Last-minute Open Enrollment Considerations

Posted December 21, 2022

As open enrollment periods approach for 2023 benefits, there’s still time to address employees’ questions and inform them of their options in meaningful ways. Doing so will help them get the most from their benefits, which are especially valuable as employees navigate record-high inflation and work to maximize every hard-earned dollar.

This article outlines a few last-minute strategies for maximizing open enrollment for your employees.

Keep the Communications Coming

If you haven’t already, be sure that all employees know that open enrollment is approaching. This is one of the most important times of the year, and it’s even more important post-COVID-19 pandemic. Between rising inflation, potential family job losses, and COVID-19 or long COVID-19 battles, employees may be struggling to stay afloat. Your communications should reflect that. More specifically, they should detail action items for employees prior to enrollment.

Open enrollment is a time for adjusting benefits based on significant life events, such as a need for increased medical coverage. This year especially, many workers are looking for help understanding which benefits will be most advantageous for their retirement, emergency savings and health care expenses.

With this in mind, your communications should touch on:

• The importance of considering lifestyle changes and the potential need for additional coverage
• The different plan options available
• Any voluntary benefits that may help amid economic uncertainty

Don’t be afraid to bring up other topics that may be affecting employees, like their workloads or mental health. In fact, employees should be encouraged to reach out about those types of issues.

Assign a Point Person

Employees will almost certainly have questions about their open enrollment, especially if it’s happening virtually this year. As such, you should have a designated person tasked with answering all employee questions. Their contact information should be provided in all employee enrollment communications.

Change Up the Medium

People retain information differently, so email communications aren’t always sufficient for conveying a message. Instead, consider diversifying your approaches. Sending an email alongside a video or PDF flyer can be more effective. If time allows, consider sending mailers to employees as well.

Going further, hosting a virtual enrollment webinar could help employee retention even more than individual messages. This would be a time when employees learn about available plan options and notable changes, and ask questions to the moderator.

Summary

Although open enrollment is looming, you still have time to help employees maximize their benefits. Speak with Horst Insurance for more open enrollment strategies, guidance and employee deliverables.