The annual Open Enrollment period is just around the corner. If you’re following an ideal communications timeline, your team is already implementing pre-enrollment plans and finalizing tasks. You’ve got almost everything covered, but is there still room for improvement? There may not be time to squeeze in big projects for this year. However, we have a few quick, easy-to-implement tips to make your open enrollment campaign more effective.
Brand your pre-open enrollment campaign
Develop a brand for your open enrollment period to help increase engagement and awareness. Branding elements can help employees quickly recognize when valuable information is coming from your team regarding their benefits. It also allows you to inject more personality into your communications to make the benefits selection period feel approachable.
There are many simple ways to create a specific visual style to capture more interest. Create a logo and a tagline that fits your company’s brand guidelines but offers a distinct look and feel for any benefits-related communications. Implement visuals, such as infographics, with style elements that align with this brand.
Supercharge your communication plan
Start sending out pre-enrollment communication now if you haven’t already. Teeing up open enrollment season by giving guidance and ideas to your employees engages them early, so they’re ready to go at open enrollment time.
Start with a “Save the Date” message that lets employees know they will receive messages and reminders over the coming months. Remind employees to ensure their personal information is correct and up-to-date. If you have new benefits to introduce, develop targeted messages tailored to employees most likely to use those benefits.
You can strengthen your pre-open enrollment campaign by capturing your employees’ communication preferences. It’s easy to tailor the communication to meet all preferences by offering in-person meetings, webinars, a benefits guide and an enrollment technology platform. Even if you only have the time or resources to implement one of these suggestions, you’re already making a big step towards supercharging your communications and engaging your employees with their benefits.
Meet with your benefits vendors and tech partners
An ideal benefits vendor is ready and willing to support you. Set up meetings with your tech partners or benefit vendors to leverage their insight for your pre-open enrollment planning. Ask if they have any collateral or educational resources that can be shared with your employees. Your benefits partner may also provide greater insight into areas where your employees have needed more coaching or guidance. If a topic comes up frequently in calls and advice chats, you can put together an email or one-sheet guide that covers the topic more in-depth. Or, set up a webinar that touches on the most commonly asked questions.
Not partnered with a benefits administration vendor but ready to explore your options? We offer a single platform for employees to learn more about their benefits to choose and enroll in the right benefits for their needs.
Host a series of webinars
If you have a bit more time, consider hosting a couple of webinars or sessions on specific benefits. Focus on topics your employees frequently ask about, such as major medical and voluntary benefits, and new or changing benefits.
Here are a few other webinar ideas:
- Educate employees on your company’s support tools. Host short demos of the decision support and health care cost transparency tools and answer their questions live.
- Teach employees how to save on healthcare expenses from participating in your wellness program, in-network vs. out-of-network providers, generic prescriptions or HSA contributions.
- Explain your company’s incentives or wellness initiatives and how these can reduce insurance costs.
We can help
Open enrollment is fast approaching, and your HR team has its plate full. By leveraging benefits decision support software, you can increase employee participation and decrease your stress. Benefitfocus Decision Support is a solution offering data-driven guidance, claims data tracking (when available) and cost estimates.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a demo today.