EXCLUSIVE: Delegates at Employee Benefits Connect 2018 will be able to gain insight on how to utilise augmented reality (AR) within a communications strategy.
Jon Bryant (pictured), head of online benefits and communications at Aon Employee Benefits, will lead a session titled ‘Key technologies to help you consumerise your employee benefits engagement strategy’ as part of the technology conference stream on Wednesday 28 February 2018.
The session will firstly dissect what augmented reality is and how it differs from virtual reality. Bryant will then discuss the benefits of AR, and highlight how this type of technology can be used as part of a communications strategy to help increase staff engagement with employee benefits.
Bryant will explain how AR can be utilised as an engagement tool, particularly when employers are segmenting their workforce in order to target their communications approach. As a relatively new tool in an employer’s communications arsenal, Bryant will also discuss potential challenges around AR. This includes its use of personal data, especially in light of the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), effective from May 2018.
He will also use examples to help demonstrate how AR can be applied in the employee benefits sector to form a new type of communications approach.
Bryant said: “[AR is] semi-immersive; it starts bringing things to life. It’s intuitive and interactive by its actual basic design, so [employers] can’t make it non-intuitive and non-interactive otherwise it’s not AR.
“I really want to bring [AR] to life for [employee benefits]. It’s come alive in the consumer marketing space, but I really want to start giving [employers] some worked examples […] of how they can apply it in the employee benefits space. […] I also really want to fit it within where it could go wrong, especially around personal data.
“Then, I want to take it a step up and say it’s not just employee benefits. How does [AR] fit within a wider engagement [strategy]? Too many [organisations] just focus on pensions, or just focus on wellness, or just focus on [flexible benefits]. What I want to do is take [AR] and show how it can apply to all of those areas.”
Employee Benefits Connect 2018 will take place on Wednesday 28 February 2018 at Park Plaza, Westminster, London.
