Why your reward communication could matter more than the rewards themselves

Most businesses spend months (and significant budgets) designing reward packages: competitive salaries, bonus schemes, pensions, share plans, and flexible benefits. But the uncomfortable truth is that if your employees don’t understand what’s on offer, much of that investment is wasted.

We’ve seen first-hand that communication is the missing link. You can have the best share plan in the market – but if people don’t know how it works, or how it connects to their goals, it might as well not exist. Communication is what transforms a reward from a line on a payslip into something employees truly value.

The ‘last mile’ problem in reward design

Think of the rewards package as a product. The company invests in design, compliance, and administration – all crucial. But the ‘last mile’ is communication. That’s the moment when the product meets the customer – or in this case, the employee.

Without that last mile, even the most generous package falls flat. We see this with pensions: employers contribute meaningfully, yet employees often describe them as confusing, or something which is only relevant in the future. Similarly, share plans often suffer lack of take-up because employees don’t grasp the upside, or assume it’s too complex, or worse, too risky.

The design isn’t broken – the delivery is.

Why communication can matter more than design

Design is static, but communication is dynamic. Employees’ lives change – from renting their first flat, to buying a home, to planning for children, to thinking about retirement. At each stage, they ask different questions:

• Can I afford this now?
• How does this affect my family?
• What will this mean in 10 years?

Unless your reward communications adapt to these different and shifting contexts, you risk the rewards themselves becoming less relevant. By contrast, clear and tailored communication:

• Drives participation rates (more people joining share schemes, making voluntary pension contributions, etc.)
• Builds trust (employees feel the company is transparent and fair, and has their best interests at heart)
• Strengthens retention (people stay where they feel valued and supported)
• Improves ROI (maximising the impact of your existing reward spend)

Three common communication pitfalls

1. Jargon overload
   Terms like ‘vesting’, ‘matching shares’ or ‘salary sacrifice’ may be second nature to you, but they can be alienating to employees. If people need a glossary to decode their reward statement, you’ve lost them.
2. One-size-fits-all messaging
   A graduate in their 20s doesn’t think about benefits the same way as a manager in their 40s. Yet too often, communications are blanket emails or generic PDFs. Segmentation – by career stage, family status, or financial goals – can help drive more engagement, simply by being more relevant.
3. One-and-done announcements
   Launching a new plan with a big splash is common. But then silence follows. Without regular reminders and updates, engagement fades. This is a missed opportunity to keep the conversation going.

What better looks like

So what does great communication look like? A few principles we use at RewardPro:

• Keep it simple. Plain English, short sentences, and clear calls to action.
• Make it visual. Animations, infographics, and calculators make complex ideas tangible.
• Tailor it. Segment messages so they resonate with different groups of employees.
• Connect to purpose. Link rewards to your company’s mission, goals, and values. Show how each benefit ties back to the bigger picture.
• Use case studies. Real examples, like ‘Sarah used her shares to pay for her first house deposit’ bring rewards to life.
• Measure and iterate. Track participation rates, click-throughs, and feedback to refine both the message and your channel mix.

Why this matters now

We’re in a time of uncertainty: inflation pressures, cost-of-living anxieties, and AI reshaping jobs. Employees are looking for clarity and stability. Reward packages can provide that – but only if they’re easy to understand.

Communication isn’t an afterthought. It’s a strategic tool to create belonging, build trust, and demonstrate how much you value your people.

The next time you review your reward package, don’t just ask: Is this competitive? Ask: Do our people understand this, and do they see its value in their lives?

Because until they do, the investment isn’t delivering.

If you’d like support in communicate your rewards, we'd love to chat.

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