EXCLUSIVE: Sky has increased the take up of its flexible benefits by more than 30% following the introduction of new communication techniques.
The home entertainment and communications organisation embedded the characters from the Monsters University film into the workplace and used them to create awareness around its My Sky Rewards benefits scheme.
For example, it used Mike and Sulley’s faces across its hub screens along with text to communicate that the window to select benefits was open between 2 and 19 June.
It used these film characters to highlight different life-stages to help target employees with specific communication relevant to them.
John Whitaker, benefits consultant at Sky, said: “It is difficult to get a branded message across in Sky because there is so much going on in different areas of the business.
“We needed a strong brand to cut through that and using Monster’s University certainly helped. It is a universal movie that everyone recognises and we wanted this to make our reward and benefits equally recognisable and engaging.
“We went really big this year and it certainly paid off.”
Sky also used mirror stickers in bathrooms and t-shirts were given away in goodie bags and used as competition prizes. It also held a benefits fair that was branded as a Monsters University freshers week, along with a ’scare booth’ for employees to take pictures.
As a result, take up rates improved. More than 10,000 employees made an active benefits decision during the window compared to just 6,000 in 2014.
The organisation also saw more than 17,000 employees log onto its benefits portal compared to 12,000 last year.
In addition, benefits take up grew. Some 2,500 people that were not originally on a company-paid healthcare plan signed up in two days following targeted communication by Sky.
More than 400 new employees also signed up for its bikes-for-work scheme during the 2 – 19 June window.
Sky has been working with its benefits consultant, Capita Employee Benefits, to analyse data on, for example, its workforce demographic broken down by employee location and age profile to help its communication efforts during its window.
As part of Sky’s three-year strategy, it will work with its provider to ensure its benefits package is fit for purpose for all 22,000 UK employees.
Sky is also using the data underlying its flexible benefits scheme to ensure that its benefits package is fit for purpose for its workforce.
During the window it introduced a number of new benefits for staff, with MacBooks included in Sky’s home technology benefit while also providing employees with the chance to purchase discounted Sky TV through salary sacrifice.
Whitaker said: “This year was a new concept, a real refresh of our communications.
“We really wanted to make a statement and along with the help of social media internally, making it more fun through scare pods, t-shirts and the big benefits fair has helped with the engagement that we had not previously had.
“There are two key measures to show that what we are doing is right for Sky. One is the number of people actively making their way to the website growing and secondly the number of employees making an active decision has grown by more than 30% this year.
“Using the right communication has put our benefits take up through the roof. We are in a position now that more than 90% of the workforce has signed up to a benefit, but specifically our healthcare benefits.
“The My Sky Rewards now has a brand that has a lasting appeal to all members of staff.”
