One of the global leaders in nanomanufacturing technology, providing many innovative new solutions to improve the way people live.

Challenge

Improving the way people live has long been a mission at this decades-old major nanotechnology company. The company strives to do for employees what its innovative technologies do for customers every day—providing benefits that make the future a bit brighter.

With more than 7,500 employees in the U.S., even a small change to employee benefits has a big impact. The benefits changes the company needed to announce in 2009 were significant—encompassing PTO, 401(k), and health care.

In the past, employees learned about benefits through print materials and intranet updates, according to the company’s Corporate HR Manager. But it was time for a change. “We wanted to simplify our communications and to make the information more accessible,” she said. “We also wanted a more cost-effective way to present our benefits information on the web.”

With so many changes planned, the company recognized a need for more than a new benefits website. “The deliverables were huge,” the HR Manager said. “We were looking for someone to help us with the change management aspect. We wanted to streamline and integrate everything—and we had no time to do it.”

Solution

The Benz Communications team began by developing an immediate and a long-term communications strategy to account for all the changes taking place.

Then, proving a customized website with content, tools, and resources really could be developed and launched in five weeks, the team hit the ground running. “It seems like no job is too big for Benz Communications—especially because they think so high-level,” the HR Manager said. “They have the resources to make it happen.”

Accessible from anywhere, the new benefits website replaced thousands of professionally printed benefits guides and comparison charts. A blog enabled employees to get brief benefits tips and to join in on the conversation, while giving the company’s team instant access to employee feedback.

The website gave her and her team a nimbleness they’d never had before. “Managing content is very easy for us to do now,” she said “Our content management system allows us to make changes instantaneously, so we don’t have to wait for production.”

In addition to designing and writing the website, the Benz Communications team created dozens of straightforward, concise, and action-oriented communications—emails, newsletters, postcards, and manager resources—to reflect the company’s voice. Employees got consistent messages about what was changing, what they needed to know, and what they needed to do.

Approach

In the week preceding the website launch, the entire Benz Communications project team—designers, project coordinators, and content developers—worked around the clock to get things ready.

Because of the timeline, the company had just one day to review the website before it launched. They never worried. “The Benz team made it very easy to turn things around and to say what we needed to say,” she said. “Really, the speed was pretty amazing. And the way they were able to repurpose some of our existing content so we weren’t reinventing the wheel? I wouldn’t have known where to start.”

One thing that surprised them about working with the Benz Communications team was just how enjoyable it could be. “Implementation was smooth. Very. Especially for the amount of work we had to do. When I think about all the implementation work that was being done for each of those projects at the same time—wow. It was so quick. I really felt I had 100 percent dedication from the Benz team.”

Results

More than 5,000 unique visitors explored the site in the days following its launch, spending an average of 6 minutes each.

She said although the impact of the benefits changes was large, it was also manageable because communications were boiled down to actionable items. “We were able to present the changes in a way that was clear,” she said. “Now, even if someone has a question, I know there’s material I can refer them to.”

Over time, the company expects to save money on printing costs—not to mention the immediate results from the fall campaign. When asked whether she would recommend Benz Communications to a colleague, she doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. I’ve been so happy to work with Benz. They’re competitive with other larger consulting firms, but with what I consider an even higher focus on quality. Benz Communications has been a very good value for us.”

Note: this case study does not include client names because the company’s PR policy restricts the use of their name.