alex presents: ready, set, plan!
TRANSCRIPT
By David Daskal Benefits Communication Expert, Jellyvision
presents…
Ready, Set, Plan! How to Learn from 2015 and Set Yourself Up for Success in 2016
© 2015 The Jellyvision Lab, Inc. All rights reserved. NOTICE: We have put a lot of work into this webinar. Please don’t take this material and put it into your own material without first talking with us. Seriously.
Your host, David Daskal
• Benefits communication expert
• Supermarket free sample expert • Author of benefits-themed haiku
• Lover of anagrams
We survived!
Now what?
Today, we’ll talk about:
• Conducting a productive post-OE review
• Creating a helpful early 2016
benefits communications plan
Taking Stock: How to Conduct a Post-Open
Enrollment Review
Plans never go…as planned
“What Went Well?” and
“What Could’ve Been Better If…”?
1. Reflect on your 2015 OE goals • What were you trying to accomplish specifically
during OE this year?
• Consider both hard and soft goals
2. Make a WWW – CBBI list
What Went Well: Could’ve Been Better If:
• Benefits questions to HR went down by 20%
• All employees successfully enrolled in benefits
• 401(k) contributions went up by 30%
• Communications materials were well-received by C-suite
• Traffic to benefits portal didn’t
cause downtime • We hit our CDHP enrollment
goal • More employees enrolled
earlier in the open enrollment process
• We had more traction with voluntary benefits
3. Critique your 2015 benefits communications Ask how you might you have made your messaging: • More eye-catching and engaging • Easier to scan or digest • Less confusing, or boring, or overwhelming • More timely
4. Survey your employees
Sample survey questions
1. How effective were our communications in helping you make confident choices about your benefits?
• Effective • Somewhat effective • Neither effective nor ineffective • Somewhat ineffective • Ineffective
2. Would you prefer if we texted reminders about HR matters to you rather than email?
• Yes • No
3. Which parts of choosing benefits feel most confusing – and what might we do to help you understand better?
5. Choose two guiding words for next year
Planning Ahead: Identifying Your Early 2016 Benefits
Communications Priorities
Benefits messaging themes for Q1 2016
1. New plan reminder messaging 2. “Fresh start” wellness messaging 3. What the heck is a 1095 form?! messaging
New plan reminder messaging
• Provide FAQs about pharmacy visits, doctor visits, and HSA reimbursement
• Walk employees through interpreting an EOB form
• Promote price transparency and cost comparison tools
What about high deductible plans?
• Send email the first week of January
• Send a follow-up message the week plan cards arrive in the mail
• Use a third-party explainer tool
How to communicate it:
“Fresh start” wellness messaging
Smoking cessation programs
Health and fitness programs
Financial wellness programs
• A poster and/or
banner ad campaign
Ideas for communicating about health-related programs
• An email sent
first 2 weeks of January…with links
Ideas for communicating about health-related programs
Ideas for communicating about financial wellness programs January: • Send an email about
budgeting
• Create a newsletter, private Facebook group, or blog
• Tie end of year bonuses with messages about investing
Ideas for communicating about financial wellness programs February: • Send an email reminder
about 401(k)s
• Send a reminder to join your group or follow your blog
• Send your financial wellness newsletter!
Ideas for communicating about financial wellness programs March:
• Send reminder emails about FSA fund deadline
• Send “Tax Day is coming” message about the benefits of FSAs and HSAs
Form 1095 messaging
• What is this new form? • Why am I getting it? • What do I do with it? • Do I owe more taxes because of it? • How many of these will I get? • Do I send this in somewhere or what? • How will I know if I did everything right?
Anticipate their questions:
Create clear, simple answers
• Use clear, ordinary language
• Consider creating a FAQ list
• Add visuals!
Create a multi-platform communication plan
• Emails • Postcards • Posters • Intranet pages • Fliers with paychecks?
JANUARY - FEBRUARY MARCH - APRIL MAY - JUNE JULY -AUGUST
PROMOTE: Pricing transparency, prescription transparency
REMIND EMPLOYEES: You can make HSA changes, FSA fund deadlines
EXPLAIN: How the deductible works
REMIND EMPLOYEES: About HSA flexibility
PROMOTE: Budgeting tools, 1095 awareness
REMIND EMPLOYEES: Tax advantages of HDHPs
REMIND EMPLOYEES: About pricing transparency
REMIND EMPLOYEES: About HSA reimbursement
REMIND EMPLOYEES: How HSA funds work
PROMOTE: Free preventive care, provider’s EOB resources
PROMOTE: Provider’s EOB resources
*Begin preparing your Open Enrollment materials
REMIND EMPLOYEES: How HSA reimbursement works
PROMOTE: The value of low premiums!
2016 Benefits Communication Theme Calendar
Let’s review!
1. Reflect on your goals 2. Make a “What Went Well/
Could’ve Been Better If” list 3. Conduct benefits communication
critique 4. Survey your employees 5. Choose two guiding words
Taking Stock
1. Send new plan reminder messaging 2. Stagger “Fresh start” wellness messaging Jan- March 3. Create helpful 1095 FAQs – and a communication plan by Jan 2016
Planning Ahead