As the fourth quarter of the calendar year approaches, many people may be thinking about their upcoming holiday plans or officially settling into their children's school year. However, this is also an important time of the year for employers and employees. The last three months of the year typically represent open enrollment, the special window of time when employees are eligible to elect or change their employer-sponsored benefits.
Open enrollment is significant because unless employees experience a life-changing event or change jobs, this is the only time they can edit their benefit selections. While employers are focused on driving more participation with enrollment, employees are more interested in a smooth process that includes various options that best fit their needs and budget.
Read on to learn three tips for employers who want to simplify enrollment for employees.
1) Use multiple types of educational tools.
It's essential for employers to use a variety of channels to communicate to employees about their benefit options. According to the 2023 BEAT Study: Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker by LIMRA, these are the top ten most helpful benefits education resources1:
- In-person one-on-one meeting
- Online (internet, intranet, or benefits portal)
- In-person group meeting
- Mobile app
- In-person benefits fair
- Virtual one-on-one meeting
- Option to speak with someone by phone
- Interactive recommendation tool
- Printed information distributed at work
- Printed information mailed to home
These types of tools demonstrate that employees highly value both digital and human support as well as the ability to review materials in print.
2) Gather feedback from employees before enrollment and communicate early.
Before open enrollment begins, conduct a survey or focus group to uncover knowledge gaps. Then, follow up with action plans to address major concerns and challenges. Post-survey communication can be a part of a larger special marketing campaign to get employees excited about enrollment.
Strategies could include:
- Creating a countdown to enrollment with suggested action steps for employees. Suggestions could encourage reviewing previous plan options, assessing current financial needs and gathering information for dependent changes.
- Integrating leadership and employees into conversations via videos and short testimonials. Leaders can discuss the importance of enrollment while employees can share their personal enrollment and benefit success stories.
- Launching an email campaign that educates employees. Topics can include available resources and how to use them, benefit terminology and what it all means, traditional benefits and non-traditional benefits offered, tips on how employees can make their enrollment experience a success, and any popular questions or concerns that came up during the feedback process.
3) Offer dynamic benefits that resonate with all employees.
There are currently five different generations in the workforce, which means they all have various expectations for benefits that can accommodate where they are in life. Nearly one-third of all employers and 40% of organizations with 1,000 or more workers said that it can be a challenge "meeting the needs of the multigenerational workforce."2
As a result, more employers are realizing the need to provide "a wider variety of benefits options." The solution is a comprehensive approach to offer employees products and programs that support them physically, mentally, financially, and professionally while helping them connect to their community.2
This means offering major health insurance, supplemental benefits, and unique opportunities that empower employees and enhance their well-being. This approach is also an asset for recruiting talent. Examples of non-traditional benefits include caregiving programs, identity theft protection, mental health days, debt management counseling, pet insurance, virtual health care, and more.
Open enrollment usually happens at the end of the year, but the preparation doesn't. Employers have an opportunity to leverage numerous tools, seek and understand their employees' needs, and implement strategies that will educate and inspire their employees to confidently participate in enrollment.
Enrollment Solutions from Allstate Benefits
Allstate Benefits offers a broad portfolio of enrollment solutions with the flexibility to meet every employer's needs. Based on their size and existing technology, employers can select the enrollment channel that's the best fit for them. Whatever the choice, our dedicated team ensures a smooth end-to-end enrollment process. Contact an Allstate Benefits Representative to learn more about the platforms that are available to you.
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