How two HR executives are communicating with workers ahead of open enrollment
“We communicate at least seven times,” Emburse’s chief people officer says of the company’s strategy ahead of open enrollment.
As HR departments prepare for open enrollment, many pros are thinking about how they can make the most of the period when employees select benefits for the coming year.
Despite rising healthcare costs, nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers plan to enhance their health and well-being benefit offerings in 2024, according to a survey from consulting firm Mercer. But even when HR pros succeed in boosting their organizations’ benefit offerings, communicating those changes to employees can be a challenge. More than one-half of full-time workers (54%) reported there were elements of their benefits package they didn’t understand, a recent survey found.
Two HR executives shared their plans for communicating with employees ahead of open enrollment, as well as evaluating the return on investment of benefits once employees have enrolled in them.
Side-by-side comparison. “What we’ve learned over the last year by listening to our associates is that…benefits aren't easy. And making the right choice for [your] family isn’t easy,” said Lisa Riley, VP of total rewards for JCPenney, during a live event hosted by HR Brew.
To make the open enrollment process a bit less confusing, the retailer launched a microsite where employees can access JCPenney’s 2023 annual enrollment presentation and benefits guide, as well as get started with the process. A pilot version of the site was launched last year, and JCPenney plans to roll out a more robust version this October, Marcy Miranda, a senior manager for the company’s communications team, said via email.
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The microsite also features a tool that allows JCPenney employees to view a side-by-side comparison of medical plans based on their needs. The retailer employs some 50,000 workers. “There’s not any associate that’s the same,” Riley said. With the comparison feature, an employee with children and major medical expenses, for example, could see an example of what a similarly situated worker would pay under different medical plans offered by the company.
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Riley said JCPenney has been working on enhancing its open enrollment communication after seeing “we have benefits that [employees] don’t realize we have.” Her department’s focus is on continuing to keep workers informed about their options, and assisting them in selecting benefits that are right for them, she added.
Over-communicate. Ahead of open enrollment, “we communicate at least seven times, because that’s what it takes for something to actually sink in,” Danielle Tabor, chief people officer for expense management company Emburse, told HR Brew. She said her team takes advantage of communicating about the process at any chance they get, through channels like email, Slack, and virtual coffee chats.
In addition to hosting webinars, Tabor said people operations collaborates with the creative team at Emburse to create visual PDFs that summarize benefit offerings so that “they have all of the information at their fingertips.”
Tabor’s team doesn’t stop thinking about benefits just because open enrollment stops. She said her team is “constantly looking at” how Emburse’s benefits are being leveraged, going through utilization reports, and meeting benefits brokers to review their claims data.
“Benefits is a conversation year-round for us,” Tabor said.
Riley said her team relies not only on utilization reports, but also feedback from employees themselves, to ensure they’re getting the right return-on-investment from benefits.
If a benefit isn’t being utilized, “the voice of the associate helps us understand why,” she said. “Maybe it's not that that's the wrong benefit, but it's how it's designed or how it’s communicated.”
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