The upcoming open enrollment season promises to be one unlike any other. A dramatic shift to a remote workforce, major changes in the way workplaces are run, and the state of the economy (to name a few factors), are all impacting how employees think about and use their benefits. While shifting to virtual enrollment may bring with it some challenges and sticking points, overall it will present a unique opportunity for benefits professionals to redefine the enrollment process and engage employees in a meaningful way.

BenefitsPRO reached out to Sally Prather, employee benefits practice leader with Alera Group to get her insights into what to expect and how brokers are preparing for this year's enrollment season.

Sally Prather is the employee benefits practice leader for Alera Group.

What new digital strategies and tools are you using?

With more employees working remotely—and with so much uncertainty around COVID-19—clients recognize that we need to do things differently, and that technology will need to play a greater role.

While this may be a harder transition for a few of our smaller clients—particularly for mom-and-pop-like cultures, who are still holding paper enrollments—most are fully on board. For them, using digital tools around enrollment won't be new. On the contrary, they've been using them for a few years now, as part of the decision-support and enrollment processes. The only difference this year is that they'll need to rely on them more heavily than before, given that organizations can't hold gatherings or use the office environment to distribute information (e.g., posters, desk-drop brochures, flyers in the break rooms, etc.), since so many employees are working remotely.

With that in mind, we developed our "Open Enrollment Cookbook" to support clients in making this pivot for 2021. It's a semi-custom, turnkey campaign that features the best practices in both enrollment and virtual benefits communications. The campaign itself includes the usual suspects, like a guide, newsletter, postcard, video, and presentation—materials we know work well in meeting all employees somewhere. And virtual includes any delivery method that doesn't require an in-person exchange. Think mail-to-home and online tactics, like Flimp and Brainshark for presentations, Flipping Book for guides, Zoom and GoToWebinar for virtual town halls, and Jellyvision.

We're also training our teams on how to lead virtual meetings so they have the desired impact, because we know that using digital technologies successfully is about more than just functionality. It's also about how well presenters connect with audiences. Online audiences are different than in-person audiences in that they're more easily distracted, and prone to multi-tasking. That's why we need to pay special attention to how we'll engage them, because the stakes are high. The information we give to employees has important implications for their lives. We want to make sure to get it right.

How will you make sure different groups don't fall through the cracks–deskless workers, those with limited tech access, furloughed/sick leave workers?

By doing a thorough assessment of their audiences during the strategic planning process, which we're starting earlier this year as a result of COVID-19. We typically work with our clients to understand their goals and objectives, messaging, and the needs of their various populations ahead of developing communications. For those employees that are harder to reach, we look for how clients speak to them outside of the Open Enrollment period. Usually, people in the company's marketing or human resource departments have already figured that out. If that's the case, we use the systems they've already got in place.

If, however, our clients don't have a system already in place, or if a subset of their population is newly deskless or furloughed as a result of COVID-19, our communications specialists are there to assist. Well-versed in the science of communications, current best practices, benchmarking data and what's working for other clients, they develop a customized solution that makes sense for each particular client. That often includes using mobile-optimized portals and websites, town hall presentations, video, and text messaging, as well as mail-to-home strategies.

For companies that will continue to do in-person meetings, what precautions will be taken/should be taken?

It seems almost inevitable that some employers will want to do in-person meetings, despite the current risks posed by COVID-19. In those cases, we try to encourage them to stay virtual by showing them the advantages.

And there are many: Virtual meetings cut down on the time and expense of travel. They make it easier for spouses (women, in particular, make a lot of the buying decisions around benefits) to participate. They support a two-way dialogue that can be recorded and shared for those who may have missed it—or who want to listen again. They offer presenters the ability to share real-time information, demonstrating enrollment sites and other online tools. They also eliminate the need to coordinate physical meeting space and all that goes with it, which is heavy lift from a safety perspective right now.

There are so many reasons why virtual meetings make sense—in this climate, and frankly, any climate. For those who feel resistant, we work on helping them come to terms with change. Usually, that's the biggest issue.

That said, if we can't get around an in-person meeting, we follow the guidelines from public health experts. That means making sure there are procedures in place that meet all state, local and federal guidelines for cleaning, physical distancing, using masks and hand sanitizer, making sure those in attendance are healthy, etc. In fact, we've put together guidelines for just such an occasion, and would require agreement from all parties in order for us to proceed.

Until we have our arms firmly around how to be safe inside of this pandemic, we're committed to doing what's best for everybody—and in nearly all cases, virtual meetings are what's best.

How will the messaging change?

In terms of approach, not much. After all, messaging should always grab employees' attention by showing them quickly and clearly why they should care about the information at hand.

Communications should always meet employees where they are, offering them clarity around their benefits options, changes for the new plan year, and action steps. In this sense, it will be no different this year than it's been in previous years.

What will be different is the increased emphasis on telehealth, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), and mental health services in general. Some employers are giving these programs more real estate in their enrollment materials, which makes sense considering how quarantining, social distancing, and staying at home has impacted both our ability to see the doctor and our wellbeing overall.

What changes are you seeing employers make to their benefits packages?

We're not really seeing a lot of changes at the moment, although I suspect that will change once we get into the fall enrollment season—especially for clients in industries that are struggling, and may be getting by on government subsidies and carrier credits. Once those things dry up, they'll likely need to look for savings in their benefits programs. Some are already considering whether to drop employer-paid coverages like dental and vision, and move them over to voluntary, as an example. Time will tell how it will ultimately play out.

For now, we're encouraging clients to use any extra time they may have—which can be significant, as a result of not having to travel, commute to the office, or deal with the many interruptions that happen in the workplace—to review their overall benefit packages and make sure they align with their most current benefits philosophies, business goals, and, last but not least, employee expectations.

Benefits play a big role in recruitment and retention efforts. Based on the Alera Group COVID-19 Employer Pulse Survey: Phase 2 conducted in May, we know that nearly 85% plan to bring back furloughed workers within the next three months. We also discovered that of those that have laid off employees, the majority of companies have continued benefits, rather than requiring them to go on COBRA. Given these stats, now's a great time to go through that assessment and make accommodations accordingly for 2021.

What other challenges do you anticipate that will be unique to this enrollment season?

I think the biggest challenge will be helping clients to navigate the change, uncertainty, and lack of control so many may be feeling right about now. It's something we've all struggled with, appropriately, since these are such unprecedented times for which there is no roadmap.

Our goal is to help them refocus on the positive. After all, there is so much opportunity right now. Just as we're being forced to new behaviors and realities, we're also being forced to new perspectives and ideas. And that can lead to new and improved ways of doing things. I am personally eager to see how it all plays out.

My colleagues and I also appreciate being able to redirect the time we'd otherwise be spending traveling to more client-focused activities that support their overall success. That includes investing more time in helping them educate and engage their employees, so people can get the most out of not only the Open Enrollment period, but their employer-sponsored benefits. That's good for everybody.

With that said, there will be clients who'll need more hand-holding than others, and that's not only fine, it's what we do. After all, we wouldn't be in this business if we didn't value our clients, the great relationships we have with them, and the chance to support them any way we can.

I see this enrollment season as going very well. Our teams pride themselves on being able to adapt quickly. And we've not only been adapting, we've been planning. Getting ahead of our clients' needs, brainstorming solutions well before they're feeling any pain, and thinking about how we can exceed their expectations…that's our business. We're on top of it.

Read more:

Instant Insights /

Open enrollment Q&A with Sally Prather: 'The stakes are high'

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