The weather is cooling down, but open enrollment is warming up. Employee health benefits are a must-have for most employers. According to the Board of Labor Statistics, 72% of people in families headed by a full-time, full-year worker have employer-provided health insurance. Business leaders know that employee benefits play a key role in attracting and retaining employees.
The U.S. employee engagement slump continues, which means how you handle open enrollment is more important than ever. A solid open enrollment plan can help you improve your employee engagement. Here are a few tips:
1. Ask employees
Find out what our employees value regarding benefits and their healthcare options. In preparation for open enrollment, consider conducting an employee survey to determine what your employees want. Reaching out and taking the initiative for feedback will provide general knowledge to management, may help you enhance your benefit offerings, and make your employees feel involved in the process.
By reaching out and involving employees, you can accomplish a few things:
- inspire your employees to think about what they value
- engage employees making them feel like they are part of the process
- educate employees before open enrollment
- enhance your benefits offerings
- obtain insights into employee needs
2. Increase Participation
You want the highest open enrollment participation possible because when employees miss the deadline, it creates more administrative work, causes confusion, and reduces productivity.
Open enrollment is complex. We can help you manage the process to avoid misunderstandings and stress. A solid open enrollment communication plan can help streamline the process and boost open enrollment participation.
We help you proactively address the typical obstacles that cause employees to miss the open enrollment deadline:
- Confusing terminology that leads to employees procrastinating: formulary, EOB, voluntary benefits, etc.
- Poor communication about the process: how to enroll, when to enroll, where to enroll
- Limited employee reach: frontline employees may not have company email addresses or desks; they may not even receive participation information
3. Continue the conversation
This may be the most valuable tip I can offer. Once the official enrollment period is complete, keep the conversation going. Touch base with your employees several times throughout the year with information about staying healthy and using their benefits. If you retain your best workers, they will be with you for open enrollment the following year.
Contact PT Business Solutions for your open enrollment needs.
Sources:
- https://www.gallup.com/workplace/391922/employee-engagement-slump-continues.aspx
- https://www.bls.gov/
