--- title: What Good Communication Programs Actually Look Like description: Create effective year-round communication programs that enhance employee understanding of benefits and foster trust in your organization. image: https://q4intel.com/hubfs/What%20Good%20Communication%20Programs%20Actually%20Look%20Like%20123rf.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like#main-content) [![Columbia Benefit Solutions](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/hubfs/ColumbiaBenefit%20Logo_final_lg-1.png)](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/0) - [Home](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com) - [Services](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/services) - [GA](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/general-agency-services) - [About](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/about) - [Blog](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/contact) # What Good Communication Programs Actually Look Like Most employers think about communication once a year during open enrollment. A packet goes out, a meeting gets scheduled, employees complete the paperwork, and the box gets checked. But for employees, confusion and questions about benefits don’t follow a schedule. Questions come up in February when someone gets an unexpected bill, in July when a prescription changes, or whenever life happens (which is all the time). The employers who get this right have built an intentional program with a foundation that performs year-round. ### Treat communication as a year-round calendar, not a one-time event Open enrollment is one moment in twelve months. Strong communication programs fill the other eleven with touchpoints that build awareness before employees ever need to use the plan, such as: - ID card reminders - Prescription tips - Health plan explainers - Deductible rollover updates - Mental health resources - "Where to go for care" guides This kind of consistency establishes trust. Employees who receive clear and consistent communication pay attention. If benefits communication happens only once a year during open enrollment, employees may tune it (and the plan) out of their minds. Use templates to make repetitive communications quick and easy, rather than building them from scratch every time. Templates allow for customization without starting over, which means communication gets done a lot quicker. Consider creating templates for communications like: - Renewal messaging - New hire onboarding - Carrier transitions - Qualifying life event reminders   ### Communicate through multiple channels An employee who spends a good chunk of time looking through emails is not the same as a field worker who's rarely in front of a computer. If a communication strategy assumes everyone receives information the same way, it's broadcasting into a void. Effective programs use the right mix of communications to cover their bases: - Email - Text - Benefits portals - Video - Print - Group meetings - One-on-one benefits counseling Of the items listed above, video, especially short-form video, remains one of the most underutilized communication options available. Tools now exist to produce professional-looking video content without significant technical skills and with or without help from video experts. Employees increasingly prefer consuming content this way ([48% of employees consider video the most engaging form of communication](https://www.techsmith.com/blog/video-for-internal-communication/)), and some employers haven't explored it ([9% of employers still weren’t using video for marketing or communication in 2025](https://wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/)). In other words, video communication is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. ### Set expectations early and think beyond the employer-employee relationship One of the most valuable conversations an agency can have before a plan transition is an honest one. Having conversations that directly address potential challenges and outline strategies for success can do a lot to create trust and ensure a smooth transition. Help employers plan for potential employee pushback, so they’re prepared for the process rather than defensive and reactive at the first sight of a challenge. There's another underappreciated dimension: how agencies manage the relationships between all the vendors (the claims administrator, the provider network, the carrier) that make a benefits plan work. If something goes wrong, those parties may end up pointing fingers at each other, leaving employees in the middle, wondering whom to trust. Agencies that handle this well communicate as a team, resolving conflicts before they reach the employee and protect confidence in the plan rather than undermining it. ### The standard is higher than most employers realize Communication programs succeed when they’re built holistically, with a clear owner, a structured calendar, intentionally selected channels, consistent documentation, and the commitment to get better at the craft of communication itself. It’s a higher bar than most employers are currently clearing, but it's where the gap between an average benefits experience and a great one tends to live.   Content provided by Q4intelligence Photo by [fpphotobank](https://www.123rf.com/profile_fpphotobank)    [Next post](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/ai-can-generate-content-not-judgment) [All posts](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog) [Previous post](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/are-you-mismanaging-your-institutional-knowledge) ## View Related Posts #### [What Your Leave Policy Says About Your Organization](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-your-leave-policy-says-about-your-organization) #### [Employee Student Debt Crisis: An Employer's Wake-Up Call](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employee-student-debt-crisis-an-employers-wake-up-call) #### [Level-Up Dialogues: Give a Boost to Team Ambition and Growth](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/level-up-dialogues-give-a-boost-to-team-ambition-and-growth) ![Columbia Benefit Solutions Logo](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/hubfs/ColumbiaBenefit%20Logo_final_lg-1.png) CBS guides employers and individuals in choosing the right benefit designs and insurance plans. To do this, we strive to empower and educate others to feel confident in the decisions they make.   --- Columbia Benefit Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or with the federal Medicare program. Required Federal Disclosure:  We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 15 organizations in 8 states which offer 340 plans (plan availability depends on the zip code in which you reside).  Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. - Resources - [Services](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/services-archived) - [GA](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/general-agency-services-archived) - [About us](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/about-archived) - [Contact us](https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/contact-archived) © 2022 All rights reserved. | [Privacy Policy](https://7961842.hs-sites.com/privacy-policy) | Powered by [Q4intelligence](https://q4intel.com) Developed by [GiantFocal](https://www.giantfocal.com) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like/#article", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Columbia Benefits Solutions" }, "dateModified" : "2026-04-04T07:29:26Z", "datePublished" : "2026-04-04T07:29:26Z", "description" : "Create effective year-round communication programs that enhance employee understanding of benefits and foster trust in your organization.", "headline" : "What Good Communication Programs Actually Look Like", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : "1333", "url" : "https://q4intel.com/hubfs/What%20Good%20Communication%20Programs%20Actually%20Look%20Like%20123rf.jpg", "width" : "2000" }, "inLanguage" : "en", "isPartOf" : { "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/#blog", "@type" : "Blog", "name" : "The CBS Blog", "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/#organization" } }, "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like/#webpage" }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/#organization" }, "url" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com/blog/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like/#breadcrumb", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://www.columbiabenefitsolutions.com", "name" : "Home", "position" : 1 } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Q4intelligence, LLC" }, "datePublished" : "2026-04-02T10:00:00+00:00", "headline" : "What Good Communication Programs Actually Look Like", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://insights.q4intel.com/employers/what-good-communication-programs-actually-look-like", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Q4intelligence, LLC", "url" : "https://www.q4intel.com" } } ```