Benefits blog strives to attract and retain talent, propel organization to a ‘Best Place to Work’

The Northwell Health Total Rewards Blog only launched in September, but a quick tour of the blog reveals that people are paying attention. A very recent post on effective meetings, for example, not only inspired readers to comment, but the writer responded—a hallmark of true blog engagement. Its success has led to the Total Rewards Blog winning first place in the “Blog” category of Ragan’s 2016 Employee Communications Awards.

The Total Rewards Blog is just one component of a comprehensive plan to see Northwell Health recognized as a “Best Place to Work” by 2020. The actual benefits themselves play a huge role: Northwell is bending over backwards to make sure the package appeals to prospective employees and inspires existing employees to stay. 

The communications strategy includes enlisting executives, HR representatives and frontline managers as cheerleaders and advocates; distributing e-newsletters; and issuing benefits updates. The blog was launched as a one-stop shop for everything that makes working for Northwell appealing, with categories carefully chosen to reflect the broad range of perks of working there: benefits, rewards and recognition, employee wellness, need-to-know announcements and work-life programs. 

The blog is publicly accessible, making it available to people considering working for Northwell, and is configured to look great on a desktop or laptop computer as well as on mobile devices. The writing is sprightly and informal (not to mention short, avoiding the “too-long-didn’t-read” syndrome), the design appealing (including big, colorful images), and the topics interesting. 

For her outstanding work, congratulations to Northwell’s Sally Ann Lake.