Whether your HR team is aiming for higher HDHP enrollment, greater wellness program utilization, or improved benefits literacy, achieving your goals in 2025 will invariably depend on your company’s employees learning something and, crucially, retaining that knowledge throughout the year.
But 2025 promises to be another hectic year for your employees, at work and home, with no let up to the constant bombardment of messaging and demands. Breaking through the noise with educational HR content will not be easy.
In a way, this is the same challenge every marketer, publisher, and TV programmer faces. How can you be sure that your message is the one that rises to the top?
One solution is seasonality. By tying your communication strategy to relevant topics that come to the fore at different times of the year, you can gain your employees’ attention by providing timely answers to the questions that concern them.
As one marketing site explains, seasonality means “getting into the mindset of consumers” to discover their motivations at “given points in the year.” Swap “consumers” for “employees,” and you have the basic framework for a year-round benefits communication strategy.
Here are five themes to touch on with your HR messaging and the right time to hit them for maximum impact.
(These — plus seven more relevant themes — are all mapped out for your HR team on your free year-round benefits communication calendar.)
1. January: Starting Off on the Right Foot
The most common New Year’s resolution among Americans for 2024 was “save more money,” followed closely by “be happy,” “exercise more,” “improve physical health,” “eat healthier,” and “improve mental health.”
Are you sensing a common theme? These are all areas where your organization’s employee benefits can help. Your financial wellness program is all about saving money, for example, while your wellness program and healthcare benefits can help employees gain control of their mental and physical wellbeing.
As your employees set out on their self-improvement journeys, January is the perfect time to share content about:
- How to use the employee wellness program
- Investing in financial health
- Setting reasonable, achievable, and beneficial health and wellness goals, such as focusing on whole health rather than weight loss
You can also use January messaging to preview the year to come, highlighting any seasonal HR and benefits initiatives.
2. April: Essential Money-Saving Tips
April is tax season, and money will be on your employees’ minds. In particular, they will be looking to maximize their tax refunds, but even non-tax-related financial advice is welcome this time of year.
Expect your employees to be especially receptive to financial content and money-saving ideas in 2025; over three-quarters of Americans are worried about their financial situation. Your HR team can help by sharing:
- Explainers on taking advantage of tax-free HSA benefits
- An overview of your company’s financial wellness benefits
- Smart shopping and budgeting tips (with information about your employee discount program, if you have one)
- Pointers on reducing healthcare costs, such as choosing in-network vs. out-of-network providers
3. May: Mental Health Awareness
Perhaps not coincidentally, tax season is followed by Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health coverage dominates the news in May, meaning your employees will probably be thinking about their mental wellbeing and looking for ways to improve it.
And if employees aren’t aware that May is Mental Health Awareness month, it’s still a fitting period to talk about mental health. Who couldn’t use a mood booster upon finally emerging from the long, cold, dark months of winter?
May is the time to share content destigmatizing mental health and offering support for issues such as depression, anxiety, and addiction, such as:
- The 101 on employee assistance programs (EAPs)
- Reminders about your company’s mental health benefits
- Tips for managing stress and improving work-life balance
- Mindfulness techniques and tools
4. June: Vacation Time!
As summer approaches, employees begin to nail down their vacation plans. To help them get ready for summer fun (and potentially reduce some of the chaos that comes this time of year), this is a good time to share some information about your company’s policies and benefits regarding time off.
Your summer kick-off content might include:
- PTO policy reminders
- Tips for handling vacation medical emergencies
- A review of childcare benefits programs and perks
- Information about any travel discounts your employees might be entitled to
5. September: Looking Ahead to Open Enrollment
For most HR teams, the end of the year is one long push toward open enrollment, and September is an excellent time to start laying the groundwork. Employees often feel pressured and rushed during open enrollment, so by starting early, you’ll be setting your employees up for a smooth and (hopefully) lower-stress enrollment process.
Your pre-open enrollment messaging might include topics such as:
- Changes to your company’s health plans for 2026
- New options for voluntary benefits
- How to discuss healthcare needs with family members
- Assessing your healthcare usage
Plan Your Year-Round HR Comms Strategy With a Free 12-Month Calendar
Five months down, seven more to go. Click here to access your free 2025 benefits communication calendar, which includes the five messaging themes included above, plus topics and content ideas for the rest of the year.