When tasked with engaging and educating their employee base about their employee benefits, HR experts often lean into traditional tried-and-true delivery methods. Town halls, quarterly earnings calls and regular department meetings have their rightful place in the strategic communications plan for any organization, but more non-traditional methods that offer low-risk and high reward opportunities shouldn’t be ignored.

Seize the Moment

Most employers operate under a calendar year benefits schedule, which means each fall offers up a key moment in time to deliver valuable messages to employees while you have their full attention.

Annual benefit plan enrollment, also known as open enrollment (OE), provides a renewed focus on physical, mental, and financial well-being for your entire employee population – regardless of whether they sit in a corner office or serve customers hourly.

Whether your company is conducting an active open enrollment where employees need to opt in to selecting healthcare coverage plans even if they have done so in the past or a passive approach when coverage rolls over year-over-year without the employee taking any action, open enrollment offers a tangible moment for key message delivery, particularly with frontline employees.

Communication Builds Connection

If employees only log in to your HRIS or benefits administration system one time a year, it’s most likely during the crucial open enrollment period. That’s because OE delivers highly on the “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM) scale.

This offers an opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and highlight the most important takeaways for your employees. However, even though OE is arguably the single most important time of the year for employees to connect with your HRIS and HR team, engaging hourly team members remains an uphill battle for most employers.

It’s no secret that the most disengaged employees within many organizations are frontline or hourly team members. While this population is furthest from the crucial decision-making process, they are often at the tip of the spear when it comes to execution. They serve as the face of the organization and represent the company to its customers, yet they are often the population the least ‘in the loop’ with strategic business decisions and direction.

This disconnection can result in low morale and high turnover rates if companies don’t prioritize communication and education about mental, physical, and financial wellbeing when the opportunity arises, especially around open enrollment.

As we transition from summer to fall, now is a prime time to kick-off communications with employees at all levels about their benefits. Consider creative ways to engage with employees beyond the usual email reminders, such as:

• Interactive webinars
• Serving up bite-sized content via internal instant messaging channels
• Delivering key messages via text
• Gamifying the process with incentives for completing OE-related tasks such as health screenings
• Offering volunteer opportunities that connect your employee benefits to the importance of overall health and wellbeing

Non-traditional approaches can boost your participation rates and provide new opportunities to activate notoriously tough-to-reach frontline employees.

Maximize Your Open Enrollment

As the employee benefits landscape continues to evolve, the experts at Holmes Murphy are here to help engage your employees with tailored consulting services and plans that address the unique needs of your stakeholders. If you’re looking for assistance with your enrollment support and communication, reach out today and let’s get started!