Winning with wellbeing during open enrollment

The past two years reshaped today’s workforce. COVID and its impact have resulted in the “Great Resignation,” the “Great Regret” and now recession fears are also weighing in the back of workers’ minds. At the same time, a new generation of workers (Gen Z) have entered the workplace and bring with them new expectations focused on broader wellbeing including greater workplace flexibility, a technology-enabled work experience, and an emphasis on work/life balance. In the 2022 International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study, we found all employees surveyed have similar expectations:

• 54% of workers would not consider a job that provides less flexibility than they have today
• Only 54% of workers consider their technology at work to match up with technology experiences outside work and 39% of workers are frustrated with work technology
• 55% of employees say they need to improve work/life balance and 50% believe wellbeing benefits make companies more attractive

More broadly, employees are now looking at the entire employee experience as “benefits,” not just insurance or retirement plans. For example, the same study finds 74% would value mental health support, 70% would value personalized health management and 74% would value financial wellbeing recommendations.

However, affordability remains a challenge for employers and employees alike. Employers are considering new strategies to manage the cost of health coverage including new health plan designs that pair low deductibles with concierge support to find the right treatment at in-network providers, local vs. national plans and health navigation solutions. Many are adding voluntary benefits to fill the gaps in coverage including critical illness, hospital indemnity and personal accident insurance. Others are funding Lifestyle Accounts that allow employees to purchase products and services that meet their wellbeing goals (e.g., fitness memberships, charitable contributions, debt reduction).

Employers offer a broad range of employer-sponsored HR and benefits programs with the goal of improving health and wellbeing. Open enrollment provides a great opportunity to help employees optimize their benefits, engage in the right programs and start on the path to better wellbeing.

Following are three tips for a successful open enrollment that carries throughout the year.

Show them the value

While employees are viewing the entire employee experience as benefits, a majority are not aware of everything their employers are offering. Our survey finds that 53% of employees have a good understanding of their total rewards and that lack of understanding resulted in only 27% feeling their total rewards meet their/their families’ needs. When employers communicated about total rewards, 86% of employees felt encouraged to take advantage of what’s available.

As you build your communication strategy for open enrollment, consider framing it through the lens of total rewards to show employees the full value. Start by reviewing your benefits and HR programs to assess what you have and how they will meet employee needs. Some should get top billing during open enrollment, like the medical plan or medical supplement plans. Others are more important to highlight as employees use benefits throughout the year. These include telehealth, mental health benefits and financial wellbeing support, and they may be provided by your medical plan, EAP, or a specialty provider. Shifting to a year-round communication strategy allows you to focus on what’s most important to employees at that point in time and employees are more likely to act on short, targeted, timely communications.

Take full advantage of all your current communication vehicles and consider some new ones to help you communicate throughout the year. Nearly 60% of employees are interested in personalized health messages. Personalization is what employees experience in their everyday lives… automatic prescription refill reminders, turn-by-turn driving instructions from their navigation apps and “just for you” suggestions from streaming services when searching for TV shows or movies. So, think about ways you can create a more personal experience for employees. Simple approaches include sharing examples of “people like me” or employee testimonials. You may also be able to leverage the messaging capabilities of your current HR system, benefits administrator, health plan or wellness vendor to personalize the communications and reach employees regularly throughout the year.

Help them optimize

Open enrollment provides an opportunity for employees to do an annual “benefits checkup.” Yet even the most benefits savvy employees struggle to see the value in all the available benefits and programs. They need help optimizing their coverage during open enrollment and using their benefits throughout the year. A combination of high tech and high touch support may be required to meet the needs of all employees.

More than 75% of employees in the survey value digital tools designed to help them make benefit decisions. These included provider search tools, plan comparisons, and total plan cost modelers. Nearly 80% value guided enrollment experiences that recommend the health plan (including HSA or FSA contribution) and voluntary benefits that meet the needs of themselves and their families.

Increasingly, employers are offering benefits counseling services which provide one-on-one guidance to employees at open enrollment. During scheduled appointments, counselors spend time understanding employee and family needs, educating employees on the breadth of benefits, providing recommendations and enrolling employees in coverage. These counseling services may also be available to new hires as part of the onboarding process or when welcoming groups of employees due to M&A activity.

Amplify the impact

The end of open enrollment is just the beginning of ongoing communication. Start with a focus on the most important post enrollment actions:

• Educate employees on key plan provisions to help them plan wisely and answer questions such as: what the deductible is, which preventive care services are covered with no deductible, availability of mail order for refilling maintenance medications
• Encourage use of provider search tools or expert support to select a primary care doctor, pediatrician, or specialist
• Promote participation in wellbeing programs to earn incentives and improve total wellbeing
• Target outreach to individuals who could benefit from chronic care management programs; for example: diabetes management, digital MSK or hypertension support

Continue targeted, personalized communications throughout the year to keep employees engaged in all your HR and benefits programs.

Related: Leveraging benefits communication to improve employee satisfaction

It’s not too late to make this open enrollment a success and help your employees understand how their benefits can serve as a core pillar of the entire employee experience. Broaden your communication strategy to incorporate total rewards to give employees a full picture of pay and benefits. Provide tools and expert support to help employees optimize their core and voluntary benefits to meet their needs and those of their family members. Deliver targeted, personalized messages after enrollment and throughout the year to help employees use benefits wisely and actively engage in programs to improve their wellbeing.

Karen Frost and Colleen Pappas, Alight Health Solutions Leaders