You know you want to work with a specialist communications provider to help with your reward and/or share plan communications. But how do you make sure they’re a good fit for you?
Choosing the right communications provider can be tricky, especially if this is new ground for your business.
Here are our top 5 tips when researching and selecting the best provider:
Do they have the right knowledge?
Reward and/or share plans involve niche topics that are both technical in nature. With all the financial and legal aspects, it’s key that your chosen provider is knowledgeable.
- Look for providers with proven expertise in reward and/or share plans communications rather than offering generic internal communications.
- Ensure they have an active voice, sharing knowledge and insights – this is a good sign given you’re looking for effective communicators.
- Check LinkedIn profiles for solid experience of key persons.
- Ask them how they ensure their knowledge is kept up-to-date and how they invest in their team’s development.
- Check to see if they’ve won any industry awards for their work.
Are they a worthy partner and cultural fit?
Working with genuine, responsible and bold people is essential for any successful long-term relationship.
- Speak with their clients to gauge their satisfaction levels. Check they are proactive, organised, on time, reasonable and transparent on costs
- Check their reputation within the industry, ask peers for their opinions.
- Make sure their values align with yours and establish this from the beginning.
- Check they have a meaningful mission that will support you and your goals.
- Evaluate the compatibility of their team with yours – are they passionate and like-minded? Will they have you back on that tight deadline?
Are they financially stable?
Do some quick due-diligence checks to ensure you don’t invest in communication assets you may lose – they’ll hold all your creative working files – think design files, videos, and even microsites. It’s a material risk if your communications provider isn’t financially stable to remain on the journey with you.
Ask for copies of their financial statements/accounts for the last two years, or search Companies House to obtain key information about the company. The key details to focus on are:
- Current and resigned officers – have they got reputable backgrounds?
- Date of incorporation – if they’ve been going for some time with a proven track record, it’s reassuring!
- Filing history – do their latest accounts show good liquidity/net assets? Do they have any charges against them?
- Back the above checks up by looking at their credit rating with agencies like Experian or Moody’s to assess financial health.
Do they deliver exceptional services?
They should be investing and developing products and services to evolve and always aspire to deliver exceptional outcomes.
- Assess their ability to tailor their services to your specific needs. A good provider should offer bespoke solutions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Ask about third-party involvement – some providers outsource to freelancers or consultants, which proves less agile, often reducing consistency and continuity of deliverables. Having all creative services in-house improves collaboration and joined-up outcomes.
- Are they specialists? Large providers often combine multiple services, so communication is just an ‘add-on’ to their main service and not the priority.
- Evaluate the technology they use to deliver their services – they should be investing in the latest software and tools to maximise efficiency and cost.
- If you’re looking for a dedicated microsite or reward hub, ensure they are developing it with suitable coding languages, security and back-ups.
Can they offer you the support you need?
Your needs may grow and develop over time, so ensuring they can scale with you is key.
- Ask about team size, processes and work methodologies.
- Ensure they can scale their project team to provide additional resource if and when needed – extra firepower for those last-minute deadlines!
- Investigate the level of support offered, availability and response times.
- Make sure there are mechanisms in place for ongoing feedback and refinements to the services provided.
Eximia’s extra tips
- Consider starting with a small pilot project to evaluate the provider’s capabilities and approach before committing to a long-term or large project.
- Look for a provider that emphasises continuous improvement and innovation in their services – ask them how they invest in their service.
- And ultimately, do you like them? You’ve got to enjoy the journey and working with nice people make it all the better!
By following these steps, you’ll have the confidence choose a communications provider who will effectively support your goals and enhance employee engagement.
If any of this resonates and you’d like to speak to a provider that can tick all the above, get in touch!
