Benefits managers may think of open enrollment season more as open season for health care hassles. Our health care system is among the most complex in the world, and people just don't have the level of benefits “literacy” it takes to make informed and effective choices.

But by taking a look at the full gamut of the employees' challenges, you stand a better chance of helping them achieve best results from the whole enrollment process. Here are the items that should be in your toolkit to get through this.

1. Keep communications simple, varied and frequent

As employees try to grapple with basic insurance and financial savings principles—premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, investment concepts, and the health care alphabet soup (HSA, PPO, HDHP, HPN, FSA, and of course IRS)—they need a lifeline.

Benefits managers need to step into this void, sending out communications across multiple channels—FAQs, mailers, intranets, email, call center helplines, in-person and online information presentations and Q & A sessions, anything to get the right information to people at the right time in the right way. Infographics and short “whiteboard” videos are great tools for explaining complex concepts and building understanding that leads to confidence in making effective choices.

In tackling the many points of misunderstanding that arise, you can't “over share”.

2. Help people see the financial nitty-gritty

Benefits managers should help employees understand the numbers and implications behind their benefits package and this year's updates.

Encourage employees to “right size” their benefits by targeting them with relevant, bite-sized information at the right time and place. Share clear data about total costs — delineate paycheck deductions and out-of-pocket expenses for each benefit with modeling tools and side-by-side comparisons to widen the picture.

To promote the idea that you are on the same team, ensure that employees understand what percentage of their health care the employer pays. Employees often assume they are paying a far larger share than they are.

3. Help people see how other like them handle the process

People are more and more used to seeing Amazon-like recommendations, so why not extend that to the benefits communication toolkit? Employee personas and scenarios are terrific in helping employees see themselves in the big picture and you can point out what choices employees in similar situations made.

Interactive “BuzzFeed-like quizzes are a fun way to raise awareness of the plans and programs available to support physical, emotional and financial well-being. By answering a dozen or so short questions, employees receive personalized results on the plans and resources that best meet their needs.

Through mobile-optimized portals, benefits managers can provide compare-and-calculate tools and collect aggregated data about employees' interests, needs, participation, and user experience. These portals can also be used to urge employees to plan ahead by registering for telemedicine access, noting after-hours nurse hotline numbers, and identifying the closest in-network urgent care locations.

4. Make continuous improvements for benefits success in 2019 and beyond.

The health care system in the U.S. is problematic, expensive, unpredictable, and overly complex — and set to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Helping employees get smart about how they use health care and choose insurance options will save your company money and boost your competitive advantage. And of course healthy, satisfied and financially stable workers are better for your business and the overall economy.

The year ahead is a prime opportunity for benefits managers to make a real difference in peoples' lives by improving Open Enrollment education and communication. Even if you can't make all the desired changes this year, it's important to measure and evaluate your current programs so you can begin planning for a more engaging, transparent, and streamlined process next year.

More tips for a successful open enrollment:

Betsy Woods Brooks is principal of the engagement practice at Buck, an integrated HR consulting, benefits administration and technology services firm. She has provided guidance to Fortune 500 companies in the entertainment, financial services, publishing, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and utility industries.

Instant Insights /

Seeing the whole person: Make open enrollment work for everyone

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