Access and engagement keys to a successful open enrollment

Marketing and managing employee benefits differs from most businesses because there are two distinct customers: an employer and their employees. One of the processes that needs to run well in order for each type of customer to derive value is employee enrollment. What is the key element of a successful enrollment campaign? Access to employees. This is the starting place when it comes to engaging employees. Once there is a defined access strategy, we can begin to plan our engagement strategy, and once we get employees engaged, enrollment success follows.

A friend of mine who runs an enrollment/communications company refers to an enrollment campaign without an access/engagement strategy as “fishing without a hook and bait.” The access support an employer provides is the hook, and the engagement plan is built around bait that will engage the attention of employees.

A successful strategy for access to employees begins with educating the employer that a well-planned benefits program results in satisfied employees. Employers need to understand that their access strategy should include working with you to build a campaign around both contact strategy (enabling access) and content (enabling engagement).

An optimal contact strategy combines elements of broad communications and personalization. Broad communications help ensure that all employees have exposure to the employer’s entire portfolio of benefit options. Examples include email or text messages from HR, information in employee publications, and tools on the employer’s intranet. These broadcast messages are important, but probably not very compelling.

The employer’s benefit administration system should include information about each product available, often including needs analysis, benefit calculators and video testimonials. Like HR communications, these enrollment tools are informative, but do not compel employees to action. Moving towards more personalized options, which are more effective in helping employees decide and purchase benefits, many systems include recommendation engines, some quite sophisticated, that help short-circuit employee understanding of benefit options by providing a set of suggested decisions.

But with all this, many employees still prefer the personal touch of being able to meet with a counselor* to discuss options, rather than passively viewing choices or having a computer tell them what’s best for them. Therefore, emphasize to employers that giving employees the option of in person contact is essential for enrollment success, and successful enrollment is essential to a successful employee benefit program.

The employer’s content strategy is built around the creation of a relevant benefit portfolio. Employers of all sizes want to offer benefit options that appeal to their diverse workers. it helps to focus the design of the portfolio by comparing the employer’s benefit array with those of similar businesses, and by reviewing employee demographics. Help the employer find new product opportunities that will be relevant to employees and engage them in learning more. For larger employers, conducting focus group discussions about benefit needs may be appropriate. Emerging benefit categories like financial and mental wellness may help employees, whilealso convincing employers that proactive access to employees is important.

A well-designed access and engagement campaign will motivate employees to enter a decision mindset versus an evaluating mindset. Employees in a decision mindset understand why specific benefits are important to them and their loved ones – and they are moved to action.

Finally, it is vital to remember that decision-making on the part of employees needs to be frictionless. It should be easy for employees to select the benefits they want during enrollment, and the price of these benefits needs to be affordable.

In 2016, I wrote an article called “Take out the earbuds” about overcoming the isolation of employees in the workplace who are shutting out the world (including the voice of their employer). Today, our challenge is magnified. A good percentage of today’s employees are wearing earbuds at home, or they have a dog looking to go outside, or a child coming home from school. We must overcome all these distractions. We must break through their TikTok-molded attention spans and find ways to inspire them to think about their employee benefits. The need for a robust access and engagement strategy has never been more important to help your employer customers build successful employee benefit programs.

* In today’s world “in person” includes both face-to-face sessions and technology enabled sessions – and the sessions may be either individual or in a group setting.

Marty Traynor is an Omaha based consultant in the benefits field.  He may be reached at currentbenefits@gmail.com