Wow… what a whirlwind couple of weeks it’s been … for a large company, ramping up for the month of October for Benefits Renewal is akin to a retailer ramping up for the holiday season. From a communications perspective, benefits renewal is generates the largest open rates and click throughs on e-mail communications, as well as page views on the corporate intranet. So what does this tell you? That it’s the perfect opportunity to engage employees to not only educate on available benefits options but to also drive the corporate message. And what better way to achieve that than to leverage social media / enterprise 2.0.
I came across this fantastic post on Benefits Buzz which discusses how, as communicators, we should be rethinking how we deliver our messaging and how benefits renewal is the perfect time to take advantage of social media options:
Three big factors are shifting the employee mindset faster than you can say “default elections” and you need to know how to react:
1. Employees care about their benefits more than ever before. Survey after survey shows how much employees value their benefits–-both health care and financial. With salaries frozen, or decreasing, and the value of health care benefits always on the rise, benefits make up a larger part of total compensation than in years past–and, as a result, a larger part of your employment brand and value proposition.
Tagged as:
enterprise 2.0,
internal communications,
social media,
web 2.0
Original Source: How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results
According to McKinsey’s just published Web 2.0 Global Survey, companies that use social media applications say they’ve seen clear benefits from the technology. The survey was conducted online in June 2009 and received 1,695 responses from executives across industries, regions, and functional specialties. The survey questioned Web 2.0 deployments in three main areas: within their organizations; externally, in their relations with customers; and in their dealings with suppliers, partners, and outside experts. About 69% of those surveyed said their use of social networks had increased innovation, improved their marketing plans and given them access to new information. The survey found that companies that made the most use of social technologies tended to see the largest benefits.
Most interesting to note, the executives who participated in the study acknowledge that Web 2.0 technologies can be a powerful lure for an organization; their interactivity promises to bring more employees into daily contact at lower cost. When used effectively, they also may encourage participation in projects and idea sharing, thus deepening a company’s pool of knowledge. They may bring greater scope and scale to organizations as well, strengthening bonds with customers and improving communications with suppliers and outside partners.
Tagged as:
global survey,
mckinsey,
social media,
web 2.0
