Fortunately, the top practices to drive optimal participation in voluntary benefits are here.
Employees might refuse benefits – mainly voluntary and nontraditional – because they don’t comprehend them and the need they complete, or the enrollment process looks too complex or inconvenient. And low participation in the benefits program is a lose-lose scenario, lowering employee satisfaction, reducing client confidence, and limiting your revenue. Fortunately, the top practices to drive optimal participation in voluntary benefits are here.
Begin Early in the Planning Process
Begin the planning process early to assist gain your client’s endorsement of the communication in the enrollment strategy. Make sure to allow sufficient time to mention several communication touchpoints before, during, and after the voluntary benefits enrollment. Depending on your client’s scope and size, this can differ from several weeks to months.
Utilize Several Methods
Drive optimal participation in voluntary benefits by involving multiple types of personalized communications beginning several weeks before enrollment. Also, recommend your clients to utilize various formats such as video, print, and digital. In addition, they should use numerous communication channels like email, websites, social media, and postal mail to reach diverse and possibly geographically dispersed employees.
Suggest an Active Enrollment
Moreover, an active enrollment strategy for voluntary items may involve attendance at mandatory meetings, requiring a yes/no benefits decision, and positioning voluntary items after core benefit offerings like traditional group and medical products. Overall, you and your clients determine the active enrollment strategies.
Get Personal on Your Communications
Take the time to understand the enrollment needs and possible obstacles your clients and their employees’ experience. When available, utilize employee demographic data to personalize all communications, enrollment forms, and benefits information.
Maintain the Human Touch
Furthermore, drive optimal participation in voluntary benefits by completing an in-person, face-to-face enrollment method. An example can be a group or a one-to-one meeting. As a result, carriers cite better participation and an excellent understanding of the benefits.
If in-person meetings aren’t doable due to employee locations, pandemic concerns, or schedules, virtual meetings can also be effective. The goal is to keep personal interaction in place, allowing employees to ask questions.
Make Enrollment Accessible to Everyone
Encourage your clients to use easy-to-use decision-support tools, calculators, and videos to assist their staff in learning about their benefits. Also, the when, where, and how it’s most convenient. Instead, encourage clients to utilize several methods like online chat capabilities, onsite benefits counselors, or telephonic enrollment support.
Get Your Voluntary, Supplemental, and Health Insurance Policies with the MWE Partnership!
Are you a business looking to provide your employees with essential voluntary benefits? If so, look no further than The MWE Partnership. When you choose The MWE Partnership, you get experienced service and comprehensive voluntary benefit options that will meet all your employees’ needs. With over 17 years of experience, The MWE Partnership is your go-to provider for all your supplemental benefit needs. If you are interested in finding out how The MWE Partnership can help your business, contact us today! We encourage you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest voluntary benefit news!