In football, it’s called piling on. In life, it’s called reality.
You would hope that a football player, once tackled, would be allowed the dignity of getting up. But no. Once in a while, over-enthusiastic (maniacal?) players pile on after a player is down. Thankfully, the consequences – a 15-yard personal foul – keeps these offenses to a minimum.
In 2020, reality has been piling on relentlessly. It started with #19, a 350-pound lineman named COVID, who hopped on first and still won’t get off. Quickly followed by one crisis or upheaval after another: impeachment, me-too, stock market crash, wildfires, massive unemployment and, the big one yet to come, the election… it’s enough to squish the innards out of any normal human.
“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
Abraham Lincoln
So now we enter Q4; normally a time of celebration and renewal. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations – although not without a normal level of stress – this year may seem like three more linemen rushing to join the pile. With the CDC recommending we minimize getting together for these celebrations, some may feel relief not having to put up with the in laws. But, most of us will surely miss the joy of getting together with family and friends.
Let’s not forget open enrollment!
Wait, don’t run, this is no time to let a perfectly good crisis go to waste. This year, during “2020: The Super Bowl of Stress”, do you think employees really need another player piling on in the fourth quarter?
Here’s the point (finally!!!): when you have a year-round benefits communication program in place, employees know about the ins and outs of the benefits they have and how to best use them. But, if you’re only communicating during open enrollment, you have to cram all of the what and how information into a short window of time. It leaves no time and no employee mental band width for addressing the bigger issues.
What if, because of your year-round program, employees were already well aware of the how and what. That would free you up to communicate about big picture stuff: life skills, stress management, mental health, all those things that will help employees get out from under the pile. Frankly, if you are communicating to employees throughout the year, when a crisis and stress piles on, you have the opportunity to reinforce company values, protect your culture, and remind them you care. It is a great opportunity to protect and enhance your brand as an employer.
The Touchpoints team can show you how we make it easy for you to create and deploy a year-round benefits communication program. We can also show you how our technology makes it easy for you to know what employees are seeing and how they are using it. With this data in your hands, you have the means to make informed, smart decisions on what to do next.
Contact me and I’ll show you how to create an annual communication calendar that rocks!
Contact us for more information.
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Employees want to know more. They need to know more. They want to hear from employers more often. And, when they get the communication they want and need, the results speak for themselves.