How to announce open enrollment
Research shows nearly half of all employees don’t understand their health care benefits.
While the statistic highlights a lack of knowledge, it also points to a major opportunity for HR professionals looking to boost employee morale and increase retention rates.
Staff members confused about what benefits their employer offers aren’t likely to take advantage of them. They may not even know open enrollment for health insurance exists.
When workers understand their options and feel informed to pick the package that best suits their situation, on the other hand, they feel valued and supported. The result is better enrollment rates, higher employee satisfaction, and fewer questions directed at the HR department.
This is why a company’s approach to open enrollment is crucial not only to the success of the program, but also to the overall health of the business.
What is open enrollment?
Open enrollment is a window of time when employees can either sign up for health insurance or adjust their existing plan.
This period of time tends to occur only once per year. Major life events, such as marriage, a new job, or the birth of a child, may trigger a special enrollment period.
Because the open enrollment season is brief, it’s important for HR professionals to make sure everyone in the company knows the relevant benefit options and deadlines. If employees fail to sign up for coverage during the given open enrollment period, they may have to wait until the same time next year to try again.
Struggling with open enrollment? Learn best practices to streamline communications, increase employee understanding, and maximize benefits participation.
Download the guide to uncover 6 data-driven best practices for a more successful open enrollment season.
How to explain open enrollment to employees
Selecting the best health care package can be confusing. Most people, after all, aren’t experts on the topic. They tend to pick what feels best at the time, then forget about it—at least until the next time they have to use their insurance plan.
While basic on the surface, a list of answers addressing frequently asked questions can do wonders for pulling off a successful open enrollment period. Below are five tips for creating an employee-friendly FAQ document.
1. Identify the most common employee questions
Begin by compiling as many employee pain points as you can find.
Search your email for past questions. Scroll through your chat history to spot concerns. Consider running a survey asking colleagues for clarity on what confuses them the most about open enrollment.
When you dig into the data, recurring topics and themes should emerge.
2. Organize questions by type and topic
With this raw material in hand, start crafting answers to the questions. Group them into categories to make the FAQ document easy to navigate.
Some common categories include:
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Benefit types: health insurance, life insurance, retirement plans
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Employee life stages: new hires, young or single professionals, employees with families, near-retirement employees
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Common topics: costs and premiums, key benefit differentiators, eligibility criteria
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Updates: new benefits, changes in existing benefits, what remains unchanged
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Major life events: turning 26, moving to a new state, getting married or divorced
Another common question to address: “What is open enrollment?” You don’t need to provide this information to everyone, of course, but it can be beneficial for new employees or young people still getting familiar with the term.
3. Include real-life scenarios
Bring the FAQs to life with specific scenarios. Concrete problems and hard numbers can help paint a picture of the policy in action.
Let’s say, for instance, you’re describing a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). Rather than simply describing it as a package that provides a lower monthly premium and higher deductible than traditional plans, include a situation like the following:
Taylor, a healthy, single 30-year-old who doesn’t go to the doctor often, chooses an HDHP. It consists of a $2,000 deductible and lower monthly premiums, which helps her save $600 annually. When she incurs a $1,500 bill for an ankle injury, she must pay it out-of-pocket, since she hasn’t met her $2,000 deductible.
4. Use simple, straightforward language to define the terms
Although the health care field is full of jargon and acronyms, it’s best to avoid this language. Instead, use words and phrases people understand. This strategy will increase the likelihood of employees feeling informed during open enrollment season.
When technical wording is necessary, consider including a glossary or linking to one online. Below are some examples of what this might look like:
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Premiums: The amount you pay for your health insurance each month
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Deductible: The amount you pay out-of-pocket for health care before your plan starts to pay
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Copays: A set amount you pay for a covered health care service
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Claim: A request for the insurance company to pay for medical services
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Network: A group of doctors, labs, hospitals, and other health care providers that your plan contracts with at a set payment rate
5. Be comprehensive yet concise
The goal of an FAQ document is to offer high-level answers to common questions. It should be easy to read and digest.
Because health care is complicated and employees tend to have a range of needs and circumstances, however, sometimes more details are required to fully address each person’s concerns. In these cases, don’t hesitate to link to external material.
If a document is long and dense, consider creating a quick summary with key bullet points. This will assist employees as they search for the relevant information.
Understanding benefits enhances satisfaction
Companies benefit from a workforce that feels valued and appreciated. One way for employers to show employees they care is by offering them health care benefits.
The final step in the process—one that often falls short—is making sure workers understand their options and actually participate in selecting a package. Even if someone shows interest initially, it’s easy to get busy, forget, and miss the open enrollment deadline.
In this respect, a well-rounded FAQ document distributed prior to open enrollment can help educate employees and encourage them to sign up.
Open enrollment with PoliteMail
Because open enrollment comes just once per year, the period can be stressful for everyone involved. It doesn’t have to be.
With PoliteMail, HR departments can schedule emails to arrive in inboxes at the ideal time and measure their performance, too. Smart attachments, audience segmentation, tested subject lines, and custom open enrollment email templates can also help supercharge employee engagement.
For more tips on making the most of open enrollment, check out PoliteMail’s playbook of best practices, which includes a checklist every HR professional should review before the benefits season gets underway.
Learn how our internal email software empowers communicators with data-driven insights on employee engagement.
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