Prepare for the Most Common Questions from your Employees During Open Enrollment
Blue Daily
| 3 min read
Key Takeaways
- Clear communication helps employees make confident enrollment decisions. Employees often have questions about plan changes, costs, deadlines and coverage options, making proactive, easy-to-understand guidance essential during open enrollment.
- Employers can improve engagement by offering information through multiple channels. Emails, webinars, videos, enrollment guides and live Q&A sessions help meet different learning preferences and make benefits information more accessible.
- Open enrollment insights can strengthen year-round benefits education. Tracking recurring questions and providing ongoing resources can help employees better understand, use and appreciate their benefits throughout the year.
For many employees, open enrollment can be one of the most confusing times of year, but it doesn’t have to be. Questions about changes, costs and deadlines often surface as employees evaluate their options and make plan decisions that can affect their health and finances for the coming year.
Employers who anticipate questions and address them proactively create a smoother enrollment experience for their workforce.
What you might hear about open enrollment
While every workforce is unique, there are common questions heard during open enrollment. Employees frequently want to know:
- What's changing this year?
- Do I need to take any action?
- How much will my benefits cost?
- Which plan is right for me?
- Can I keep my current doctor?
- What health and wellness resources are available?
- What happens if I miss the enrollment deadline?
These questions tell us employees want clear, straightforward guidance. When answers are difficult to find or understand, employees may delay enrollment decisions, select plans that don't meet their needs or miss important deadlines.
What you can do
By identifying questions in advance, you can provide communications that address employee concerns before they become obstacles. This allows employees to focus less on searching for information and more on making confident benefit decisions.
To be effective, your communications should:
- use simple language instead of industry jargon
- clearly explain benefit changes and enrollment deadlines
- provide side-by-side plan comparisons
- include frequently asked questions that address common concerns
- offer tools that help employees evaluate options
The easier the information is to understand, the more likely your employees will feel confident in their choices.
What you should provide
Not all employees want information the same way. Some prefer reading enrollment guides, while others like webinars, videos or live discussions. A successful open enrollment communications plan offers multiple ways to get information and ask questions.
Consider using a variety of communication channels, such as:
- emails that deliver key information in stages
- webinars that explain plan options and changes
- short videos that address common questions
- enrollment guides and reference materials
- live Q&A sessions or office hours
- dedicated support channels for benefits-related inquiries
It's also important to ensure managers and HR teams have consistent talking points. Employees often turn to leaders for guidance, so equipping internal teams with accurate information can help reinforce key messages across the organization.
Blue Cross can help you prepare. Use our comprehensive Open Enrollment Toolkit for ready-to-use communication materials, educational resources and planning tools designed to help you answer employee questions and drive engagement throughout open enrollment.
How to provide year-round support
Open enrollment questions can provide valuable insight into areas where employees may need additional support throughout the year. If certain topics consistently cause confusion, they may signal a broader need for ongoing communication and support.
You can use these insights to strengthen year-round support by:
- tracking recurring employee questions
- creating educational campaigns around commonly misunderstood benefits topics
- promoting wellness programs and support resources beyond enrollment season
- helping employees understand not only what benefits are available, but how to use them effectively
Ongoing education can help employees maximize the value of their benefits, improve utilization of available programs and resources and build greater appreciation for the organization's investment in employee well-being.
For additional help in preparing for open enrollment, use the Blue Cross open enrollment planning guide.
Explore plans, products, resources and support for your business at bcbsm.com/employers.
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