"How isenrollment season different from when you started in the business?How have you adapted?"

Opening the window

Consumers are tasked with decision-making responsibility andfooting the bill for increasingly expensive and confusing planchoices. I see employers starting to realize traditional openenrollment is limiting employees in becoming better health careconsumers. Employees are forced to make decisions about theirhealth and well-being, but many don't have the resources or time tomake thoughtful, informed choices in the small enrollmentwindow.

The biggest shift I've seen is employers breaking down theirvoluntary benefits offerings into quarterly roll-outs, offeringsmaller, themed enrollment opportunities throughout the entire yearinstead of overwhelming them once a year. I also see employersapplying emerging technology like AI to proactively identifyimportant moments and guide them towards electing the rightproducts at the right time.

Communicating frequently and in a variety of formats is key toensuring successful engagement. This includes sharing messaging onyour core and voluntary benefits offerings through employees'preferred communication channels to drive improved health literacyand benefit adoption.

Misty Guinn, director of benefits & wellness atBenefitfocus

Help me help you

The open enrollment environment has completely shifted over the12 years since I started in the industry. We think of the one timea year where a broker or carrier attends a meeting to facilitategroup presentations and update employees on changes. For so long,we assumed that by standing in front of a room talking aboutdeductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and networks, that we wereeducating employees. But if we don't understand how people learn,how can we educate them? What does it take to educate and engage anadult—especially on a topic that isn't that interesting?

The idea of a "consumer-driven" health plan curving costs andhelping the end-user was not effective. Each individual is verydifferent; some want a high level understanding of plans andofferings, some want to dive deep into how it will affect them andtheir families, others are looking to understand how to be trueconsumers of health care.

This last one is the most important, because people are nowtrying to understand how they can impact their out-of-pocket costs.Education and engaging employees in many different forms is mosteffective. Leveraging technology, texting, videos, storytelling,one-on-one meetings and examples of how health care can be managedhave all proven to deliver the results employees are looking for.Enrollment is no longer a simple in-and-out annual process.

Open enrollment has turned into a year-round education andengagement process. Employees want to be self-sufficient andunderstand their benefits, but have never been given the propertools and support.

Braden Monaco, partner & healthcare strategist,Blue Horizon Benefits

Balancing act

With open enrollment season upon us, one of the biggestchallenges we increasingly deal with is pairing new technology withtraditional forms of education and engagement. In this currentenvironment, where employers are asking their employees to shoulderthe cost and responsibility of benefits, they are also moving awayfrom 1-on-1 consultations and group meetings in favor ofself-service platforms.

While technology certainly eases the back-end administration,relying on it solely often leaves employees confused and without areal understanding of benefits. Moreover, placing benefits on aself-serve platform with little to no personal education has provento dramatically lower participation in voluntary benefit programs.To the detriment of employees, employers and carriers, lowerparticipation drives inferior pricing, plan design and underwritingscenarios. In addition to a better understanding of voluntaryoptions, traditional benefit consultation allows for greaterappreciation of employer-funded benefits, such as disability, lifeand dental.

That said, technology must be paired with human interaction andit is incumbent on today's advisors to strike the rightbalance.

Kevin Kennedy, benefits consultant, TriBenInsurance

Reactive to proactive

Enrollment season used to seem like an annual reactive eventthat I prepared for in August and September. Now it feels more likepart of an ongoing fluid process. It's part of a proactivefive-year strategy. It also feels a lot less stressful than it usedto.

Rachel Miner, founder, ThriveBenefits

Be prepared

I think the biggest change has been the technology piece. Openenrollment can be streamlined by having a platform where theemployees can do their enrollment. Our clients often ask to conductSkype or webinar enrollment meetings instead of face-to-face so itcan be recorded for future use.

As for advice, the more organized you are and the earlier youstart, the easier it is. The quicker you get the ball out of yourcourt, the quicker it is on the client to make the decision. Also,build in buffer days for clients so you'll always get everythingwell in advance. Make your calendar a friend by schedulingeverything from creating enrollment kits to quotes to submissions.This allows you to have a life even when things get crazy.

We also encourage people to leave the office earlier during openenrollment. I know that sounds crazy, but we all know thatemployees work from home. I'd rather they get home and finish theirday there than not get home until 9 pm. Get your rest, go to thegym and take Airborne!

Susan L Combs, president, Combs &Company

Start small

I have seen incredible changes in what employers are demandingfrom their broker, and thus what is being provided. When I startedfour years ago, our data showed brokers favored benefits bookletsand posters.

While the traditional enrollment guide isn't going away anytimesoon, employers have come to expect a multi-channel approach tocontent, and the best brokers have stayed ahead of this curve. Onesize certainly does not fit all and video, postcards, infographics,animations, emails, texts, guides and more are all part of today'sexpectations.

Our partners now ask for enrollment materials starting as earlyas Q1. With health literacy as low as it is, employers are moreopen to educating employees far in advance of open enrollment.Nothing is off the table when it comes to preparing employees forenrollment. To those who feel like they are falling behind or areintimidated by the idea of a robust content strategy, I'd say startsmall. It takes very little to have a postcard printed foremployers to mail home. The simple act of alerting the wholehousehold to open enrollment dates can go a long way. Find whatworks for each group and then build from there.

Jamie Nelson, team lead, Market Specialists,Zywave

Lost in translation?

I am sure you have heard a great deal about technology and howit can facilitate enrollment and recordkeeping. One downside,however, is Google Translate. While this platform (and similarones) can be extremely helpful in delivering short, clear messages,it cannot be relied upon to educate employees as to how benefitswork.

We've seen a popular and excellent platform use Google Translatefor its Spanish portal, with disastrous results. The tab "Back" wastranslated as "espalda," which in Spanish refers to your anatomicalback. Also, ZIP code was translated as "cremallera," which means"zipper." This kind of carelessness sends employees who don't speakEnglish the message that the plans were not really designed withtheir needs in mind, and that nobody cares about their experience.In addition, longer, more complicated text often gets completelygarbled. So while technology can provide tremendous advantages inthe benefits industry, it's risky to rely on cheap or freesolutions. Be sure to do research and careful QA.

Melissa Burkhart, president, Futuro SólidoUSA

Get with the times

Historically, brokers would wait until Q4 to do renewals,education and strategy sessions with the client and employees. Thetypes of changes that are needed today to mindset, contributions,empowerment, resources, etc. should start outside of OE. If donethis way, OE is devoted to reviewing the changes, continuing themindset education and exploring/demoing resources so that employersand employees can confirm the choices that they have made along theway. Reinforcement and signatures are what OE should look like inthe group market.

Karen Kirpatrick, owner, On Your MarkConsulting

Early bird gets the client

When I started, I awaited the carrier renewal offer and thenbegan marketing options, setting up potential transitions andexecuting open enrollment. Now, I proactively start three to fourmonths prior to the renewal, earlier for larger cases, to discusshow things have been running and clean up the data to begin tomarket the plan. We can then immediately decide whether to fullyunderwrite, move carriers, change benefits, or introduce newprograms.

Clients must realize it is a disservice if a broker begins themarketing process only when the renewal is in-hand. For thoselooking to grow their book, having meetings early and pointing outsome of these broken retention strategies may be a way to get theclient sitting on your side of the table. If the client realizesthat their incumbent is not performing at the same standard, thenyou have built a strong connection with them and effectivelydistanced the other brokerage. While this is a relationship-drivenmarket in many parts of the country, value and diligence shouldstill come first.

Niko J. Caparisos, health and welfare consultant,Prosperity Benefits, LLC

You are not alone!

The biggest difference from when I started 21 years ago is theintegration of technology and the shortened attention span of theemployee population.

We have adapted with ongoing integration of HRIS and ben adminsystems, along with apps during enrollment and throughout the planyear. Strategic planning with the C-suite and HR has increased toensure that the company's message and mission is carried out andthat communication resonates with the culture. We suggest includingvignettes and sketches that are brief and edutaining.

To someone starting out or fearing that they are behind: "Youare not alone!" Draw a line in the sand and get started. We spendtime looking at what other firms are doing and try to identify thebest-in-class enrollment strategies based upon the size of thegroup.

We find that many organizations are way behind the timesthemselves and require some ramp-up time to improve their own openenrollment strategies as they exist today. Laying out a strategicplan to improve upon open enrollment does not have to happen in oneseason, as it should be a living and breathing strategy. Start withthe basics and build a strategy to improve upon the process.

Kareim R. Cade, president & CEO, Great LakesBenefit Group, LLC.

Delegate and automate

The most obvious difference between enrollment season nowcompared to when we started is the volume of work. It's crazyaround here during fourth quarter, so we've automated quite a bitwith technology solutions, which has helped.

Also, we are having much different conversations with clientsand prospects now. The cost of care and delivery has become thefocus, which requires us to review and analyze data instead of justspreadsheeting insurance options. Staying ahead of the curve is achallenge, but we try to do that by identifying the leading costdrivers in a company's claims experience and focusing there.

My advice would be to delegate busy work, leverage technology,and focus on the frequency and severity of claims within the group.That is, if you can get the data.

Josh Butler, president, ButlerBenefits