Template: How to Communicate About Open Enrollment

If you’ve followed our open enrollment timeline, you may already be well into your preparations for open enrollment for 2023. But with the stressors of Q4 already piling on, it’s easy for open enrollment to sneak up on you.

If your organization isn’t ready for open enrollment yet, don’t panic. The best thing you can do is get organized and communicate clearly with employees about what steps they need to take and when. 

That’s why we’ve created the following communication guide for open enrollment, including an email template, to keep things simple and facilitate a smooth and effective benefits selection process.

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10 Questions You May Receive During Open Enrollment [Free Checklist]

 

Open Enrollment Communication Strategies 

Employees commonly report feeling stressed about benefits—both about the process of enrolling and about understanding the benefits themselves. To ease this stress, HR must establish clear and accessible channels to communicate with employees about their benefits.

And with more virtual communication happening for your employees than ever, you might need to make use of multiple channels to notify employees about their benefits.

A recent MetLife study found that while 64% of employers use email as their primary benefits communication channel, only 41% of employees prefer to learn about benefits through email. Even fewer employees preferred to learn about their benefits at in-person benefits meetings, finding these meetings often too generic or confusing.

The most common employee preference was an online portal—but even if you have an all-in-one HRIS like BerniePortal, you still need to let employees know when and how to use it to elect their benefits.

The sooner you start communicating, the better. The following template can help you get the most important information across to employees efficiently, so you can focus on the more strategic parts of your role.

Email Template for Open Enrollment

Hi team,

It’s that time of year again—benefits open enrollment! For 2023, we are pleased to announce we are maintaining all 2022 [plan types here]. We experienced an overall [describe plan changes]. 

For example, [3% medical increase, a decrease in dental and vision, and as such your employee contribution will change slightly]. We will again use [benefits administration software] to make our open enrollment elections.

Please review the steps below to complete the open enrollment process by [time] on [date].

Step 1: Log into [benefits administration software] at [website address].
Username: Use your company email address.
Password: If you can’t remember your password, simply select “Forgot Password.”

Step 2: Be sure to check your address and personal information for accuracy, then click on the [Begin Enrollment] link.

Step 3: Follow the guided enrollment instructions within the portal.

Step 4: Log out after you receive enrollment confirmation.

This year, [broker] will be available [onsite, virtually, by phone] on [date] at [time] to answer any questions you may have about the benefits available to you.

As a reminder, enrollment will close on [date] and [if applicable] please note: even if you are waiving coverage, you still need to log in and complete the enrollment process.

Please send any questions you have to [email address].

Thanks,
HR

Employees are the backbone of any organization, and the benefits you offer them during open enrollment can help you keep your workforce happy and healthy—which helps you keep your best talent longer. A clear and effective communication strategy for this period is key to getting through open enrollment, and back to business.