Roll Out a New Employee Health Benefits Plan

Due to ever increasing premiums, once again you have chosen a new health care provider. The first step to having a plan that is understood by your staff is to have a well-executed rollout. If done successfully, the rollout will ensure that employees are aware of the benefits for which they are eligible, their own potential costs (contributions and co-pays), and the time frames/due dates by which they must make a decision or forfeit participation program in the program. A successful rollout also increases the chances that your employees will appreciate the benefits you are providing to them.

Employers have only this one shot to get it right. A poorly executed open enrollment can translate into an underutilized plan, which is a waste of money and time (searching for new plan options can take literally hundreds of hours). If an employee doesn’t understand how she can benefit, chances are she won’t bother to take advantage of it. On top of that, employees often react to a new plan with the assumption that they’re about to get ripped off: “The boss must have changed this plan so that he can save himself some money.”

The rollout process also provides an opportunity for employers to educate their employees about benefits costs and how much of the burden is being shared by the employer (something often unknown to employees, who generally assume that the employer cost-share is equivalent to their own. For example, if the employee monthly contribution is $100, employees assume that the employer is kicking in only another hundred bucks, as opposed to the hundreds and hundreds of dollars per month typically expended by companies).

In this regard, a customized “menu of benefits” summary that tallies the cash value of all benefits received by that employee in the last year (i.e., employer share of health insurance, tuition reimbursement, etc.) is something that employers may want to consider distributing to staff during the rollout process. Especially if employees are being asked to contribute more, or if the new program is perceived as being less generous, the summary is a good way of refocusing employees’ attention so that the new program is seen as part of a larger landscape, rather than simply as a cutback.

Despite the importance of the rollout, most employers pay little attention to the process, often relegating “open enrollment week” to a folding table in the back of the lunchroom or an e-mail blast “e-linking” staff to FAQs, Q&As, PDFs, etc. Typically, this results in employees’ missing enrollment deadlines (“But I thought I could change my mind any time”) or being otherwise confused about the benefits package (“I think I confused the PPO with the HMO”). This passive approach also gives the employer very little bang for the buck and results in underutilization of services that have already been paid for.

Instead, employers should consider making open enrollment a weeklong “event.”

Incorporate open enrollment into a “Health Week” and have a different “event” each day to promote the employee benefits–related programs being offered. Take a traditionally unpopular topic like insurance and make it fun in order to attract attention and encourage participation in the programs. One of the most important elements in presenting to employees is choosing the right person or people to lead the presentation and answer questions. Whether it is your HR director or a representative from the insurance company, make sure that they really understand the products, choices and how to present the benefits in a way that your staff will understand and appreciate. Asking such questions as “What will you be focusing on in your presentation? How do you plan on ‘selling’ the product to those who are reticent?” can help ensure that you have picked the right speakers before it is too late.

For example, if rolling out a health plan:

1. Make Monday an “FSA & Bagels” breakfast — Misunderstood and considered a “boring” topic, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are probably one of the least utilized benefits, in large part because employers do not do enough to educate employees about the benefits of participating in an FSA (which is a shame, because they help reduce the taxes that both the company and employees pay). Attracting staff to an informal event like a bagel breakfast and making FSA information available over coffee can be a more effective way of educating staff, as opposed to the more traditional approach ( “There will be an FSA presentation in the large conference room at 2 p.m.”), which tends to foster little interest in the program.

2. Tuesday can be “Open Enrollment Lunch & Dinner”— Provide open enrollment sessions (by the broker) during the lunch hour and after work (6 p.m.); it’s important to offer more than one information session in order to ensure that all staff have an opportunity to attend. Serve pizza (with skim milk cheese as part of Health Week!) to encourage attendance. Distribute the “menu” of benefits during each meal.

3. (Wednesday) “Open Enrollment Juice Bar” (for those who missed the previous day’s open enrollment session). Two sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon (again, you want to be sure to give all staff an opportunity to participate). Provide an assortment of juices.

4. (Thursday) “Health Fair” — Have reps for each benefits program (i.e., medical, dental, vision, Employee Assistance Program if available, etc.) on the premises to answer questions and promote available programs (many plans now offer discounts for fitness clubs, for example; this is a good forum to present this kind of information to staff).

5. (Friday) “Open Enrollment/Health Week Q&A” — Offer two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, where a company representative can answer any questions and copies of all information that has been distributed during the week can be provided. Serve protein shakes as part of the theme!

You already have made a big investment in providing the benefits to your employers. Go the extra step to make sure that the benefits are understood, appreciated and used.