It’s that time of the year again when HR professionals ensure employees are aware of their benefits and actively engage in the process: open enrollment.
However, it’s also a stressful period for HR teams. One might think that all it takes is a basic email to explain open enrollment, but the process of preparing open enrollment communications for employees is far from simple. In most cases, HR teams must craft an effective communication strategy, especially since there is so much that needs to be communicated for each employee. Each employee needs to know all of the health care options available to them, how to navigate those options, and how to compare the options based on their unique needs and situation.
The Healthee app actually does all of this for employees automatically, within a user-friendly interface, but this blog post will help you with open enrollment communications even if you do not have a solution such as Healthee.
In this article, we’ll share some practical tips to increase your chances of getting your open enrollment emails opened and made use of! Plus, we’ll provide you with a sample open enrollment communication template to employees that will make your messaging shine and help demystify the open enrollment process for employees.
As important as it is to announce open enrollment to employees, talking about health benefits can be overwhelming and complicated for them. Each age group, role, and industry receives information differently, so you must compete for their time and attention, convincing them to read an email unrelated to their workflow.
With all these needs in mind, developing a strategy for effective benefits communication to your employees is crucial.
Let’s examine some ways to devise a successful email strategy for open enrollment:
According to Constant Contact, employee email open rates in 2023 are extremely low, at only 18.34% to 44.11%, depending on the industry. Therefore, it is crucial to continuously measure the effectiveness of your strategy by tracking email open rates, click-through rates, and enrollment numbers. Once this is done, make adjustments to increase these rates.
Tools like Healthee have a dashboard allowing you to see how employees are using the app to track their health benefits and help you serve them better. You can use this data to make changes for future open enrollment periods, or even—if you’re able to pivot quickly—the current open enrollment period.
Sending an email to a busy employee can be like dropping a needle in a haystack—so, unless your email stands out, it will likely get left unread or moved directly to the trash.
Here are some best practices so you can successfully increase email open rates:
Using generic subjects like “Open Enrollment Information” won’t cut it anymore. Opt for something more engaging and encourage employees to open the email.
The goal is to help employees understand their benefits options regardless of familiarity with how health insurance works or HR terminology. Use plain language that anyone can understand, and if you must use technical terms, provide clear explanations or links to resources where employees can learn more if they want to.
According to Staffbase, some research suggests that most internal emails are sent during the middle of the week or on Wednesdays between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.—similar to the best times for sending marketing emails.
However, these times are not guaranteed to increase email open rates because the times when employees are most likely to open their emails depend on the industry. A good rule of thumb is to review your internal email data so you can check trends and spikes for a specific time of day and do a test run to see if it will work.
Your email should contain a step-by-step guide for signing up for the actual enrollment. Simplify the process so employees are encouraged to work on finalizing their chosen benefits.
Offer additional references such as videos, articles, or infographics that can further explain the process for extra support. If they need more clarification, you can also provide schedules for a one-on-one session.
To help you get started, here is a sample email template that helps demystify open enrollment for employees like magic.
Subject Line: Considering Changing Your Health Plan? The Time Is Now. Here’s How.
Dear ____,
It’s open enrollment at [company name]!
Open enrollment is the time of year when you get to make changes to your health plans. Whether you’re looking to make adjustments to your current plans, or find a new one that better suits your needs, now is the time to do so!
How open enrollment works:The first step is to learn what your options are. Then, compare medical, dental, and vision plans so that you can make the best decision for your health — and wallet.
And we’re here to help you.
You have plenty of benefits to choose from! We know it can be overwhelming, so we’ve summarized your options, along with links to each of the benefits to guide you:
Plan 1 (Link)
Plan 2 (Link)
Plan 3 (Link)
Remember, I’m happy to answer any questions and my calendar is availabe for you to reserve a time to discuss, but if you’d like a general overview of open enrollment, I invite you to [watch this video / join my upcoming seminar about it].
Best regards, [Signature]
Pro tip: You may also want to include specific benefits they can use remotely or any related memberships they can get outside the office here.
When sending an open enrollment communication, it’s not just about emails and documents. Timely reminders and clear employee communications ensure employees understand their employee benefits and make informed choices.
Leveraging technology like the Healthee app simplifies employee decision-making while freeing HR leaders’ time. Powered by AI, Healthee’s provides employees with personalized responses on treatment and coverage options so HR leaders can focus on meeting other important targets to achieve company success.
Healthee also empowers employees to manage their benefits by guiding them through personalized open enrollment answers and educational resources, giving them a better experience with the process.
Make clear and concise open enrollment communication with Healthee! Request a demo to learn more.
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