Insights
Want to be sure your employees hear and take action on your messages? We can help.

3 Reasons Why Storytelling Is So Right, Right Now (part 3)

June 12, 2020

By Danielle Foley
Senior Communication Consultant

In the first two parts of this blog series, we shared how storytelling can help leaders create trust and inspire organizational goodwill. In this final installment, we share how storytelling can get us through a difficult time when we need to adapt quickly to rapidly changing norms.

For many of us, work routines we took for granted vanished overnight—and suddenly we’ve all been asked to do things that are new and unfamiliar. An effective way to support your employees is by sharing personal stories of how we’re all challenged as we adapt to our new world.

Storytelling can help employees feel connected while adjusting to new ways of working (and living).

Stories make us feel better because they are relatable. They make us feel less alone. And whether it’s a touching story about an elderly Aunt or funny snippets about how pets are coping, stories can give us a silver lining. And right now, we all need a silver lining.

Many of your employees are happy to share their stories – you just need to ask. Get them talking about:

Working from home with kids. What works, what doesn’t. Amidst the frustrations there’s some fun that can be shared here.

Working remotely. How to improve your “makeshift” office; how to avoid working around the clock; or how pets are handling their new “coworkers” – everyone has something to share.

Managing stress and anxiety. Whether it’s meditation, cooking, or a walk around the block, a video compilation of these ideas can give us all inspiration.

Highlight the heroes. Your employees are doing amazing things for health care workers, their mail carrier, or their community. Sharing these kind gestures builds company pride.

Managing a remote team. Leading through a pandemic is new for everyone. Talking about the successes – and the failures – can help as managers lead teams in “business as unusual.”

We’ll wrap up our storytelling series with these key takeaways:

•  Stories make us human, and can inspire and motivate.

•  Remember, the goal is to make people feel something: an emotion like sad, stressed, happy, angry – not informed or educated.

•  Don’t craft the story around what you want to say; craft it around what will inspire your employees.

•  Think about creating a storytelling campaign and breaking up content into chunks, episodes, snackable content.

We do this all the time, so contact us if you need an extra set of hands communicating in good times or in bad times. We can help.

Manager Communications in This Moment

April 27, 2020

COVID-19 Communications Insight: Go Back to Basics

By Oonagh Power
Head of Editorial Services & Senior Communication Consultant

Learning how to communicate with a remote team on the fly? You’re not alone. For many managers, leading a work-from-home team was an unexpected and sudden change.

But there’s good news: While much about the ways we’re all working seems to have changed overnight, communication basics remain the same. Sticking to these tried-and-true principles can help you and your team adjust.

Be consistent.
Creating moments of certainty in this extraordinarily uncertain time will set you up for success. If you have not established regular touchpoints with the team, plan them now. Choose the channels that work best for your team right now: conference or video calls, email blasts, Yammer discussions, 1:1 check-ins. (Even better, use a mix-and-match approach.) Then establish a cadence, so the team knows when and how they will hear from you next.

Remember that communication is always more effective when it’s two-way, so if your team is not meeting on a regular basis, establish an easy way for employees to give feedback or make suggestions. What’s the best way to keep those lines of communication open? Ask your team for feedback.

Be clear.
Many company priorities and processes have dramatically shifted over the past few weeks. What does that mean for your team’s goals and objectives? Clarify roles and responsibilities, and create a forum for the team to raise concerns. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t have an answer, but be sure to both acknowledge their concerns and commit to a timeline to follow up.

Be clear and brief in emails and meeting invites. Use the subject line to help your team manage their overflowing inboxes, categorizing each message with an all caps label (eg, FYI, ACTION REQUIRED, FOR FUN). Encourage the team to use the same set of labels so everyone knows at a glance which emails should take priority.

Be considerate.
You and your team are dealing with added pressures, which might include family or financial concerns, loneliness, depression, or anxiety. How can you adjust your communication to make life a bit easier? Small changes can make a big difference.

•  Schedule meetings for more convenient times. We recommend avoiding Monday mornings and Friday afternoons. Ask your team for what works for them, and try varying the times to accommodate a variety of schedules.

•  Keep meetings as short as possible – eg, 30 – 45 minutes instead of an hour. Then start and end on time. An agenda helps keep everyone on track.

•  Understand and accept that folks might be unintentionally distracted during a meeting or even pulled away completely. Follow up with a quick list of key takeaways and action items.

•  Concentrate on communicating deliverables and owners, then leave it up to the team to get it done on their own schedule. Be open to rearranging responsibilities as needed.

Communication Insight

We’re all learning the do’s and don’ts of communicating during a pandemic. Returning to communication basics can help your team adjust to new ways of working. Need help crafting a strategy for communicating with your employees? Contact us.

COVID-19 Communication Insight: When 401(k) Plans Become an Emergency Safety Net

April 15, 2020

By Thomas Taglieri 
Business Strategist & Senior Communication Consultant

April 2020

In response to the extreme financial burden many Americans are experiencing during the current pandemic crisis, the US Congress recently passed the CARES Act – with a goal of stimulating the economy and providing an emergency safety net.

One provision eases restrictions on access to money set aside in tax-deferred 401(k) accounts.

What does this mean for employees?
Financial professionals generally advise against early withdrawals from retirement plans to ensure maximized earnings and avoid the 10% penalty prior to age 59½. However, provisions in the CARES Act waive the 10% penalty for early withdrawal of up to $100,000 (with proof of a COVID-19–related hardship).

The withdrawal is taxed over a three-year period instead of one calendar year, decreasing the immediate tax burden. And, if the participant repays the entire distribution back into their retirement plan within three years, they avoid all income taxes, according to the act.

While an early distribution may mean missing out on investment earnings, this safety net may help bridge financial responsibilities for furloughed employees or those working reduced hours.

What does this mean for employers?
Employers need to be prepared with easy-to-understand communications to answer questions about:
•  How the CARES Act changed loan and withdrawal options in your company 401(k)
•  What specifically qualifies as a hardship withdrawal for COVID-19
•  The potential long-term impact of a hardship withdrawal on retirement savings
•  The IRS deadline for taking a penalty-free withdrawal
•  How much money can be withdrawn from the 401(k) during this crisis
•  How to access the funds available for hardship withdrawal
•  How to pay back a COVID-19–related hardship withdrawal and avoid income taxes

Communication is critical.
Employees are looking to their employers for guidance during these uncertain economic times. They want to understand their options and know how to easily find information. At the same time, we are all being bombarded with a tremendous amount of information. So before you hit send on that long email, take a few minutes to consider how you’re presenting the content. Complex information, in particular, can often be better communicated visually (e.g., icons, infographic, or video).

Communication Insight

Communicating during a pandemic is new for all of us, but tried-and-true communication principles give a solid foundation for communicating in this moment. If you need support with COVID-19 communications, The O’Keefe Group can help with strategy, messaging and creative services.  Contact us.

Employee Communication in This Moment: A COVID-19 Checklist

April 14, 2020

By Teryl Taglieri
Founder & Communication Strategist

April 2020

The dramatic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the business world and the lives of every one of our employees is transforming the employee experience. We are inspired by what some of our clients are doing to tackle this unprecedented challenge and course-correct where necessary.

Here’s a best practice employee communication checklist of what to do right now. (Click here for a printable PDF version. Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates.)

Keep Leaders “Front & Center” Until This Crisis Ends  
Now more than ever employees are looking to their company for information. They want to know what the company is doing next and why. Leaders should focus on what they can do for their employees. Empathy is critical. Messages need to come from a place of care and compassion.

Quick Wins & Examples
•  Communicate the cadence of leader updates (e.g., every Thursday, every 48 hours)
•  Have leaders hold regular Q&A sessions with employees; solicit questions in advance
•  Check out this video from Marriott CEO on communicating with compassion and transparency
•  Encourage your leaders to be authentic (e.g., dress more casually, invite their kids or pets for a “cameo” during a live call video call)
•  Use multiple channels (email, video, webinars, intranet, social channels, etc.)

Establish a Single Source of Truth for Employees
Right now, employees need constant updates, but too much communication reaches a point of diminishing returns. To avoid this, create a “one-stop-shop,” a microsite or dedicated intranet page with consolidated, curated information (safety, benefits updates, travel and work-from-home policies, leave information, etc.). This also offers your employees a centralized platform for two-way communication.

Quick Wins & Examples
•  Leave the facts on the virus to the experts; refer employees to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
•  Send a weekly round-up with a consolidated summary of the week’s updates and key information
•  Post a banner on your intranet for COVID Information as an easy-to-find quick link for employees
•  Provide a running list of regularly updated Q&As in an easy-to-access location

Reassess Your Business-As-Usual Communications
Some projects and communications need to be postponed, but others – say the launch of your new onboarding portal – may still need to happen. Communicating about “regular stuff” can give employees a sense of normalcy. But first, carefully strategize appropriate timing and how content and messaging needs to shift. You can still celebrate Autism Month, for example, but evaluate the frequency of messages and say it with a story that employees can relate to right now (e.g., tips for working at home with an autistic child).

Quick Wins & Examples
•  Messaging should come from a place of caring and compassion, especially from leaders and managers
•  Don’t let great be the enemy of good – in other words, getting it done is better than making it perfect!
•  Avoid being “tone deaf” with business-as-usual content and messaging: consider your workforce demographics (essential workers vs those working from home, etc.) and your employee needs

Remember the Silver Lining
Mr. Rogers said, “When I was a boy and would see scary things in the news, my mom would say look for the helpers; you can always find people helping…” We all need some optimism and good news now. Continually share the good news about what your company is doing to help employees, your community or health care workers. Your employees are also doing great things; find and share those stories. And finally, build a sense of community and connection for employees. Knowing we’re not in this alone, inspires us all.

Quick Wins & Examples
•  Tap into employee resource groups (ERGs)/affinity groups to share tips and make connections, such as a working parent ERG
•  Build a sense of community and try to have some fun: video happy hours/coffee breaks, cutest pet contests, share your favorite recipes, video compilation about working from home, etc.
•  Give managers tools and tips to support employees (e.g., no meetings on Monday mornings, shorten meetings/video calls to 30 minutes, follow-up with quick-read action items or checklists)

Can You “Say It” With a Picture Instead of Words?
We are all being bombarded with a tremendous amount of information and the human brain’s capacity for processing information significantly decreases under stress. All organizations need to get information out quickly, but before you hit send on that long email, take a few minutes to consider how you’re presenting it. Complex information, in particular, can often be better communicated visually (e.g., icons, infographic or video).

Quick Wins & Examples
•  Instead of lengthy emails or posts, consider using video, infographics, icons, checklists and charts
•  Make content “snackable” – it should scannable, with clear headings and bullet points

Communication Insight

Although communicating during a pandemic is new for all of us, sticking with tried-and-true communication principles gives a solid foundation for communicating in this moment. If you need support with COVID-19 communications, The O’Keefe Group can help with strategy, messaging and creative services.  Contact us.

What’s in Your Benefits Pantry?

April 6, 2020

Tips for being resourceful with the benefits you already have

By Danielle Foley
Senior Communication Consultant 

As you consider ways to help your employees through this challenging time, remember the valuable benefits and resources you already have in place. Like using items from the kitchen pantry to cook a family meal, employees can use their current “pantry” of benefits for much-needed support.

But communication is the vital ingredient.

Mental health benefits and well-being
If there was ever a time to make sure employees know how to receive mental health care, it’s now. We are all experiencing stress and anxiety, and those with a history of mental health conditions may suffer even greater symptoms. Ensure employees are aware of and know how to access:

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): First, check in with your EAP provider to understand what additional resources they may be offering.

Virtual counseling: Encourage employees to take advantage of any tele-mental health services covered under your plan (e.g., TalkSpace, BetterHelp). You can also include national hotline numbers.

Self-care support: Publicize company or vendor resources like meditation apps, online fitness classes, parenting resources, tips for better sleep, etc. Let employees know it’s ok to feel a certain amount of grief over the loss of routine and things that make us happy. This New York Times article has some great perspective.

Telemedicine/condition management
While most non-essential doctor visits have been postponed, employees may still need physicians during this time, especially if managing a chronic condition.

If you offer telehealth services through your medical plan, communicate how to access them. If you can reduce or remove copays (which many health plans are already doing), even better.

Urge those managing chronic conditions to continue to follow any protocols they already have in place, or contact their health plan for information on available programs.

Time off and leaves
Do you have generous leave benefits like caregiver leave, sick leave, or personal/family time off? If so, lessen the stress employees may be feeling about having to take time off to care for themselves or a loved one by letting them know they’re covered. Provide clear instructions for how to apply for leave or enter time off in a timekeeping system. Also, if you can, accrue the paid time off that employees may not be able to use in the near future due to travel restrictions.

Health plan benefits
Make sure employees know what the health plans are doing to remove the obstacles to getting necessary care. Most plans are waiving copays and pre-authorization requirements for coronavirus testing and related services (e.g., ER visits), as well as instituting other measures like removing prescription refill limits on maintenance medications. AHIP has compiled a good summary of new health plan provisions.

Financial well-being
Even before the coronavirus hit, many Americans were stressed about finances. And now? Well, it’s hard to find the right words to convey the stress. If you have a financial wellness program in place, it’s time to make sure employees are using it. Also, federal requirements on 401(k) withdrawals and loans are more flexible. Make sure your employees aware of the guidelines your plan is following for coronavirus hardship withdrawals and loans.

Communication Insight
Now more than ever, clear and open communication with employees is critical. We’ve been helping clients communicate with their employees in both good and bad times for over two decades. If you need an extra set of hands to make sure your employees know about the resources in your “benefits pantry,” let us know. We’re here to help. Contact us.

Benefits Communication: 5 Tips to Boost Your ROI

July 24, 2019

By Laura Singer, Senior Communication Consultant

Communicating about benefits shouldn’t be hard. These are, after all, benefits. But benefit plans are complicated, the sheer volume of offerings can be overwhelming and there are lots of other corporate communications competing for your audience’s attention.

Follow these time-tested tips to make sure employees hear your messages, understand them, and take action:

Humor Helps
Benefits are serious business, but your communications don’t need to be boring. Find ways to inject humor into a video, plasma screen, or social media post. A lighthearted comic strip to promote benefit programs – why not? If you have a colleague with a great sense of humor, leverage that talent to create an amusing scenario.

Timing Is Everything
Annual Enrollment has its own timeframe, but many other benefits lend themselves to seasonal messages. Early January is when folks typically begin fitness programs. June is when parents may need different child-care options. Think about not only what – but when benefits may be of interest.

Use Personas & Tell a Story
Creating fictional employees who mirror your actual demographics allows you to connect more authentically. Personas help your employees better understand the value and relevance of programs and benefits for them personally.

For example, a 30-year-old single mom will be interested in the fictional single mom, Jessica, and her benefit choices. Then walk employees through a common scenario with a story (Jessica put $75 a month in her HSA to finance the cost of her son’s orthodontia).

Promote the Good Stuff
Use the Annual Enrollment period to promote other benefits that may appeal to employees and their families. People need to be reminded about programs such as tuition reimbursement, pet insurance, elder care, your EAP – and anything that sets your company apart. So while your audience is focused on benefits, grab the opportunity to highlight some of the other great resources you offer.

Get Graphic
Whenever possible, use infographics to communicate. Employees are constantly bombarded with words, so any visual representation will grab attention. A well-executed graphic can help people quickly and easily make sense of a complex subject.

Communication Insight
When you craft benefit communications that place employees at the center and reflect their experiences, you can break through the noise and drive action.

Need help building your benefits communication strategy? Contact us.

Expertise on Demand: Top Tips to Create Effective Toolkits

June 6, 2019

by Oonagh Power
Head of Editorial Services & Senior Communication Consultant

Toolkits. Playbooks. Blueprints. User Guides.

These helpful “how to” guides go by many names, but all provide users with expertise on demand. And that’s why they can be so successful.

No matter what you call them, they are easy-to-use resources that drive consistent messaging, processes, and ways of working.

Toolkits offer targeted audiences a “one-stop-shop” with quick access to communication tips, content, assets, resources, and processes. They can be used for program launches such as rolling out a Global Parental Leave benefit or celebrating a company-wide milestone, and for specific functions or complex processes such as an M&A playbook.

So, how can you create a best practice toolkit?

Follow one guiding principle: keep the end users in mind. As you gather and organize your content, keep your team focused on why and how users will access and use the information.

Proven practices to keep in mind: 

Do we really need so many details? Probably not. Limit the technical content to just the essentials. If information applies only to some readers or you’re required to include specific language from your lawyers or SMEs (we’ve all been there), create a one-page fact sheet and link to it “for more info.”

Do I talk like this in real life? Expert tip: read it out loud. Seriously. If you feel overly formal saying the words, edit with a goal of using simpler language and keeping the tone conversational. Take out the jargon. Think about what you’d say if you were explaining the content to a friend.

Is the content relatable? Toolkit users need to see how they can apply the information. Make it more meaningful by including examples, proven practices, cautions, success stories, expert advice, and links to helpful tools. And remember to spell out acronyms, even the ones you think everyone knows.

Is it useful for everyone? Add value and create synergy for the wider organization: If a tool or template was created for a specific group/sector/function/region, think about how to broaden the scope so more people can benefit. For example, a compliance or communication toolkit may be of value in many areas of an organization.

Is it visually overwhelming? Think about the last time you opened a file that was page after page of long paragraphs. You were probably tempted to just close it. Make your information more appealing by using short paragraphs, subheads, bullets, charts, and other visuals. If you have a budget for design, use it to help break content into bite-size pieces.

It’s ready! Have you launched your toolkit for success? Your team has spent months developing a comprehensive toolkit, now you want to ensure the right employees know about it – and they use it! It’s important to walk users through the toolkit, and explain where they can access it. Educate users so they can hit the ground running.

Communication Insight
Toolkits make it easy for you to share information consistently and broadly across borders and functions—but only if they are organized and communicated in a way that is easy to understand and simple to navigate.

Need help developing a toolkit that really works? Contact us.

3 Reasons You Need a Professional Writer for Your SPDs

March 6, 2019

By JoAnn Gulbin
Communication Consultant 

Raise your hand if you procrastinate updating your Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs). Yep, thought so.

While we all know that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires SPD updates on a regular basis, actually making the updates can be time-consuming and difficult, and can fall to the bottom of the to-do list.

That’s where a professional benefits writer can help. While your first instinct may be to look just to your ERISA attorney or plan administrator, partnering with a writer who has SPD expertise can ensure a better outcome. Here’s why:

SPDs are required by ERISA to be written in plain English and easily understood by the average employee. A lawyer’s focus on fulfilling the requirements of ERISA can mean clear and concise descriptions of key plan provisions are often sacrificed. While it’s essential to include legal input and review during the SPD drafting process, it’s best to leave the writing to someone focused on effectively communicating the plan provisions and how to best utilize plan benefits.

An inadequate SPD is a liability. SPDs offered by third-party administrators are often “off-the-shelf” products that are minimally customized for your plan. This approach runs the risk of critical plan provisions being omitted or inadequately described, leaving you open to legal action by plan participants in a claim dispute. And remember, the plan documents provided by administrators do not fulfill ERISA’s SPD requirement unless they are accompanied by a wrap document that includes the information required by ERISA.

Your SPD is more than just a legal requirement. Viewing your SPD simply as a legal document is too often a lost opportunity to educate plan participants about their benefits; instead, give employees a communication that helps them make informed decisions and appreciate the overall value of the plan.

Communication Insight

Transform your SPDs into valuable communication tools by thinking less like a lawyer – and more like your employees. Need help drafting or updating your SPD? Contact us.

Reminder! For those of us who haven’t memorized the ERISA requirements for SPDs:

SPDs for new plans must be provided to participants and beneficiaries within 120 days of that plan’s effective date.

SPDs for existing plans must be provided within 90 days of the date a participant begins to be covered.

If material changes are made to a plan, a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) must be provided within 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the change was effective.

Every five years, assuming a plan has changed, a new SPD must be provided to all participants (every 10 years if there have been no changes).

There are serious financial penalties for noncompliance.

 

Are your new hire materials sending the right message?

January 23, 2019

4 reasons to make a positive first impression

By Danielle Foley
Senior Communication Consultant 

We know that good benefits communication is essential for helping employees make smart decisions during annual enrollment. But what about your new hires? Are the materials they receive an afterthought?

Here are 4 reasons why it’s so important for your new hire materials to make a positive first impression:

  1. New hires are a captive audience. If there’s one time when employees (and their spouses/partners) are laser-focused on benefits, it’s during the hiring and onboarding process. This is your chance to broadcast all the great benefits your company offers and reaffirm their decision to join. It’s also an opportunity to quantify the investment you’re making in them through your total rewards package.
  2. As Mom always says, you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression. Even though they’re already hired, sending enthusiastic new employees—especially millennials—a huge packet of paper forms or multiple PDFs they need to download gives the impression that you haven’t joined the digital age. Chances are you used cutting-edge tactics like social media and digital advertising in your recruiting process, so don’t stop there. Offer new hires a simple, clean microsite with everything they need to know and do about benefits. As an added advantage, a website outside the firewall means spouses can log on, too.
  3. You get the chance to market those perks and programs that don’t require annual enrollment. Again, back to that captive audience thing. If you’ve got great perks, like student loan repayment, volunteer time off, fertility benefits, back-up child care programs, or even pet insurance…this is your chance to advertise them. These benefits provide a huge bang for the buck, especially with younger employees. And—bonus marketing!—they’ll also tell their friends and family about them.
  4. New hires are expensive, so make sure they stay. With the unemployment rate so low, talent is in limited supply. Research shows that new hires make the decision to stay with a company long-term within the first six months on the job. So, engage them right away with new hire materials that impress.

Communication Insight

Great new hire materials don’t have to break the bank. The New Year is the perfect time to repurpose your annual enrollment communication so that your new hires get the same top-notch benefits information as long-timers.

Need help with your new hire materials? Contact us.

Project Management: Make It Work for You

June 20, 2018

By Danielle Foley
Senior Communication Consultant 

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that good project management is essential to the success of any communication project.

We’ve provided project management support for hundreds of projects—from small benefits rollouts to large-scale communication campaigns for IT and HR systems implementations—and want to share what we’ve learned (often the hard way)!

Make a schedule.
No matter the size of the project, it makes sense to put a schedule together. Appoint a single person to be the keeper of the plan. Schedule in some wiggle room, as delays are inevitable. Be sure to note vacations, company holidays, executives’ travel schedules or other impacts on the timeline.

Establish a review team upfront.
Gain consensus early on how many reviews are necessary, who should sit on the review team, and the appropriate length for review time. Consider including those closest to the project (e.g., subject matter experts) in the initial drafts; add in Legal, Corporate Communication, or other key stakeholders in later reviews.

Hold regular touch-base meetings.
Weekly meetings are essential for both keeping projects on track and resolving open issues. Send out an agenda in advance, assign a note taker, and send a recap with follow-up items. Include representatives from the major stakeholder teams—even if communication is not their area of expertise. We’ve found that “satellite” teams can raise important issues the core team are not aware of. Hold meetings consistently, even if all stakeholders cannot attend. You’d be amazed at how skipping just one meeting can cause delays.

Ask for consolidated edits.
Nothing can be more frustrating and delay-inducing than edits from multiple reviewers that conflict or come in piecemeal. Make sure there is a final arbiter—someone who has the last word. Ask for edits via track changes in Word documents and via Adobe Comments for PDFs. Before communications go into design, schedule at least one “roundtable review.” Ideally held in person, this is the one chance to go through the document page by page, allowing the team to talk through any open issues or variations in interpretation. It can be time-consuming, but worth every minute in the end!

Agree on the number of rounds of review ahead of time.
This is an area where projects can tend to go out of scope and this translates in to higher costs and delays. Be diligent in sticking to the original number of drafts. If you must adjust, be sure to document a “change request” so the team is aware that the project is going out of scope and can make a plan for how to handle it. The fewer surprises, the better!

Engage the printer/programmer in the early stages.
If you are planning to print or program an online communication, touch base with the printer or programmer early on to ensure they can meet your schedule and alert you of any red flags. If printing, decide whether a press check is needed. Confirm who will review blue lines and provide ultimate signoff. For online communications, be sure time is built to check links and navigation.

Communication Insight

Breaking up a complex process into manageable steps will help you stay on course and on budget.

Need help managing your communication project? Contact us.

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