How you communicate and what you communicate are equally important in driving innovation and employee engagement. Let's take a look at how you can communicate change once those starting points have been identified.
This month the Validation Institute kicked off their regional Healthcare Benefits Summit tour, and some widely regarded experts shared their thoughts on how to identify small rocks that can serve as a starting point for change within a health plan. Some of our favorite quotes are below.
Every time your employees go to the doctor, it’s a reminder of the investment that you as an employer have in them– good or bad. It shapes the employee experience.
Joseph D. McCool, The McCool Group
High value providers are out there, though they’re often not in conventional networks. Demanding excellence and value is the best way to drive positive health system change.
Brian Klepper, Validation Institute
Your employee pays the deductible, you pay the difference.
Nelson Griswold, Workplace Benefits Association
You want to work on impactable risks. Target low hanging fruit and monitor the progress.
Fred Goldstein, Accountable Health
30 years without change in an industry is unacceptable. Do you join me in saying, “Not on my watch?”
Lee Lewis, A.J. Gallagher’s Innovation Advisory Group
Addressing Employee Engagement Through Effective Communication.
When it comes to communicating change, the best rule of thumb is to stick with what is taught in Journalism 101. If you follow these basic principles, you'll be sure to drive employee engagement using clear messaging. Here is your cheat sheet for communicating change:
WHO. Who are your audiences? Most organizations have multiple layers of employees, with a wide variety of ways information is being consumed.
WHAT. What do you want them to know? Keep it simple – at least to start. Think about the core message you want them to hear.
WHEN. When is action needed? Clearly convey dates – in a variety of ways. Not everyone reads information in the same manner.
WHERE. Where does the call to action occur? Write this information from the perspective of your newest employee. Be specific.
WHY. Why are we doing this? Make the case compelling. Tell employees the value in it for THEM, as well as THE COMPANY.
HOW. How do you get it done? Lead your horses to water. Are there steps? Outline them. Is there a number to call? List it. Is there a goal to be reached? Share it.
Once you've taken these steps, you'll need to develop internal champions to join the journey. You can't carry the torch alone, whether you are the broker, a consultant, or a senior HR leader. If you're going to develop a high performing benefits program, you must also identify and engage internal partners within an employer population to keep the momentum going. At Connect Healthcare Collaboration, we use predictive analytics to identify the skills necessary to communicate across specific channels.
