Healthcare benefits offerings are becoming as complex and diverse as the modern workforce. Perhaps this is part of why Employee Benefit Adviser’s Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark is showing many employers are underprepared for open enrollment in 2018. The plan that works best for a baby boomer looking to retire in the next five years isn’t going to be the same as the plan that works for an employee married with three kids or for a recent graduate living alone and paying down student loan debt. It’s no longer practical to hold meetings where the HR team goes through open enrollment options and takes questions from the group at large – meetings like that are costly and time consuming. But what are companies to do instead? As HR Dive summarizes the preparation plight, “Planning and designing communication plans [is] employers’ biggest stumbling block.”
Companies need practical and cost-effective communications solutions that allow their employees to go through the benefits options that apply to their specific situations and needs with greater depth and detail. Flimp’s digital postcards offer exactly what employers need to engage and educate employees. Digital postcards allow employees to explore their benefits options on their own terms and provide the resources and tools they need to complete the open enrollment process. And as proven in our 2017 Employee Video Communications Report, digital postcards are improving employee engagement, especially for benefits enrollment and education.
Most digital postcards for open enrollment feature an overview video along with benefits guides, tax-related documents, and forms necessary for enrolling or links to enrollment portals, but more companies are taking advantage of the flexibility that digital postcards offer. Educational videos can be included to explain benefits terms and concepts – for example, the difference between HMO and PPO plans or how FSAs work. Mobile compatibility allows employees to engage with the materials where and when it is convenient for them. If they wish to go home and consult their partners or families before making the decision, the digital postcard and all its resources including the necessary paperwork or enrollment portals goes with them on whatever device they use, whether it’s their smartphone, tablet or laptop.
There are also tools available to help employees compare plan options like our PLANselect decision-support tool, which can be included in digital postcards to assist employees in making informed healthcare decisions.
With the customization and depth of resources available in a digital postcard, employers can take extra steps toward educating their employees. And those extra steps can make a world of difference to employees who want to feel that their company isn’t just throwing information at them but rather cares that they understand and are truly making decisions that are right for them; those extra steps can increase employee engagement and, as a result, lead to greater retention and employee satisfaction.
