At this time of the year, my boss, Scott Ault, often says “it's all about football.” But in the voluntary business, we're in the height of enrollment season. And these days enrollment is all about online enrollment platforms, yet it's also about access to employees. Exactly what is access to employees when online enrollment platforms are used?
I recently attended an industry meeting where this was the topic of a great deal of discussion. The observation was made that brokers like online enrollment because it gives employers what they want, which is less intrusive enrollment with only limited on-site meetings, if any. While that might be the case, this doesn't mean there is no connection with employees. Nor does it mean the broker and insurance company can be passive about enrollment connections with employees on the theory that employees will go to the system and enroll. It simply means the connection centers around e-commerce concepts, and e-commerce can only work if employees pay attention.
These concepts include using multiple ways to connect employees with their financial security needs, their risk of significant financial loss, and the answers to these needs provided by the voluntary products being offered. Techniques include:
Employer webpage links to need-finding tools
Video messages on employer intranets
Email communications
Brainshark messages
Interactive modules inside the enrollment system that provide enrollment-related direction (“studies show that many workers like you purchase…”)
Text reminders and call center support during open enrollment periods
Chat rooms or blogs where employees can discuss options
Webinars for employees, scheduled so some are available in evenings for spouse attendance
Of course, group meetings and print media options can also be used. However, keep in mind they are more costly than system enrollments, and ultimately someone has to pay this expense.
In essence, off-location enrollment centered around e-business marketing can succeed, but these techniques need to be sold to the employer and negotiated just as carefully as traditional on-site enrollment access.
System-based enrollment works well when the broker negotiates proactive connections with employees, using some or all of the techniques listed above as well as one more: employer cooperation. This includes messages from the top that enrollment is important and valuable as well as messages from supervisors and union leaders (if applicable) that the enrollment system should be used. Messages delivered directly to these influencers are a key part of this.
Finally, one of my pet peeves is the perception that only Silicon Valley cases or white-collar businesses are good prospects for online enrollment. Our most successful online case this year, which wasn't a core benefit enrollment (voluntary only), was a group of gas-and-go-type retail outlets with several hundred eligible employees in dozens of locations. Why did it work so well? Because there was great employer cooperation and the employees were familiar with computer use and messaging.
So is it all about football? In football, success is built via building a game plan, executing the plan through teamwork, coordination of all the elements in a play, and adjusting appropriately as the game progresses. In building enrollment campaign success, we build a plan, execute it, coordinate all elements, and adjust as required—no matter how enrollment is conducted. It turns out success has very similar building blocks in both football and enrollment.
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