Current Trends in Open Enrollment Communications

As the workplace landscape continues to shift and transform, AssuredPartners continues to adjust its approach to engaging with employees about their benefits.

Recent trends in remote or hybrid working, shortened attention spans, and navigating a multigenerational workforce has created several hurdles for employers when deciding how best to empower and inform employees. Effective benefits communication during open enrollment and throughout the year is not just important—it’s essential. By providing clear, concise information, employers give employees the ability to make educated decisions and extract maximum value from their benefits. Here are some current trends and innovative tools that HR teams can leverage to elevate the enrollment experience.

Year-Round Benefits Communication

While open enrollment is a specific period, employers may achieve the highest rate of engagement when they implement year-round benefits communication. Employers may consider strategies specific to your organization's unique demographic and drive action to meet their specific needs. Be sure to measure the impact year-over-year by reviewing year-over-year utilization and enrollment data.

Multichannel Distribution

Achieve a greater impact by diversifying your communication channels. Instead of relying solely on emails, consider implementing a multichannel approach while paying attention to your employees’ specific demographics and their preferred method of receiving information. This could include mailing postcards or letters to employee homes, posters or flyers in the workplace, a monthly outreach to keep employees thinking about benefits, or something unique to your business. Stagger delivery timelines alongside your carriers’ approaches to maximize results.

Digital Solutions

The shift toward digital communication tools has accelerated. In an effort to effectively communicate with your employees, consider leveraging educational videos, digital graphics to improve email communications, interactive HTML5 flipbooks, and QR codes within materials to make your information more accessible than ever before. These tools provide a more visually appealing experience along with the ability to measure number of views, clicks, and scans.

High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs)

As HDHPs become more common, consider evolving your library of content to include easy-to-understand language that explains plans costs and benefits. Clear communication about deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, and health savings accounts (HSAs) helps employees make informed decisions.

Health Benefit Terms Glossary

Providing employees with a glossary of health benefit terms helps to demystify complex insurance and healthcare terminology. In addition to a glossary, consider adding a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section to enhance employees’ understanding of benefits offerings and address common questions received by HR teams during annual open enrollment.