To Be a Successful Benefits Leader, Think Like a Marketing Pro
Employees often have a clear understanding of benefits like vacation and paid time off, but other valuable offerings such as health and housing benefits may not always be as visible. By shedding light on these, companies can help employees take full advantage of the support available to them.“As benefits people, we have a product to sell, which I don’t think benefits folks always think about. You have a very impactful opportunity to sell what you have to people who need it,” said VP of global benefits at News Corp, Kim Duck. Duck spoke to the founder of Apparata Media, Kelly Bourdet, about the value of approaching employee benefits from a marketer's perspective during a fireside chat last month at From Day One’s NYC Benefits conference.Duck says she has no “secret sauce” but knows what works. One of the things that works is transparency in their benefit website. “It sits out in the general public. So if you are a prospective employee, and you're thinking about coming to News Corp, you're going to want to know what we offer,” Duck said.In addition to an open website, they use other delivery methods to communicate benefits to workers in the form of newsletters and social media. “We do newsletters on a monthly basis and that hits people’s top line. We’re at about a 60% open rate.”With the newsletter, Duck says they break it up into several sections that highlight a company benefit in different ways over the course of a campaign. “Our approach lately has been cadence. Maybe in month one, you're in our big news highlight. Month two, you are in our ‘Did You Know’ section. And then month three, you are our app of the month. Because we know that it takes a lot of time to promote [these offerings].” They might supplement this process with a few Instagram posts that highlight the benefits a company is promoting.Kim Duck, VP of Global Benefits at News Corp, was interviewed during the fireside chatNavigating benefits can seem overwhelming, but it's an opportunity to find options that fit your needs. “There's five generations in our workplace right now, which forces employers to really offer a diverse slate. And it feels overwhelming. You come to the website, there’s articles upon articles,” Duck said. To help navigate, she’s made liberal use of tags to narrow down people’s searches.“Maybe you don’t care about prescriptions. What you care about is childcare. So you can come to our website, type in baby, and then boom! Every article that pops for [babies]. So the tags become really important with helping people.”To make the path even more navigable, they put their benefits into pillars: financial, emotional, physical, caregiving, and lifestyle. “We have to take a step back, and think about that general employee who's going to be coming in. What is their experience going to be like? How do [we] make it simple and easy for [them] to navigate?”Vendor management is a huge piece of what benefits pros do, says Duck, “especially when you have a diverse slate of programs.” They used to meet every vendor quarterly, which required a lot of time and conversations. “We took a step back and said, ‘Okay, your deals and discount provider is not at the same level as your healthcare insurance or your TPA (Third-Party Administrator).’” They now tailor their approach to the level of services each vendor provides. You need to have conversations about their goals, your goals, and how you plan to work together.“And a lot of that is campaigns about communications, right? What are we going to do? Is it going to be postcards? Is it digital displays? Is it newsletter content? Do I need something for Instagram? How do we do this together? Because you’re not just going to sell it to me and run,” she said about the importance of collaboration.Looking to the future, Duck says that being consistent with messaging is important to keep folks informed. “And no surprise, AI. AI could revolutionize our communications campaign.” Having AI built into your website, Duck says, will further streamline the process and give exactly what you’re looking for with less wasted time. “You come in and ask it a question, and it says to you, ‘Here’s an article about a baby.’ [Or you’re] interested in parental leave? Let me dish that up to you.”Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in Greater Greater Washington, The Washington Post, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.