Unions can offer incredible member benefits, but communicating these resources is key. If your members don’t know about their benefits, your thoughtful offerings are likely to go unused. Untapped benefits can prevent members from understanding the full value of their union membership. And when launching a new benefit, awareness building is critical to getting the most value from your new partnership.
Once a member benefits program is established, promoting it to your members becomes a top priority. In this age of information saturation, it can take up to 11 times to hear or see a message before it truly sticks. That might sound repetitive, but the smart tactic for keeping your benefits top of mind with members is to build a multichannel benefits communications plan that reaches members in different ways.
Progyny has been helping employers and labor organizations roll out comprehensive fertility and family building benefits for eight years. Here are four tips that can help unions maximize member reach and drive utilization of their valuable benefits:
1. A high-quality benefit administrator will help you build awareness
Like you, your benefit administrator has a vested interest in building awareness among your membership. A truly professional benefit vendor will provide your organization with a robust communications strategy for the launch of the benefit and for ongoing messaging. (Pro tip: you can reach out to your organization’s current benefit vendors, even if the benefits have been in place for years, to request updated awareness building strategies to reach your members.)
When working with your benefit vendor on this communications strategy, be sure to consider your audience. How do they prefer to communicate? What have you found to be the most effective way to reach them? And how do they typically seek out information on fund-sponsored benefits? This information will help you craft a far more effective plan.
2. Plan your communications with different learning styles in mind
Benefits information on your website is accessible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s being accessed. Some people prefer to learn by listening or watching — and many of your busy members appreciate information that’s easy to digest. Plan to push information out to your members in a variety of formats: email, printed plan documents, or even podcasts and webinars. Again, your benefit vendor should be able to supply multi-channel content pieces to help you build awareness.
3. Meet people where they are
Unless a member has a specific need in mind, they probably aren’t going to read about their benefits just for fun. You need to catch their attention wherever you can. This could mean crafting social media posts linking back to plan information, or, if available, fellow member testimonials. It could also mean posters in the breakroom or slipsheets with paystubs, whether digital or physical. When building your communications strategy, consider the daily activities of your members and how or when they interact with local and regional offices. Use every opportunity to make members aware that a specific benefit exists.
4. Don’t forget to train leadership to share benefits info
Empower site reps to remind members about their benefits. Ensure they can explain how members can enroll in each benefit program you offer. Once enrolled, your benefit administrator will take the lead on ensuring plan participants are engaging with their coverage, but your reps are a critical step in getting the member to the door. You might also consider assigning and training wellness “champions” or “ambassadors” — members who will learn about and provide information on wellness benefits to other members in regular meetings and who can help socialize your benefits at the ground level.
Communicating about your benefits might seem daunting, but if you approach your communication plan with these tips in mind, you can build a strategy that fits the unique needs of your members and better connects them to the benefits you’ve worked so hard to provide.
Interested in learning more about a fully supported fertility experience for your members? Contact Stacey Hofert (Stacey.Hofert@progyny.com | 847-372-9959) or Ron Abrahall, RN (Ronald.Abrahall@progyny.com 631-294-2012). You can also book a demo at progyny.com.
Ron Abrahall has held both elected and appointed union positions since 1982. He has served as a representative for the New York State Nurses Association, a former president of USW 9544, past President of BMFNHP AFT/ NYSUT, NYPD officer and a Neuro-Surgical Intensive Care RN.
