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How Much Communication Is Too Much?

Today’s employees are drowning in emails, pings, and notifications. Yet when it comes to their benefits, many still feel uninformed and overwhelmed. This article explains why the old once-a-year communication approach fails and how you can shift to a modern, year-round strategy that cuts through the noise.

Who This Is For:

  • HR administrators who want to simplify benefits communication without adding more work
  • Benefits brokers looking to offer clients more value beyond plan design
  • Leaders seeking higher engagement, lower turnover, and better ROI from benefits

Key Takeaways:

  • Poor communication is a major driver of disengagement and turnover.
  • Employees prefer consistent, relevant updates, not once-a-year info dumps.
  • A modern strategy uses personalization, storytelling, and multi-channel delivery.
  • Mobile-first, year-round communication works across industries and company sizes.

The Communication Paradox

Employees face message overload yet miss essential benefits information. The real question is not “how much is too much?” but “how do we make it matter?”

To succeed, benefits communication must look more like marketing: personalized, value-driven, and delivered through the right mix of channels.

The High Cost of the Status Quo

  • Disengagement drains performance. Low engagement costs U.S. companies nearly $2 trillion a year in lost productivity.
  • Communication drives engagement. When leaders are transparent, 85% of employees report feeling more motivated.
  • The perception gap. Most leaders think their teams are engaged and informed, employees strongly disagree.
  • Hard-dollar losses. Poor communication leads to wasted workdays, higher turnover, and underused benefits.

Finding the Goldilocks Zone

Annual-only is a trap. Nearly half of employees report benefits are only discussed once a year or not at all. That leaves programs underused and misunderstood.

Principles of High-Impact Communication:

  • Relevance and personalization (life stage, role, or family status)
  • Clarity and plain language (avoid jargon and acronyms)
  • Value-focused storytelling (the “why,” not just the “what”)
  • Multi-channel delivery (email, SMS, intranet, signage, manager huddles)

Overload vs under-communication: Employees say they would rather be slightly over-communicated with than left in the dark. The difference comes down to quality: targeted, relevant updates feel helpful, not overwhelming.

Tailoring by Company Size and Sector

  • Small/medium businesses: Lean on agility, direct manager communication and low-cost digital tools work best.
  • Large enterprises: Use segmentation and governance to keep communication consistent and personalized at scale.
  • Technology & professional services: Mobile-first, tech-forward strategies (apps, push notifications, chatbots).
  • Healthcare: Snackable, empathetic content delivered via mobile, signage, and shift supervisors.
  • Retail & manufacturing: SMS, posters, and manager huddles are critical to reach deskless teams in multiple languages.

The Key Influencers You Must Equip

  • HR Administrators: Often spend 47+ hours per week on communication tasks. Automation and analytics can help reclaim time while improving results.
  • Benefits Brokers: Communication strategy is now a competitive differentiator. Brokers who guide clients on year-round communication move from transactional vendor to trusted partner.

The All-In-One Toolkit

  • SMS as the un-ignorable channel. With up to 98% open rates, SMS is ideal for urgent, time-sensitive updates like open enrollment reminders.
  • Reimagining email and hubs. Use short, scannable content and clear subject lines. Always point employees to one trusted “source of truth” for benefits info.
  • Integrated campaigns. Multi-channel campaigns reinforce message. For example, Airbo's Highlights make launching a new program with email and SMS easy. Then reinforce with signage, follow up via SMS, and have managers mention it in huddles. Employees appreciate communications from multiple channels.

Getting Started

  1. Audit your current communication. Identify whether your efforts fall into “signal” (helpful, targeted) or “noise.”
  2. Pilot a campaign. Test SMS for a historically low-engagement event. For example, send the message 48 hours before an upcoming webinar.
  3. Build a year-round calendar. Consistency beats sparse communication. Plan out an annual content calendar and use themes like financial wellness, mental health, or retirement readiness.
  4. Measure, iterate, and report ROI. Track reach, engagement, and repeat visits to prove value.

How Airbo Helps

Airbo provides tools designed to make this modern approach simple:

  • Multi-channel delivery. Reach employees through mobile, desktop, and text without extra manual work.
  • Engagement measurement. Reports show you:
    • Cumulative Unique Visits (how many employees you’ve reached at least once)
    • Unique Visits (who engaged in a given period)
    • Total Visits (how often employees return)
  • Automation. Schedule year-round campaigns so you aren’t stuck rushing during open enrollment.
  • Accessibility. Deliver benefits information in plain language, mobile-first, and available anytime for employees and their families.

With Airbo, HR admins reclaim time, brokers deliver more value, and employees get the benefits communication they need (without the noise).

If you'd like to learn more, book a demo here.