Voluntary Benefits
Published by Andrea Workman on May 28th, 2020
Way back in January, which probably feels like it was about 5 years ago, you probably had a plan for how you wanted to enroll employees in their benefits this year. I can relate, I had plans of my own. At Trustmark, we’re advocates of face-to-face or, at the least, some form of one-on-one engagement to support employees and guide them through enrollment. Needless to say, those plans went out the window sometime around mid-March.
Just because our old plans may have to be scrapped, doesn’t mean we can’t still find ways to drive effective enrollments. But, how do you provide a highly engaging enrollment for workers who aren’t at work? Let’s take a look at some of the tools you can still use to enroll employees; they may not be new tools, there are a couple things to look for or ways to deploy them which will increase their effectiveness.
Virtual enrollments
Like so many other things we do now, you can do your enrollments virtually. With the right partner, Virtual enrollments should be conducted through a secure web system where the benefits counselor and employee have the option to share their cameras, allowing them to see each other and create a more personalized experience. In essence, this is the closest we can get to a “face-to-face” experience. It might be worthwhile to look for a partner who has the ability to screen share as well, further mimicking a face-to-face enrollment and making information easier to understand for visual learners. To give employees the best experience possible, virtual appointments can be managed through an online scheduling tool, allowing them to manage the flow of calls and avoid wait times.
Call center
Call centers aren’t new, but if you’re working with the right partner, they’ve been updated with tools to create a better employee experience. The ability to schedule time with a benefit counselor online or through text message as well as the ability for a counselor to make outbound calls, help to avoid backlogs and long wait periods
Many call centers actually have shifted to not being “centers” anymore. Instead, they are now decentralized and counselors are working from home, meaning that the enrollment companies are able to hire the most qualified, well-trained benefit counselors across the country. So when choosing your call center partner, be sure to ask about their counselors to learn about their experience. It may also be worth asking if the counselors are trained in enrolling by phone (as opposed to usually doing face-to-face). The ability to listen, empathize with employees, and to help explain the details of the benefits program over the phone is a slightly different skill set than doing it face-to-face.
Self-service (with enhanced communication)
In our new work-from-home world, many employers may just want to use a self-service online enrollment. While, traditionally, I prefer a more engaged approach, that doesn’t mean self-service can’t be effective. The first thing I’d recommend is to be thoughtful about how the benefits are positioned in the self-service platform. Oftentimes, I see voluntary benefits pushed to the end of the enrollment. It can be more effective to pair them with appropriate corresponding benefits. For example, putting an accident or hospital insurance plan right after their medical plan to help them understand how those can help cover deductibles may be effective. In addition, make sure that employees make an active decision to enroll or decline all benefits so that nothing gets skipped over.
Perhaps most importantly, I’d suggest pairing a self-service enrollment with a robust communication campaign. It’s the proverbial tree in the forest. If you’re not making any noise about your upcoming enrollment, is it really going to happen? At Trustmark our research has found that usually you need to communicate in 3 different media to get the word out. In today’s environment, I’d venture to guess that number is even higher!
They say that necessity is the mother of ingenuity. And, right now, there’s a greater need than ever to enroll employees in benefits protection while, at the same, dealing with challenging circumstances. So, get creative, seek new solutions and hopefully these pointers can serve as a starting point. As always, don’t be afraid to reach out to Trustmark to work on formulating an enrollment strategy – we’re here to help.
Want to learn more? View our recent webinar on making the most of enrollments during the COVID-19 pandemic or contact a Trustmark representative to learn how we can help make your enrollment a success.
Just because our old plans may have to be scrapped, doesn’t mean we can’t still find ways to drive effective enrollments. But, how do you provide a highly engaging enrollment for workers who aren’t at work? Let’s take a look at some of the tools you can still use to enroll employees; they may not be new tools, there are a couple things to look for or ways to deploy them which will increase their effectiveness.
Virtual enrollments
Like so many other things we do now, you can do your enrollments virtually. With the right partner, Virtual enrollments should be conducted through a secure web system where the benefits counselor and employee have the option to share their cameras, allowing them to see each other and create a more personalized experience. In essence, this is the closest we can get to a “face-to-face” experience. It might be worthwhile to look for a partner who has the ability to screen share as well, further mimicking a face-to-face enrollment and making information easier to understand for visual learners. To give employees the best experience possible, virtual appointments can be managed through an online scheduling tool, allowing them to manage the flow of calls and avoid wait times.
Call center
Call centers aren’t new, but if you’re working with the right partner, they’ve been updated with tools to create a better employee experience. The ability to schedule time with a benefit counselor online or through text message as well as the ability for a counselor to make outbound calls, help to avoid backlogs and long wait periods
Many call centers actually have shifted to not being “centers” anymore. Instead, they are now decentralized and counselors are working from home, meaning that the enrollment companies are able to hire the most qualified, well-trained benefit counselors across the country. So when choosing your call center partner, be sure to ask about their counselors to learn about their experience. It may also be worth asking if the counselors are trained in enrolling by phone (as opposed to usually doing face-to-face). The ability to listen, empathize with employees, and to help explain the details of the benefits program over the phone is a slightly different skill set than doing it face-to-face.
Self-service (with enhanced communication)
In our new work-from-home world, many employers may just want to use a self-service online enrollment. While, traditionally, I prefer a more engaged approach, that doesn’t mean self-service can’t be effective. The first thing I’d recommend is to be thoughtful about how the benefits are positioned in the self-service platform. Oftentimes, I see voluntary benefits pushed to the end of the enrollment. It can be more effective to pair them with appropriate corresponding benefits. For example, putting an accident or hospital insurance plan right after their medical plan to help them understand how those can help cover deductibles may be effective. In addition, make sure that employees make an active decision to enroll or decline all benefits so that nothing gets skipped over.
Perhaps most importantly, I’d suggest pairing a self-service enrollment with a robust communication campaign. It’s the proverbial tree in the forest. If you’re not making any noise about your upcoming enrollment, is it really going to happen? At Trustmark our research has found that usually you need to communicate in 3 different media to get the word out. In today’s environment, I’d venture to guess that number is even higher!
They say that necessity is the mother of ingenuity. And, right now, there’s a greater need than ever to enroll employees in benefits protection while, at the same, dealing with challenging circumstances. So, get creative, seek new solutions and hopefully these pointers can serve as a starting point. As always, don’t be afraid to reach out to Trustmark to work on formulating an enrollment strategy – we’re here to help.
Want to learn more? View our recent webinar on making the most of enrollments during the COVID-19 pandemic or contact a Trustmark representative to learn how we can help make your enrollment a success.
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Written by Andrea Workman
Regional Sales Representative, North Texas
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