Your benefits are only as good as your employees’ ability to understand them.
We know open enrollment can feel overwhelming, but there are things you can do to reach employees more effectively and make sure they’re prepared to enroll. These communication best practices will help make your message relevant and memorable.
Speak employees’ language.
If employees don’t understand what you’re saying, what’s the point? Make it easier for them to get the message by making your open enrollment communication conversational, avoiding jargon words and spelling out key terms (like HSA, HDHP and COBRA). Or create short videos to explain complex topics, such as copays versus coinsurance, using real-life examples.
Speaking employees’ language also means tailoring your message for specific audiences. For example, when a global engineering company needed to reach employees across multiple regions, PartnerComm developed targeted materials for each group with relevant enrollment instructions and benefits information.
Use personalized tools.
Employees don’t want to wait for the HR service center to open to get answers to their questions. Using benefits journey tools like PartnerComm’s Select Support and interactive chatbots like PartnerComm’s Claire AI tool gives employees 24/7 access to open enrollment and benefits information most relevant to them.
What makes tools like Claire especially powerful is their ability to personalize answers based on who is asking. Claire can tailor responses based on an employee’s role, location, plan enrollment or coverage details so a salaried employee in Texas and an hourly employee in Ohio get answers that speak to their specific needs. No more finding the right answer only to realize it doesn’t apply.
Let employees share their stories.
Employees love to hear coworker stories because they are real and relatable. So, have employees share how a benefit helped them and their family when it mattered most. This helps employees see themselves using the benefits and prepares them to make smart enrollment decisions.
Keep the momentum going by collecting employee stories throughout the year, such as how their health plan helped them through a challenging time or how they made the most of their HSA. Then put those stories to work in a short video series or a social post that keeps benefits top of mind year-round.
Enlist the support of managers.
When employees have questions, they usually turn to their manager first for answers, especially deskless employees.
While managers don’t need to know every plan detail, they can point employees in the right direction. You can help by providing managers with a toolkit or one-pager covering key open enrollment dates and other helpful details.
This approach helped a manufacturing client reach a largely deskless workforce with limited access to a computer or email. Enrollment participation improved simply because managers knew what to say and where to send people.
Talk about benefits year-round.
When open enrollment season is over, your job isn’t done. Stay connected with employees year-round by updating your benefits hub with reminders on how to get the most out of their coverage.
Also, use enrollment data and employee pulse surveys to find ways to improve open enrollment and benefits communication going forward. You can also fold a few benefit questions into your internal communication team’s next survey.
PartnerComm has been helping organizations navigate enrollment season for 30+ years. We’re happy to help you think it through too.
