Advisors' guide to effective open enrollment communication

Are you helping your clients with their benefits communication strategy?

It’s no secret that an effective communication strategy is among the most important aspects of a successful open enrollment (OE). So much work goes into preparing and rolling out new plans, but that hard work goes to waste if employees don’t understand the value of the plans on offer. Without an effective communication strategy, your clients may risk compromising their ability to attract and retain talent. Not to mention wasting valuable resources…

Why effective benefits communication matters

Employee benefits are complicated and easily misunderstood by employees. Believe it or not, many employers aren’t confident in their employees ability to select best-fit plans. According to a Harvard Business Review study, only 41% of employers believe their employees can select a benefits plan that aligns with their needs. Additionally, only 35% of employers believe their employees are knowledgeable about the quality and cost of health care.

With a proper understanding of their benefits, a workforce will see the value in them. Employees will be able to take full advantage of their benefits, meaning their employers’ investment is working as intended. More than that, employees will feel valued and supported by their employer, leading to higher job satisfaction.

Despite the necessity of communication, there’s a clear disconnect between employers and their teams regarding benefits. Fortunately, advisors can step in and provide effective communication strategies that can bridge the gap. 

The issue with traditional communication methods

Many employers still rely on traditional methods of communication such as jargon-filled pamphlets, seminars, and meetings. These methods of communication aren’t effective because they don’t meet employees where they are. Many people in the workforce don’t understand basic insurance terminology such as premiums, deductibles, and maximum out-of-pocket expenses. Even if employees do understand the basics, they still don’t find many traditional methods of communication to be engaging.

How to help your clients effectively communicate

Here’s a few different strategies that your clients can implement to effectively communicate:

Decision-support tools

Decision support tools exist within best-of-breed ben admin platforms. These specialized tools come in various forms, including side-by-side plan comparison, glossaries to break down benefits terminology, and deep analytical tools to calculate out-of-pocket expenses. 

Some platforms include recommendation engines that can provide personalized support to employees. These tools have employees answer a few questions about their household, personal expenses, and what they need from their benefits. Then, the tool considers these preferences, financial concerns and health concerns to provide a tailored recommendation to the employee. A tool like this ensures that employees don’t under-insure themselves to avoid higher premiums, or over-insure themselves, creating an unnecessary financial burden.

As a trusted advisor, you want to make sure your clients are using benefits platforms with this kind of functionality. These tools not only help employees make informed decisions, but they also reduce the need for human escalation. In other words, HR teams can be hands-off and focus on more strategic initiatives.

Information should be more accessible

You also want to make sure your clients’ benefits platform are mobile-responsive. This means that benefits information is more easily accessible for employees.

In a digital age, we access information from our fingertips — with smartphones and tablets. Benefits information and enrollment should be accessible wherever the internet is available. Multi-device support not only provides a more engaging experience for employees, it also helps them feel more confident about their benefit elections. With a mobile-responsive platform, employees can make critical benefits decisions from the comfort of their own homes, with support from their families.

Benefits call centers

Benefits call centers are another valuable resource that provide personalized support for employees. Benefits call centers are staffed with licensed insurance professionals that are ready to help employees select best-fit benefit plans. Call center professionals provide timely and accurate information to employees, ensuring they fully understand their benefits and how to get the most out of them.

Call center professionals can be reached by phone, of course, as well as via email or a scheduled one-on-one appointment. This provides employees with multiple methods of communication — they can receive information in whichever way is most convenient for them.

Consider connecting your clients to a resource like this so that their employees always have an open line of communication for all things benefits.

Conclusion

Advisors can retain and win BOR status by incorporating benefits communication into your services. You might’ve thought you couldn’t play much of a role in helping your clients improve their communication strategies. But the truth is, benefits platforms and services that you can connect your clients to, are the most effective communication solutions.