Infographic: Open Enrollment Checklist

Facts, Figures & Tips for a Successful Enrollment Process

The following infographic provides an overview of facts, figures and tips for employers to have a successful open enrollment process.

open enrollment

Open Enrollment Checklist – Facts, Figures & Tips for a Successful Enrollment Process

Where Workers Need Benefits Education*

  • Choosing a plan (22%).
  • Choosing where to get care (22%).
  • Researching healthcare costs and why that matters (29%).
  • Reviewing an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and auditing a medical bill for errors (30%)
  • How deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums work and what those costs mean to them (33%)
  • Avoiding surprise medical bills (41%)

*2023 Healthcare Literacy Report by Optavise

Employer Approaches to Enrollment

  1. Passive – Lets employees continue with their previous plans
  2. Active -Requires employees to review previous plans and make changes as needed

EMPLOYERS SHOULD TAKE THE ACTIVE APPROACH

Benefits of active approach

  • Provides a good opportunity to re-evaluate workforce benefits needs
  • Promotes higher employee engagement
  • Ensures employers have up-to-date employee information
  • Builds employee loyalty
  • Improves retention by reinforcing the value of the benefits package
  • Teaches employees about their healthcare options
  • Encourages better voluntary benefit plan participation
  • Helps employees identify and opt out of coverages they no longer need

Engaging Employees in the Benefit Election Process

  • Launch an effective communications campaign
  • Offer one-on-one personal support throughout the enrollment process
  • Make it fun with education programs like Captain Contributor
  • Track every employee to make sure no one gets left behind

Overcoming Employee Inertia

  • Send weekly election deadline reminders
  • Send forceful emails that say “No Election = No Benefits”
  • Contact all employees to verify whether they plan to participate
  • If employees don’t respond, ask manager to intervene

Communicate Effectively and Often

  • Give employees information in small, digestible bites
  • Make sure the information is relevant to them
  • Use short messages to encourage employees to seek out more details
  • Ask managers to intervene with employees who don’t respond.

Target Open Enrollment Messages to Different Segments

AUDIENCESOLUTION
In-office, tech-savvy employeesCreate an open enrollment intranet page with hyperlinks to additional info
Satellite office employeesLivestream your benefits presentations to ensure all offices can participate — archive presentations for those who miss the live streams
Work from home/remote field employeesCommunicate benefits information in easily digestible emails that employees can read anytime, anywhere
Employees with young children or family caregiving responsibilities
Host one-on-one office hours to help with complex family issues

Employee Questions

“What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM) – by Demographic Group

  1. Stress the value of your employee benefits plan.
  2. The message should resonate with specific needs of each group.
  3. The messages should lead employees to their next steps.

Parents with Dependent Children

  • Key concern: Taking care of a growing family
  • WIIFM messages: Consider a Dependent Care FSA to cover child care expenses
  • Preferred communication channels: Email, direct mail, text, social media

Millennials

  • Key concern: Setting up a path to financial success
  • WIIFM messages: Growing savings in a 401(k) and Health Savings Account
  • Preferred communication channels: Text, social media, short videos, intranet

Approaching Retirement

  • Key concern: Having enough savings for post-employment healthcare
  • WIIFM messages: Final push for retirement and healthcare savings
  • Preferred communication channels: Email, direct mail, face-to-face

Are you a benefits administrator? Check out these enrollment season tips.

For 40 years, DataPath has been a pivotal force in the employee benefits, financial services, and insurance industries. The company’s flagship DataPath Summit platform offers an integrated solution for managing CDH, HSA, Well-Being, COBRA, and Billing. Through its partnership with Accelergent Growth Solutions, DataPath also offers expert BPO services, automation, outsourced customer service, and award-winning marketing services.

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