Many companies limit their benefits and wellbeing communication to annual open enrollment and new hire orientation, but this approach often falls short of engaging employees effectively. A year-round communication strategy ensures employees are aware of programs and understand how to use them.
According to recent Sequoia data, 85% of companies with 500 or more employees measure program success by participation and utilization — metrics that depend of consistent, effective communication.
If you want to boost employee engagement and participation, a strong communication plan is key. Here are some tips to help you build an effective strategy.
Take Stock of Your Offerings and Communication Channels
Begin by taking inventory of all your current benefits and wellbeing offerings. Then make a list of your internal communication opportunities and rank them by their impact and reach. Focus on platforms and meetings that have already captured employee attention. For instance, monthly all-hands meetings may be more effective than the company intranet if employees find the site difficult to navigate.
Consider where your employees typically get their information: trusted sources, regular meetings, key resource hubs, in-office flyers, or TV screens in common areas and build ways to use them in your plan.
Integrate Programs into the Employee Lifecycle
To make sure your communications plan reaches employees at relevant moments, create outreach opportunities for various stages of the employee life cycle. This includes recruitment, onboarding, life events, leaves of absence, open enrollment, performance reviews, and when they leave the company. Tailor the communication to be relevant and useful during these stages. Here are some examples:
- During onboarding, new hire orientation, and open enrollment, present a high-level overview of all your offerings.
- For life events and leaves of absence for the birth or adoption of a child, feature your pregnancy, postpartum, and caregiving resources.
- During the performance management cycle, promote your employee assistance program (EAP) and highlight its counseling services and manager support features.
- When employees leave the company, give them a one-pager about how long they’ll have access to company offerings after their last day.
Regularly update these resources, ideally once a year during the open enrollment period when changes are likely to occur.
Build an Annual Wellbeing Calendar and Communication Plan
Developing a 12-month wellbeing calendar with monthly or quarterly themes can help structure your communication efforts. For example, in May, focus on Mental Health Awareness by promoting mental health coverage, EAP services, mindfulness apps, and events like workshops and panels. This structured approach ensures that wellbeing remains a consistent and valuable part of the employee experience throughout the year.
If you need help creating a calendar, Sequoia offers clients a turnkey 12-month wellbeing calendar with themes. Before the start of each month, you’ll get a toolkit with ready-to-distribute employee guides, email and Slack templates, and access to a live webinar.
Collaborate and Package Offerings
Expand the reach and depth of your communication by collaborating with other departments like Learning & Development, Diversity and Inclusion, and Facilities. Cross-promote offerings on each other’s channels for wider visibility.
Work with employee resource groups (ERGs) to tailor your communications to specific employee populations. For instance, during Women’s History Month in March, attend Women’s ERG meeting to discuss offerings related to women’s health, fertility, caregiving, and financial wellness. An example of tailored messaging is sharing that women are at greater risk for heart disease while providing information about their access to primary care and preventive screenings.
Keep Your Plan Evolving
These are just some of the ways to start building a communication plan that helps your employees understand and make the most of their benefits. But an effective plan isn’t static — it should evolve alongside your workforce’s needs and priorities. Regularly reviewing and updating your strategy ensures your messaging stays relevant and impactful, keeping employees engaged and informed year-round.
How Sequoia Can Help
Take a closer look at the Sequoia People Platform built for people-driven companies. Manage your benefits and wellbeing offerings in one place, leverage up-to-date curated program resources and share relevant content directly to employees and their families. To learn more, connect with a Sequoia advisor.
Join Our Wellbeing Survey
Our Wellbeing Pulse Survey is open, and we’d love to hear from you! Complete our 10-minute survey by November 22 to let us know what you’re prioritizing in 2025. You’ll receive an exclusive copy of our full report for your participation. Take our survey today.
