3 minute read
Open enrollment is a key time for both employers and employees. It's when employees choose their benefits and employers engage effectively with their teams. As organizations adjust to new workforce needs and regulations in 2025, effective communication during open enrollment is more crucial than ever.
Why Communication Matters
Clear communication during open enrollment is essential to prevent missed deadlines and uninformed decisions. Simplified information boosts participation, ensuring employees feel valued and stay engaged with their benefits.
Before Open Enrollment
Clear communication about benefits is crucial during open enrollment. Here are some tips to ensure employees are informed about their benefits options:
- Review previous communications. Reviewing past open enrollment communications helps employers refine their current strategy by identifying successes and areas for improvement.
- Develop key messaging. After solidifying benefits options, employers need to plan their communication strategies. The first step is figuring out key messaging, focusing on new or updated benefits offerings, and developing FAQs to address common concerns quickly.
- Customize communication. Effective communication thrives when it's customized for diverse employee groups. Consider the unique needs of different age brackets, life stages, and demographic profiles within your workforce.
- Gather resources. Ensure all resources like printed materials, digital platforms, and support staff are prepared before open enrollment starts.
During Open Enrollment
Effective communication from employers is key when it comes to helping employees navigate their benefits options. By providing clear guidance, organizations empower their teams to make well-informed decisions that align with their individual needs. Use these tactics to engage employees during this period:
- Vary communication channels. Utilize diverse channels like email, print, webinars, and meetings to effectively engage employees.
- Prioritize clear and concise messaging. Keep open enrollment messaging clear and jargon-free. Simplify benefits by explaining acronyms to employees.
- Make it digestible. Capture employees' attention quickly by delivering key messages in bite-sized videos and emails. Avoid overwhelming them with traditional lengthy booklets. Clear, concise communication helps employees focus and act.
- Use real-world examples. Employers should illustrate benefits with real-life scenarios to make them relatable. Instead of just stating telemedicine is available 24/7, show how it provides crucial health care answers during urgent times, like a child's night-time fever. This emphasizes the importance of comprehensive coverage, given the high likelihood of needing health care benefits in the coming year.
- Personalize communication. A personalized approach can help employers engage employees with open enrollment information. Communications could address employees by name and highlight benefits relevant to their circumstances.
- Remain available. Ensure employees can ask questions during open enrollment through webinars, town halls, Q&A sessions, or HR office hours.
After Open Enrollment
Open enrollment is key for highlighting benefits, but year-round communication is essential. Keep educating employees to maximize their benefits with these post-enrollment strategies:
- Follow up. Even after the enrollment period ends, employers should keep employees informed about their choices, deadlines, and any important benefit updates.
- Collect feedback. Collect employee feedback on the open enrollment process through surveys or focus groups to identify successes and areas for improvement.
- Evaluate and optimize. Evaluate open enrollment results to ensure goals were met and adjust next year's strategy accordingly.
- Provide ongoing education. Employers should regularly update employees about available benefits and resources, not just during open enrollment.
Summary
Effective open enrollment communication is important for employee well-being and satisfaction. By planning and tailoring messages, employers can maximize their 2025 open enrollment success. This approach helps employees make informed decisions and enhances their connection to the organization, resulting in a more engaged workforce. Download the bulletin for more details.