In addition to bulky websites and intranets, other blunders to avoid are long emails and e-newsletters that are not actionoriented. Email is often the first method people turn to when trying to contact someone, either personally or professionally. It is not uncommon for people to get more emails in a day than phone calls or voice mail. For this reason, consultants warn their clients about overusing this form of communication.
“I constantly hear [in focus groups] that people have information overload, that the number of emails they get is overwhelming, and it’s sometimes difficult for them to determine what is a high-priority email that they should pay attention to and what’s not,” says Simons. “So in using email as a channel, I advise clients that they should use it judiciously, and make sure it’s readily noticeable that it’s an important message that an employee shouldn’t delete.”
Communication experts also suggest keeping emails short and to the point, including links that drive the member online. “Tell them what they need to know,” says Kim Duxbury, assistant vice-president for marketing and communications, group retirement services, with Sun Life Financial. “People don’t have time to read thick packages of materials. They are looking for more sound bite information that is relevant to them.”
But, no matter how engaging and beneficial these web communication tools are, they are not for everyone. According to Statistics Canada, 73% of Canadians age 16 and over went online for personal reasons in 2007. While that number is up five percentage points from the last Internet usage study in 2005, that still leaves 27% who are not using the Internet. The study also found that only 65% of people living in small towns or rural areas accessed the Internet in 2007. And, although more baby boomers are going online, only 29% of seniors age 65 and over went online last year. While more people are online now than ever, these statistics suggest that plan sponsors need to keep their audience in mind when using electronic media. “I think it’s absolutely critical to provide plan members with communication in electronic media, but it’s not the only way of doing communication. It adds on to the overall member experience,” Morgan stresses. “It’s not in lieu of something.”
Forward Thinking
With all the advances and conveniences the Web brings, it’s difficult to pinpoint where technology will take the pension and benefits industry. Is social networking the next step?
According to a global survey by McKinsey & Company on how businesses are using Web 2.0, 37% of respondents said they were using or planning to use social networking tools. The survey also noted that more than half of the executives surveyed said they were pleased with the results of their investments in Internet technologies over the past five years, and nearly three-quarters said their companies plan to maintain or increase investments in Web 2.0 technologies in the future.
Those surveyed tended to place the greatest importance on technologies that enable automation and networking. “Most of our clients promote two-way communication by posting regular responses to member inquiries,” says Harrietha. “While none currently provides fully unsupervised and uncensored forums for discussing pension, benefits and compensation issues, most are considering the possibilities—largely because peer-to-peer networking is becoming such a considerable aspect of electronic communication and technology. The minute you place [pensions and benefits] in a total rewards context, you can start to develop social networking applications. People are going to talk about their experiences, development opportunities within organizations, training and mentorship— components that will lead to some unmonitored discussions on things like benefits and pensions.”
Single sign-on, animation, targeted messaging, personalized sites and modelling tools are all ways to make pensions and benefits a little less puzzling and a little more interesting for plan members. These communication tools and tactics help engage members, and help close the gap between retirement expectations and the realities of how plan members are saving—an industry-wide issue worth blogging about. Facebook group, anyone?
April Scott-Clarke is assistant editor with Benefits Canada. april.scottclarke@rci.rogers.com
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© Copyright 2008 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the September 2008 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
