Communications 101
Everything you need to know about working with C&D.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is C&D Curated?
Communication & Design (C&D) Curated are a team of creative professionals with one major goal in mind: Ramping up employee engagement by helping our clients add a splash of color to their communications approach. Our team is made up of:
- Consultants to lead the conversation with the client, collaborate on a strategy and identify innovative solutions that fit their needs
- Project managers to build a detailed timeline and help the client navigate the review process until a campaign is complete
- Editors to produce engaging, meaningful messages that match the client’s brand guidelines and style standards
- Graphic designers to develop gorgeous visuals that are aligned with the client’s brand and create/maintain the look and feel of all deliverables
No matter what the task, we have all hands on deck to ensure our clients receive what they need in order to feel successful.
How does C&D Curated work with HUB EB and the client?
Here’s a step-by-step overview of the custom process:
- Engagement: EB engages the team by reaching out to their client’s assigned consultant—or, if the client is new, emailing any consultant to request outreach.
- Internal Prep: Your assigned consultant will reach out and request your insight on the client and their needs, as well as the budget. From there, we will schedule an internal call.
- Kickoff/Discovery: Once we’ve gathered all the necessary information, we will schedule a kickoff call with the client so that the C&D consultant and project manager can assess the best course of action. Typically, C&D will bring a PowerPoint deck to help guide the conversation.
- Scope and Timeline: The C&D consultant will develop a detailed scope for the EB team to review first, followed by the client. Within a few days of scope approval, the C&D project manager will share a detailed timeline so all parties know what to expect and when to expect it.
- Deliverable Development:
a. Existing materials: C&D will collect updates through Workfront, our online proofing tool, then the client’s assigned writer and graphic designer will bring the deliverable up to date.
b. New materials: Using the information gathered from you and your client, the writer and graphic designer will begin the initial draft. - Review, Revisions and Completion: After a few review rounds, the deliverable/campaign is polished, proofread and completed.
When does it make sense to use Curated?
At times it makes sense to go Curated:
- Your client may feel very strongly about having all communications in their style and brand.
- They require dedicated support for communications, including consulting services and in-depth project management.
- They have needs that fall outside the deliverables in the Core or Crafted library (see the list of campaign examples on the next question).
- They want to develop a standing brand identity for their benefits, wellness and/or HR communications.
- They have carrier funds or budget dollars and prefer to use them toward a custom communication strategy.
- They are looking for a year-round strategy that goes beyond Open Enrollment.
My client needs help with communications outside of Open Enrollment, can you help?
Yes, we can! Our Curated communications capabilities span more than just benefits, our creative gurus address all HR needs. Here are some of our favorite campaigns:
- Change management
- Crisis management
- Organizational change/restructuring
- Policy/procedural change
- Benefit/HRIS implementation
- Merger/acquisition/divestiture
- High HR call center volume
- Open Enrollment
- Benefits education
- Consumerism
- International benefits
- Retiree communications
- Total rewards
- Wellness
- Life cycle/persona (leaves of absence, parental guidance, retirement, etc.)
Where can I go to learn more about the custom team and its work?
This resource site includes educational videos, sell sheets, tutorials, overviews and stats on the latest industry trends, new team developments and more.
How can I determine what my client’s communications budget should be?
We’ve added a useful Campaign Estimator tool on our website to address this common dilemma! Click here to take a look.
How is the cost of a curated communication strategy paid?
There are three ways to pay:
- Request carrier funds to cover communications during the RFP/renewal. The money will go back to your local office.
- The client pays. These funds will also be routed back to your office as revenue.
- Your local HUB office/producer pays. In this case, the funds are routed to C&D as revenue.
My client has employees who aren’t fluent in English. Can curated deliverables be translated?
Absolutely! C&D has a preferred vendor who can translate materials into multiple languages—and we can work directly with them to get the job done. Once translation is complete, you will receive a certificate of accuracy to ensure the document translation is of the highest quality. Translation services incur an additional fee and require extra time within the project scope.
How do we get the materials printed and mailed to employees?
We can take care of that too! C&D has a preferred printing and fulfillment vendor to help with all your mailing needs. As with translation services, printing and fulfillment will incur additional fees and timing will need to be factored into your final delivery date.
What steps do we need to take to get started?
Please collect the following information about your client:
- Client fundamentals: Name, industry, approximate headcount, demographic information
- A rough idea of their C&D opportunities/needs: What’s going on in their organization? Where could they use support?
- Budget and payment: About how much money will be allotted towards communications? Who should be invoiced?
Once we have that foundational information, we’ll know how to frame our conversation and what kinds of questions to ask in the next step of the process.
Where can I access samples to share with my clients?
Take a look at our Portfolio Site to view samples—and while you’re at it, go ahead and share the site with your clients! A samples deck is also available on the Tools & Resources tab of this page.
Can someone from C&D meet with my new or prospective client?
You bet! We’re happy to chat with your clients and prospects. In general, kickoff calls, consulting and strategy development are available exclusively to Curated clients.
Can your team create a draft benefit guide/flyer/web guide with our prospect’s branding and benefit details?
In short, no—this is not an option until after the proposed C&D scope is approved and the project is underway. This ensures we’ve taken a proper amount of time to get to know your client, their brand and unique needs. In the meantime, you can share many great examples of our work with your prospects and clients—and we’re always happy to schedule a call to discuss their communications needs and get the ball rolling!
How do you collect edits and feedback?
We use a convenient online proofing tool called Workfront. Using Workfront, reviewers can add notes and see/address one another’s remarks to a proof. Once a decision is made on the proof (i.e, “changes needed”, “approved with changes”, etc.), C&D will make the necessary updates and upload a fresh proof for review. You can find a short tutorial on the Tools & Resources tab of this page.
Does my Curated client have access to Core communications? Can we use credits to create a Curated deliverable?
Every client has credits available to “spend” on Core communications which can accompany their Curated deliverables. The number of Core credits depends on how many benefits-eligible employees the organization has. Credits can only be used towards Core materials, meaning that any Curated-created communication comes at an additional cost.
What’s the value of having a communications strategy? How can I demonstrate ROI to my clients?
With the cost of providing benefits to employees averaging upwards of $11,000 per year, investing in communications is vital to ensure that employees appreciate the benefits their employer offers and understand how to use them. Without an effective communications approach, these benefits often go undervalued and underutilized.
In fact, according to an Aon Hewitt survey, 60 percent of engaged employees said their total rewards (i.e., everything an employer provides to an employee, including pay, benefits and work environment) were above or well above what other employers offer, while only a quarter (24 percent) of those who were disengaged said the same.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employees rank benefits among the top contributors to their levels of job satisfaction—and yet the same study found that it wasn’t the dollar amount that employers spent on benefits that mattered, but how well employees understood the benefits being offered.
Considering these statistics, it would be a given that organizations would want to invest heavily in employee communications. Unfortunately, the majority do not have the internal resources needed to strategize and develop engaging employee benefit communications. That’s where C&D Custom comes in. We have dedicated team members to support our clients with their employee communication needs. Our team can help you:
Target different demographics. Today’s diverse workforce means that employees have benefit concerns unique to each life stage. One group might value engagement regarding time off or flexible work schedules, while another might value detailed information about retirement options. That’s why it’s important to develop communications targeted to different groups, such as college recruits and senior executives.
Exploit different mediums. Today’s workforce also includes many different work styles, meaning employees may respond more positively to one medium over others. Multiple communication channels—such as web guides, mobile apps, videos, emails, printed communications and texting—can help serve different employee groups more effectively and increase the chances that busy employees will read materials.
If selected, this avenue comes at an additional cost to the client, which will be itemized and laid out in a communication strategy. When the client signs off on the strategy, the process kicks off!
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