Your client's staff are likely to have heard about automatic enrolment through the media and will probably want to know how the changes will affect them.
Key points
- there's more your client can do to help their staff understand automatic enrolment into a workplace pension than simply providing them with the written communication required by law
- the employer is an important and effective channel of communication for their staff throughout the automatic enrolment process – your clients may ask you to help them raise awareness about the changes
- a range of key messages across a number of channels works best – keep them short and simple
Key messages to communicate to staff
- the message about employer and government contributions into a pension scheme gains attention, as do facts and figures. Read the Department for Work and Pension's key messages
- messages around why saving for retirement is important can help engage staff with the subject of workplace pensions
- staff appreciate an explanation of what automatic enrolment means for them. For example, information about how much they'll contribute and when
- details of where staff can find out more, either from their employer or in the workplace and personal pensions information on GOV.UK are helpful
There are a number of ways these messages can be communicated. A few examples are below.
Online articles
Intranet or newsletter articles can be used at various times. Use any or all of the text in the examples, keep them short, and explain where to find out more. Read news in brief (RTF, 11.5kb, 1 page) for suggestions on what to put on your client’s intranet or in a newsletter. You can find more comprehensive content in the intranet article (RTF, 204kb, 2 pages) or newsletter article (RTF, 29.2kb, 2 pages).
Text or email
Text messages or emails are quick ways of letting staff know when automatic enrolment is happening for them. Read the suggestions for text and email alerts (RTF, 38kb, 1 page). If email is used, there is a risk that the server may file it into the ‘junk email’ folder, so don’t rely solely on email as a method of communication.