Tips from HealthJoy on Launching New Benefits Programs

Imagine this. You’re about to launch an exciting new program and everything's in place to guarantee it’s a smash hit. However, when you roll it out, there doesn’t seem to be the same level of excitement among your employees. We’ve faced this issue before, and we’re sure many of you have as well.

Launching a new program feels like a complicated juggling act.

It’s likely you’re facing a whole host of concerns:

• Budget concerns
• Workplace culture questions
• Questions about buy-in from upper-level management

On top of all of this, you still have a full workload.

Once the program is finally ready to launch, it’s tempting to breathe a sigh of relief, sit back, and watch the program work its magic. However, long-term program success doesn’t happen at the snap of your fingers. For any new initiative to make a real difference, the intended populations need to use it.

No matter how fired up you may be about the value it adds, it’s crucial that employees feel the same way. Here are some essential steps to boosting utilization when launching a new initiative.

 

Spread the Word

Clear communication is the foundation to any successful rollout. During a new program launch, you should proactively communicate with and rally stakeholders at three key touchpoints:

Before the rollout, start generating buzz for the program internally. Send out an email or a text message giving sneak peeks that highlight some exciting features of the program.

The rollout period should be informative and appropriate. Don’t assume bigger is better. Depending on your initiative, small group meetings in-person or via Zoom might be more appealing than bigger lecture-style presentations.

After launch, continual communication is essential to integrate a new program. Make sure to maintain follow-up communication in a frequent yet focused manner, so people aren’t overburdened with information.

 

Educate Participants

Once people are aware that the program exists, they need to know how to use it. They might need additional education, especially if there’s new tech involved.

While it may be easier to put employee education on autopilot, any effort will be more rewarding if it’s well-suited to your organization’s vision. Think outside the box.

Instead of sending emails people might not read, a brief monthly call or presentation could provide a more effective setting for learning.

Education helps people understand the true value of what is being rolled out. Once they know exactly what they have and how it works, they’ll realize it's worth: boosting engagement and utilization rates naturally.

 

Designate Internal Champions for Your Initiative

With any new program or initiative, understanding someone’s needs and sharing relatable examples of success is invaluable. One great way to go about this is to appoint a champion who’s devoted to the program and truly believes in its value. When a single person, especially in a leadership role, is passionate about a program, they have the potential to inspire others to jump on the bandwagon.

 

The Right Incentives Matter

People often need an extra push to engage with new initiatives. Incentives, such as financial rewards, present an opportunity for your team to motivate. Depending on your program, different approaches could lead to equally fruitful participation.

Sometimes small, lottery-style incentives work best. While other times, more significant incentives are necessary when the behavior is hard to achieve or if the reward to the company is greater than the individual reward.

To drive utilization for similar programs, employers need to choose the right incentives. In other words, the target behaviors being rewarded must drive participants to engage with the program and experience its benefits firsthand.

 

Rely on Your Partnerships

Remember that you have industry experts right at your fingertips, whether that’s your broker, or service representative for the new tool or benefit you are rolling out to employees. You understand your employee base better than anyone else, and they have valuable industry insights to build successful communication to your employees. It’s the perfect pairing.

When you start to plan your campaign, give yourself enough time for guidance or feedback from your partners. Not only will they act as a second set of eyes, but they can look back on years of experience with similarly situated employee groups and offer helpful insights to really make your message stick.

 

Ensuring Success

Launching a new initiative is stressful and tedious, so you need to guarantee that your department’s diligent efforts pay off in the form of high participation rates. From employee benefits to compensation and performance management, high utilization is key to the successful launch of any new initiative. By following these steps, you can maximize your launches for the long-term and ensure the investment of your time is well worth it.

How HealthJoy can Help

At HealthJoy, we’re here to make sure your message is heard far and wide within your company. Benefits utilization is critical to the success of a new initiative and utilization rarely hits the desired rates unless employee awareness is high. That’s where we come in.

Broadcaster is a simple and intuitive way to deliver benefits communication quickly. It allows you to send templated in-app messages to eligible employees on their most frequently used platform — their mobile device.

Combining Broadcaster with the benefits centralization that HealthJoy provides, all your benefits in one easy-to-use app, can be a game changer for your HR team. Let us make your next initiative a hit with the whole company. Learn more about our industry-leading solutions today.