New Perspectives in Wellness & Benefit Communications - Shawn M. Connors (book series for 12 year olds .TXT) 📗

Throughout May, newspaper articles, TV news stories, community websites, retail advertisements, popular blogs, recreation center bulletin boards, and other outlets included content about the value of physical fitness.

It was a great time for a piggyback.

It was National Fitness and Sports Month, one of many National Health Observances (NHOs) recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And it was an ideal opportunity for companies to leverage an NHO to stimulate awareness of health and wellness programs. That’s because all the media giants peg their editorial schedules and marketing messages to the health observances.

Employees are more likely to listen and respond to repeated, positive messages, so ally your efforts with other communication employees are receiving.

The National Health Information Center lists all NHOs, along with sponsoring organizations and information about supporting materials available online. These health observances are tied to nearly every aspect of wellness and health. See Resource Section Item #6 for a list of key NHOs you can plan around.

By using this resource, you can plan specific messages in advance, building monthly and weekly components into the forward-thinking, seasonal approach to health communication you began in the last chapter.

Let’s use National Fitness and Sports Month as an example. A few months before May, you could have planned multiple components of your upcoming communication about physical fitness, such as …

A fun, downloadable PDF about the health benefits of regular exercise

A poster featuring quotes from employees who participate in your wellness program

A map pointing to all the places in your community where fitness programs are available

An email reminder about your organization’s discounted gym membership

A series of text messages, social media updates, or emails with quick exercise ideas and tips (perhaps written for free by a local fitness instructor)

An intranet link where employees can post inspirational messages, video clips, links to news stories, etc., about physical fitness

National observances present opportunities to work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate joint events, programs, and celebrations.

Scan the NHO list, start brainstorming ideas in advance, and solicit some fresh perspective (and energy) of others in your community.

5. Use our little secret to help you mix all media effectively.

Many organizations have a single favorite way to deliver health, wellness and benefits communication to employees. Maybe it’s a regularly scheduled email. Maybe it’s a newsletter or staff meeting.

After a while, this go-to method feels routine and trustworthy — the way a sports coach feels about a reliable veteran.

No coach can win with just one player. Every veteran needs a team that includes energizing new talent, budding superstars, and savvy role players, all working together for a common purpose.

Your roster of communication options has never been more powerful or exciting. Get them all ready to play, and you’ll deliver information when and where employees are.

We consume messages differently than in the past (seemingly from all angles, all the time), and breaking through the communication clutter means reaching employees frequently and in multiple formats. Your most effective vehicles — think of them as your team’s starters — will depend on your employees’ preferences, access, and age (as well as your budget).

The key is to build a cohesive team, a coordinated mix of print, electronic, video, one-on-one personal communication, and other media.

See Resource Section Item #7 for a great example of a highly effective, oneminute video. And also see Resource Section Item #8 for an example of an editorial production plan using all media.

What percentage of your communication shall represent each medium? In other words, how much “playing time” should you give each player? Here’s a little trick we use (until now a “trade secret”):

Think of your seasonal communication campaign as a movie or a new book.

The story is the focus and it resides online or in print.

The story can be consumed in parts or segments over time.

Newsletters, posters and brochures excerpt and promote the story.

The goal is to get people interested in the story.

You really can’t exaggerate or overuse this analogy. It gets your team thinking about the two pillars of communication — print and electronic. The question about where to put content become self-evident. You’ll focus on promotion and also stay focused on the quality of the story.

By putting all media to work, you’ll embody a key truth of communication: Each person retains information in preferred styles (some by hearing, some by reading and studying, etc.), but a sensory blend is always most effective. And a little gimmick like imagining you’re producing and marketing a story (via book or movie) can make the process creative and fun.

6. Connect people using new media tools.

Traditional communication methods are important, but are they interesting to your employees — especially to younger, highly connected ones?

Health and benefits communication doesn’t have be ho-hum. Social media can make it a-ha!

Beth Gleba, corporate information manager for IKEA North America, decided that to help employees make better healthcare decisions, she shouldn’t expect them to actually read mailed information packets. The company sent a Twitter message to employees: “If I don’t enroll in benefits now, can I do it later? Go here b4 it’s too late,” pointing them to IKEA’s employee Website.

“We wanted to talk to our employees in the same way they are talking,” Gleba says. “We wanted to use our resources in the smartest way possible.”

IKEA mapped out how it wanted to use Twitter, creating categories the company wanted to write about, such as open enrollment and wellness. Then the firm wrote 50 “tweets” in advance and scheduled the days and times when it wanted to send them out. Gleba says tweeting helps to simplify healthcare into terms her employees understand. Comments to tweets represent various viewpoints, not just the company line, she says.

Social media gives companies a new, energizing, inexpensive way to click with employees who appreciate immediacy and interaction.

Perhaps the best benefit: You no longer have to do all the communicating. Messages posted on blogs and sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are frequently shared and forwarded. They spread virally and spark dialogue.

Your community (your world) is filled with problem solvers, ideas, and volunteers that can bring more power, perspective and clarity to your employee communication.

The tools to make it happen are at your fingertips.

7. Promote your program and build a sense of urgency.

Any item looks more attractive and feels more stimulating if it has great packaging.

You’ve made the gifts — a comprehensive wellness program, new employee benefit options, etc. — so what does the wrapping look like? What will make employees’ eyes light up in a way that leads to self-discovery? How are you promoting what you have?

Remember IKEA’s tweet: “Go here b4 it’s too late.”

People appreciate a blend of fundamental and fun — compelling reasons to participate along with enjoyment and entertainment. They want to hear the “take-away” without thinking, “Sheesh, this will take all day.” Benefits, not hassle. And a compelling reason to act now!

There’s no rulebook for creating engagement and building a sense of urgency among employees, says John Baldoni, an executive coach, speaker and author. “The challenge is to generate enthusiasm that will translate into participation.” He says most organizations inform (explain a program in general terms), involve (communicate the payoff if employees participate), and invite (ask for participation).

But the key word is ignite. Promotion needs emotion.

“Excite their imaginations by talking about what will happen when the initiative is a success,” Baldoni says. Hail your program at every opportunity and always plan ahead, he suggests. For example, set up a graduation ceremony. Reward small gains and personal accomplishments monthly.

Every person who embraces wellness arrives at a personal moment of clarity. These moments are rarely the result of facts and statistics alone. Information is best packaged with personal stories, anecdotes, creative branding, and a sense of humor. Do that, and you’ll have a blockbuster on your hands.

8. Build the nuts and bolts of your content deployment.

Your new communications plan is taking shape. Now it’s time to set the structure.

Building an editorial calendar and production task list will keep your messages in constant motion — employees will receive relevant, consistent communication at the times you need, through the mediums you choose.

Your publishing process doesn’t have to be intricate to be efficient.

“Any organization can develop an editorial to-do list that’s powerful, manageable, and flexible,” says Nancy Valent, owner of marketing consultancy NMV Strategies in Cleveland. “The most important truth is simple: It’s best to start at the end, and plan backward from your publishing dates.”

Essentially, it’s time to join the what and the when (your communication topics and the calendar approach described earlier in this eBook) with the how (your multimedia components) and build your task list.

You’ll produce what’s specified on the plan instead of what’s on your mind.

“Anyone with project management experience will agree that a good editorial calendar is a good project plan,” Valent says. “The two are one and the same — a communication program takes the form of your flushed-out schedule.”

Remember, see Resource Section Item #8 for an example of editorial production plan.

Valent suggests creating a simple Excel spreadsheet to track your process — the main tab could track your production/content schedule and another tab could include your organization’s basic style or branding guidelines for punctuation, grammar, language, and other issues.

You may find just the right people popping out of the woodwork to help you with content for future issues. You’ll likely find improved guest contributions that might not have happened without the editorial calendar, too!

9. Customize to your culture.

“Workplace communications are like radio signals beamed at a certain frequency. If no radio receiver is tuned to that frequency, the signal vanishes into the air,” says Nido R. Qubein.

You want your messages to strike a chord with your audience. This requires communication that’s personal — messages that connect and resonate with employees rather than just inform them.

You’re in an ideal position to communicate to your organization’s tribe. After all, you already know their customs and quirks. You already speak their language.

Customizing to your culture builds camaraderie (Rob sliced portion sizes and lost 30 pounds — here’s how he did it!), builds personal recognition (the wellness committee decorated the south stairwell!), and calls attention (our CEO, Nancy Jones, completed the 10k walk with her rescue dog, Bruno!).

Customizing to culture is different than high-tech custom messaging as described in our third trend about self-care (see page 9). Think of customizing to culture as human interest stories that are made possible and celebrated because of the type of place you work at and live in.

Customized communication reflects where you live and work, and why those places are special.

Good customization plugs you into something bigger than yourself. You can’t scale this effort, or automate it. It takes time and planning. A little journalistic investigation can reflect the energy, spirit, and history of your culture. Communications customized to a culture are highly read,resulting in increased enrollment and engagement in the events and programs you offer.

When you customize content to a culture, you invite everyone to be a coach, cheerleader, and participant.

The more you do this, the more likely your employees will also become your “reporters.” They can provide unique stories, tips, quotes, short videos, interviews, perspective, and ideas you can publish.

Customization is king, and everyone in your organization can wear the crown. Your entire culture wins.

10. Outsource the communication work or do it yourself?

Do both. Look at each project and determine how little or how much your own team should do. But never delegate 100% of communication development to a person unfamiliar with your culture and your people. That is a sure recipe for non-engagement and poor outcomes.

Outside partners can bring valuable