What’s the best way to communicate with your DC plan members?
It’s a question many plan sponsors struggle with as they try to educate and engage their members. Unfortunately, there’s no quick and easy answer. Communication methods are always changing, and sponsors are increasingly required to implement a variety of techniques.
“I think the methods that are used to communicate have probably changed the most,” says Larry Ketchabaw, manager of pension and benefits with Unisource Canada.
He suggests Web-based methods to engage employees on their own terms, and says his organization now offers webinars and Internet-based information centres that members can access from home as well as from work.
“We use [Web-based] tools to communicate with employees on their own time,” Ketchabaw says. “When they want it, it’s available.”
Watch this video to find out what else Ketchabaw has to say about communicating electronically.
Yet despite the growth in Web-based communication, print methods are not to be ignored. Marc Poupart, director of pension and retirement programs for Hudson’s Bay Company, says his organization relies on both print and electronic communications by sending paper statements to members’ homes, putting up posters in the workplace to raise awareness and implementing an Intranet site with pension information.
Watch this video to find out what else Poupart had to say about communicating with members.
Lastly, no matter which communication method you employ, ensure your message is simple and educational.
Michelle Peshko, senior advisor, pensions and investments with Xstrata, says too much focus has been on trying to turn DC members into financial experts, when really, we need to get back to basics and focus on financial literacy. She suggests posting short, educational videos on YouTube—or relying on videos already posted online—as a way to engage. Overall, she says, your communication should be “simple messages that any individual member can pick up and say, ‘Have I done this?’”
Watch this video to find out what else Peshko has to say about member education and communication.