video editing tools allows leaders and HR teams to create polished, professional clips in minutes – whether its sharing strategy, celebrating a team success or advertising the advantages of a new benefit.

To ensure all employees have access to content, also use captions and translation features to boost inclusivity and engagement ability across languages, time zones and working styles.

The urgent need for mobile-first

Mobiles are embedded in internal communication strategies today. With growing numbers of remote, hybrid and frontline workers, especially since the pandemic, a significant proportion of our workforce sits outside of the traditional office. While internal comms that weren’t designed around mobile-first were already becoming outdated many years ago, today they risk being overlooked by a vast number of employees.

Most employers now roll out branded apps that centralise comms, benefits and wellbeing tools. Push notifications ensure urgent updates are seen, while chatbots provide on-demand answers to common benefit questions.

Mobile-first also prevents any risks associated with unofficial employee groups while enabling employees’ families to engage more directly with benefits.

An important tip is to test every communication on a mobile device first. If it’s not easy to read and act on in less than a minute, it probably won’t engage many staff members.

Smarter digital communications

Digital channels still dominate internal communications, but in recent years they have advanced significantly. Employees expect tools that offer personalisation, automation and integrations that make communication accessible, easy to follow and relevant. Keeping on top of these changes requires the right digital internal comms tools, including:

• Enterprise collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Workplace by Meta provide important hubs to centralise communications, helping organisations connect using messaging and video messaging on a one-to-one or many-to-many basis. But there have also been recent shifts towards the integration of HR and benefits apps directly within these tools. This gives employees the ability to enrol in benefit programmes without needing multiple logins.
• Modern intranets and digital workplaces act as personalised hubs powered by AI that can keep employees informed on their latest benefit options, FAQs and alert them with important reminders. For example, tailoring recommendations to employees based on age and important life events. This is particularly useful for driving engagement in bigger organisations and those with employees who work further afield. Putting your intranet outside your firewall makes it accessible from a range of devices no matter where they are. Many intranet platforms also integrate with HRIS platforms, making single sign-on a standard expectation.
• Engagement methods like benefits portals, recognition platforms and total rewards dashboards that are combined into one employee experience platform are also a must-have. These technologies offer everything from pay and benefits to learning and development, making access to what employees need less hassle.

But don’t simply pick one method to communicate with employees. Your benefits communications plan should enlist a multi-channel format, reviewed regularly to ensure your messaging gets its maximum reach all year-round.

The rise of artificial intelligence in the last five years has had an extraordinary impact on the workplace, including how internal communications are conducted. In benefit comms, AI is already changing the game by:

• Personalising messages based on role, location, or life stage to optimise their appeal.
• Predicting which employees are least likely to engage with benefits – and proactively targeting them.
• Automating translations and text to support global workforces and enhance accessibility.
• Analysing campaign performance in real time, so you can ongoingly edit messaging when it hasn’t done what you need it to.

Additionally, AI optics and data strengthen the business case for your benefits strategy by measuring open rates as well as actual behaviour change (e.g., increased enrolment, higher EAP usage). This can be used by HR teams to learn what’s working and justify spend and strategy to the C-suite.

Helping employees understand their benefits

The companies seeing the best ROI on their benefits investment are those communicating them with a year-round campaign, not a once-a-year enrolment drive. By letting modern technology assist you, you reach employees while making them feel important and seen.

Tusker’s salary sacrifice scheme is the #1 car benefit scheme provider and has been improving employee benefits for over 25 years. Jet2 are just one of the many case studies we have that’s proof of this.