Thirty minutes. That's about how long it takes to get the oilchanged in your car or grab a quick sandwich on your lunch break.And that might sound like a decent investment of time for thosehumdrum details of daily life. But is it enough time for workers tomake vitally important financial protection decisions that willaffect them and their families for a year or even longer?

Probably not. And yet recent research from Unum shows nearlyhalf of America's workers spend 30 minutes or less reviewing theirbenefits before enrollment. Maybe that's because they're avoidingwhat many perceive to be an unpleasant task: The same study showeda significant number of workers feel stressed (21 percent),confused (22 percent) and anxious (20 percent) when enrolling intheir benefits.

This is bad news for you, your clients and their workers.Employees who aren't engaged in their benefits programs are hurtingthemselves by missing coverage they might need. They're hurtingyour clients who are wasting money on benefits employees don't useor appreciate. And you could be falling short of participationrequirements and reducing your income stream.

The good news is you can do something to change this dynamic.The key is to make the benefits enrollment process — in fact, theentire benefits administration experience — simple, modern andpersonal for your clients and their employees. Here's how.

Help your clients develop a digitalstrategy

Employee benefits are now more complex than ever. Employers facechallenges to offer a competitive benefits package, educateemployees about their options, control costs, meet federalreporting requirements, keep up with employee changes and more.Technology can help with all those tasks, but only if it's easy touse. If not, it becomes another obstacle to overcome. In fact, asignificant number of employers — 1 in 4— say developing a successful benefits technology strategy is a bigchallenge.

Your clients likely need guidance identifying the best benefitstechnology system, but they may not have asked for your help.You're not alone: Nearly 40 percent of employers say they haven't talked to a broker about their benefits technologyneeds. This technology aversion comes in many (mistaken) forms:more than a third think their company isn't large enough, 30percent cite cost and 20 percent doubt it would be easy to use,according to research by LIMRA.

Yet the benefits of going digital are undeniable. A goodbenefits administration system can automate and streamline manytedious, time-consuming benefits functions, from enrollment to ACAtax reporting. The right technology can also improve the employeeexperience and generate better engagement while helping employersbe more productive and efficient.

Helping your clients navigate the crowded, constantly changingbenefits technology landscape doesn't have to be as overwhelming asit might seem. In fact, you don't even have to be an expert inbenefits administration systems to offer this advice. Instead, it'simportant to choose the right benefits partners to work with. Lookfor a benefits partner that can offer different technology options,has relationships with numerous ben admin providers and understandshow to seamlessly integrate them. Ideally, your partner will alsooffer tools to help you and your clients find the right system.

Combine high-tech with high-touch

Technology is essential, but it's not an end in itself. Rather,it's an enabler that makes enrollment and ongoing benefitsadministration easier. After all, you want to spend your time usingyour expertise to counsel clients and their employees, not on dataverification.

Whether you conduct the enrollment yourself, use an enrollmentfirm, or partner with a benefits provider that offers benefitscommunication and enrollment as part of its services, you'll getbetter engagement if employees have the option to meet and talkwith a benefits expert. Look for a partner that can provideexperienced, licensed, knowledgeable benefits counselors with highbusiness quality scores. If your potential partner doesn't trackbusiness quality or is reluctant to share this kind of information,keep looking.

Even if your clients use online tools for the actual enrollment,personal access to experts for questions and advice can drivestronger engagement and participation.

Set up success with education

A successful enrollment starts with an effective benefitscommunication plan. Employees can't value or take advantage oftheir benefits if they don't understand them. Many are also unawareof the gaps in their coverage and the potential financial exposurethey could face in the event of an accident or serious illness.Here's just one example: 1 in 4 of today's 20-year-olds can expect to beout of work for at least a year because of a disablingcondition before they reach the normal retirement age. At the sametime, 71 percent of Americans would find it somewhat or verydifficult to meet their current financial obligations if theirpaycheck was delayed by just one week, according to the AmericanPayroll Association.

Make the education process easier by providing decision-supporttools that help employees explore their needs and options. This isanother area technology can help, with easy, interactive (dare Isay fun?) websites that explain different types of coverage and thelife stages where they're most important. And again, as mentionedearlier, work with a benefits provider that can offer true benefitscounseling, preferably in person or at least by phone. Chat-botsmay have their uses, but helping someone understand why they mightneed accident insurance or which cancer plan to buy isn't one ofthem.

Be sure your clients realize the value of a benefits educationplan that covers the entire benefits package — not just voluntarybenefits you're providing — including their major medical planoptions. Not only will this comprehensive approach better enableemployees to see what's the best fit for their personal needs andwhere they might have gaps in coverage, it'll drive strongerappreciation for the employer's investment in their well-being.

Insist on an active enrollment

Passive enrollments, where employees only need act if they'rechanging their coverage, deliver much poorer results than activeenrollments. Drive stronger participation by asking your clientsfor working conditions that include mandatory attendance atbenefits counseling sessions. In our experience, 7 in 10 employeeswho meet individually with a benefits counselor will end up buyingcoverage — not because benefits enrollers “push” them into it, butbecause they get the opportunity to ask questions and betterunderstand their individual needs and the options available tothem.

Here again, you can tap into technology to make attendance atbenefits counseling sessions easier. Ask your benefits providerabout enrollment scheduling tools that put the individual sessionson employees' calendars.

Create extra value

Considering sweetening the pot even more by offering value-addedprograms or services to encourage employees to attend benefitscounseling sessions. Your benefits partner may be able to providecomplimentary programs such as identity theft protection, discountcards or telemedicine services for employees who attend one-to-onemeetings.

Help your clients take advantage of technology available to maketheir enrollments and ongoing benefits administration as effectiveas possible — but don't stop there. Combine high-tech with ahigh-touch approach that emphasizes benefits communication andpersonal support, and you'll create a benefits program that paysoff all year long.

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Steven Johnson is vice president of EnrollmentSolutions at Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. He canbe reached at 803-678-6599 or [email protected].