Now more than ever, employees are looking to their employers for guidance on navigating their available benefits. Employees are likely paying more attention this year as they navigate record-high inflation and work to maximize every hard-earned dollar.
During the 2023 open enrollment season, employers should be poised to provide their employees with resources and tools they can use to better understand and act with more confidence when making benefits decisions.
Consider these five tips to enhance communication about benefits:
- Start early.
Get the word out early about benefits offerings so employees have ample time to understand their benefits, consult with family members and determine their needs for the following year. - Develop key messaging.
Key messaging may include a focus on new or updated benefits offerings and FAQs to address common concerns quickly. - Keep it simple.
Employees don’t need to know everything, so employers should highlight necessary information about the benefit to help them decide if they need it. Links or attachments could explore the benefits further and offer the fine print. - Avoid jargon.
Avoiding HR or benefits-related jargon is best to help make benefits easier to understand. Many benefits are acronyms, so employers should help decode and explain what these mean. - Personalize communication.
A personalized approach will depend on the workforce and their working environments. For example, open enrollment methods and communication could look different for remote, on-site and nonwired employees.
Summary
Educating and informing employees about their benefits options is an important part of open enrollment. Contact us today for more information on open enrollment.