5 ways to ramp up benefits communication beyond open enrollment

Most employees would admit their main focus when making important benefit decisions during open enrollment is centered on selecting offerings such as medical, life or retirement. While understandable, it usually leaves them spending little time reviewing their choices for other important benefits – and with possibly less understanding of the value they can deliver. 

When you consider that more than one-third of employees report not fully understanding any of the employee benefits they’ve enrolled in, there’s clearly an opportunity to ramp up awareness, communication and education to help employees choose the benefits best suited to their individual needs. 

It all starts with creating awareness that the benefit is available to employees. Then, employers must tap into the communication channels that most effectively reach different segments of the employee population, many of whom are working virtually. And the ultimate goal is to educate the workforce on how the benefit works – and the ways it will add value to employees’ lives. 

5 key tactics to boost benefit communication

As you work with clients and look for ways to ramp up benefit communication – and employee buy-in– keep these five key communication tips in mind:  

Don’t wait until open enrollment. Encourage clients to communicate often and preferably year-round. When you consider that companies offer roughly 10-12 main benefits, and that many employees probably spend less time making benefit decisions than they do purchasing a cell phone or planning a vacation, you’ve got a real limited timeframe during open enrollment to inform them about benefits. 

Clients can expand that window of opportunity by talking to employees throughout the year about what’s available to them, so they have several chances to learn more about their benefits and ask questions. Build that awareness by communicating on a consistent basis and reiterating the value of their benefits. The goal is that by the time the employee reaches the “moment of impact” when they’re in the benefit portal or site, they’ll feel informed and confident about their selections. 

Give employers something to work with. Since employers have so much on their plates, the key is to make it incredibly easy for them to share benefit information with their employees. For example, at ARAG, we’ve created a year-round calendar that provides clients and brokers with “plug and play” monthly content such as articles about everyday legal issues; content can be posted on their intranet or delivered through a series of informational emails their employees can sign up for. That is another value-add you can deliver to clients, as well as supplemental information you can use to learn more about the benefits. 

Keep it real. Furthermore, make sure the topics included in the content calendar contain real-world examples that will resonate with employees. Employees don’t want to know so much about the coverage a benefit offers, but really how it solves their day-to-day problems. For example, when someone is wondering if they should sign up for pet insurance, what they’re really looking for is a way to deal with escalating vet bills for a puppy they just adopted. You probably won’t hear an employee lament, “I could really use a legal insurance plan right now.” But what they might say is, “I’m going through a divorce and could really use some legal counsel.” Or, “I’m thinking of filing bankruptcy and need to understand the pros and cons.” We’ve seen great success with providing the calendar content, as we’ve done the heavy lifting to curate content we know will resonate with employees, covering pertinent and timely topics like adoption and estate planning. 

Consider all communication channels. A generationally diverse audience has diverse communications preferences. Our research indicates that the most common communication channels used by clients include a benefit booklet, employee meetings/benefit fairs, emails, and intranet articles. While these are certainly effective vehicles, consider other ways employees are not only getting their information, but how they’re talking about benefits with each other within the company. For example: 

• One client I work with is using a Slack channel to not just push information out on benefits, but also to generate opportunities to engage with employees and react to their feedback. 
• Working with this employer, I’ve also discovered the internal messaging power that employee resource groups (ERGs) have. These can include groups focused on PRIDE/Transgender or DE&I issues, veterans, employees with disabilities, caregivers, etc. The intent of ERGs is to enable employees to talk about their situation with other employees experiencing similar things. 

They have a strong voice, are sharing their stories and promoting their initiatives. Keep these groups in mind as a conduit of information which could provide more insights about benefits that align with supporting their respective communities. For example, family-focused ERGs are geared toward making sure employees and their loved ones are prepared for the unexpected. 

• Consider the potential of using QR codes, which are especially easy to use to help point employees directly to the information they need, such as a website or other informational resources housed online, like PDFs, infographics or flyers.  

Show how benefits work together. When you present employees with all the benefits available to them, it may start to feel like a laundry list – and an unrelated, even overwhelming set of choices to make. But the more you pair benefits together, the more it can help employees address an overarching theme or resolve a particular issue they face. 

Take, for example, an employee who is caring for an aging parent. Caregiving needs stretch across a whole gamut of issues – medical, financial and legal – not to mention the mental health needs that wear on the employee as a caregiver. There are several benefits, working in concert and complementing each other, that an employee could use to help protect them and their families. If you can help employees see the connection between these benefits, they can better envision the advantages – and frankly, the relief of having a more holistic benefits package. 

The communication process takes a lot of legwork, as it really starts before employers take their message to their employees. It takes you selling the value of benefits to your clients, so they understand how the benefit works, and they, in turn, communicate that value to their employees. As employees’ understanding rises, so will appreciation for the respective plan as well as participation. And with more employees enrolled in the plan and successfully utilizing the benefits, it reaffirms your role as the trusted expert who recommended the benefit strategy – and offered the employee communication tactics – needed to carry it out.

Brian Billings is a long-time employee benefits and client relations veteran with vast knowledge of online enrollment applications. As Director of Client Management at ARAG, he oversees a team of national and regional client managers responsible for plan implementation, ongoing administration and relationship building