3 Ways to Improve Enrollment
with a Year-Round Approach

For most employees, open enrollment typically runs from early November into December each year. But for employers and HR professionals, the full benefits enrollment process is a year-round endeavor—if it's done thoroughly with employees in mind.

By approaching benefits enrollment as a year-round endeavor, companies can help their employees feel better informed and prepared to navigate life's challenges, knowing they have benefit options to meet those challenges.

This approach can also help companies to provide better products, increase employee understanding of those products, and perhaps even boost participation.

Here are some smart ways that employers can use non-open enrollment months to improve the employee experience.

1. Reevaluate benefit offerings

In the non-open enrollment months, employers have plenty of ways to prepare. A great start would be to conduct an employee engagement survey, which can be used to pinpoint employee satisfaction with current benefits and identify new benefits that might be added to a company's portfolio.

In addition to major health insurance and supplemental benefits, companies are now adding reproductive health benefits, pet insurance, professional development programs, mental health benefits, financial wellness programs, and more. These offerings help employers improve employee well-being and stand out to job seekers.

2. Build a communications plan

In general, employees don't hear much about benefits between January and October. In fact, only 16% of employees receive benefits communications frequently throughout the year.¹ As a result of infrequent benefits communication, employees spend less time learning about benefits and have a lower understanding of them, which can also affect participation.

You may be wondering, "Who in the world would want more emails about benefits?" Lots of people! Research shows that nearly 70% of employees prefer to receive benefits communications more frequently.¹ This is driven by younger workers, who are less familiar with benefits and want to learn more about them.

According to LIMRA: "Communications outside of the official enrollment window may have a better chance of capturing employees' notice, particularly for benefits that might be relatively unfamiliar, such as disability and supplemental health plans." ¹

3. Adapt to digital enrollment platforms

As our world becomes more digitally automated, so does the process to enroll in health benefits. In fact, 72% of employees enrolled digitally during their most recent open enrollment period—compared to the next most common enrollment method, paper, which only 19% of employees utilized to enroll.

In our post-COVID world, the number of employers shifting to online enrollment will likely continue to increase. This underlines the importance of having an intuitive and reliable enrollment platform for employees that is supported by a knowledgeable team of HR professionals.

Enrollment Technology from Allstate Benefits

Allstate Benefits offers a full spectrum of enrollment options that are designed to be flexible to each employer's needs. Depending on their size, employers can select the Allstate Benefits Choice Connections channel that's the best fit for their organization. Learn more about our enrollment solutions by clicking here or speak to an Allstate Benefits Representative.

Related Articles:

How Supplemental Insurance Helps Employers and Employees

Three Supplemental Benefits That Attract Younger Workers

How Disability Insurance is a Win-Win for Workers and Employers