E X T R A O R D I N A RY T I M E S , E X T R A O R D I N A RY M E A S U R E S :
Virtual Open Enrollment Survival Tips
A U G U S T 2 7 , 2 0 2 0
Confidential and proprietary 2
W I L L T H E W E B I N A R B E R E C O R D E D ?
Yes!We will send you a link to the recording after the webinar.
Confidential and proprietary 3
W I L L T H E S L I D E S B E AVA I L A B L E ?
Yes!We will send you a link to the PDF after the webinar.
Confidential and proprietary 4
W I L L W E G E T H R C I A N D S H R M C R E D I T S ?
Yes!You will receive the codes at the end of the webinar and in follow up emails.
Confidential and proprietary 5
H O W D O Y O U A S K Q U E S T I O N S ?
Type your question into the "Questions" panel
Confidential and proprietary 6
PlanSourceBetter Technology for a Better Benefits Experience
Flexible and intuitive benefits shopping, enrollment, billing, compliance and administration
Confidential and proprietary 1
PlanSourceBetter Technology for a Better Benefits Experience
Flexible and intuitive benefits shopping, enrollment, billing, compliance and administration
Confidential and proprietary 7
EXTRAORDINARY TIMES, EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES:
Virtual Open Enrollment Survival TipsToday’s Speakers
Nancy SansomChief Commercial Officer
PlanSource
Justin PeterVice President, Marketing
4MyBenefits
Justin PeterVice President, Marketing4mybenefits
I N T R O D U C I N G
Nancy SansomChief Commercial OfficerPlanSource
I N T R O D U C I N G
Confidential and proprietary 10
AGENDAWhat’s New for OE in 2020
OE Best Practices
OE Success Stories
Q&A
Confidential and proprietary 11
What’s New for OE in 2020
Confidential and proprietary 12
The role of HR executives has been elevated. HR leaders have an opportunity to create meaningful change within their organizations.
Confidential and proprietary 13
OE Meetings will need to be virtual – live or on-demand.
Companies are testing out new formats to engage employees (virtual meetings, benefits fairs and videos).
Confidential and proprietary 14
Companies are less likely to offer an active open enrollment.Even though active open enrollment is a best practice, many HR teams lack bandwidth and will opt for passive enrollment or a hybrid approach.
Confidential and proprietary 15
P O L L Q U E S T I O N
What enrollment style are you planning for your next open enrollment?
a) Active enrollmentb) Passive enrollmentc) I’m not sure yet
Confidential and proprietary 16
HR teams are less focused on making major changes to their benefits this year.Now is not the time for significant changes. Instead, the focus is on employee communications and engagement.
Confidential and proprietary 17
P O L L Q U E S T I O N
Given everything going on right now, how many changes are you planning to make to your benefits at your next open enrollment?
a) No changesb) Minimal changes (such as rate changes)c) Shopping medical but minimal changes outside of thatd) Moderate changes (one carrier change, one new benefit, etc.)e) Significant changes
Confidential and proprietary 18
Employees will be more distracted than ever.Between home school and the upcoming election, your OE communications need to be focused and clear to be effective.
Confidential and proprietary 19
Companies may go ”all digital” this year for OE communicationsEmail and text messaging will be most popular. Word of mouth is no longer a reliable source, and physical mail – while impactful – is pricey for companies that have been cutting non-essential spending.
Confidential and proprietary 20
Mobile went from nice-to-have to must-have for OEBoth active and furloughed employees (and even COBRA participants) may not have company email or a computer at home.
Confidential and proprietary 21
Companies are offering mid-plan-year special enrollment periods
Confidential and proprietary 22
Subject: Don’t miss out on this special opportunity
[FIRST NAME],
Please prepare for a special benefits enrollment next week, starting on [START DATE]. This year has brought unpredictable challenges that none of us saw coming when we enrolled for our annual insurance. Because of that we have partnered with [INSURANCE COMPANY NAME] to open up a special enrollment, so that you can add additional coverage outside of our normal annual open enrollment.
We want to make sure you have every opportunity to stay protected, so please take a moment to consider if [INSURANCE OFFERINGS] from [COMPANY NAME] can be a benefit to you. More information on [this benefit/these benefits] will be sent next week when enrollment opens, so you can make an informed decision.
Please mark your calendars and use this opportunity to protect your lifestyle, your loved ones, and your finances. Reach out with any questions you may have, and we’ll message you again on[START DATE] when this special enrollment is open.
Sign up for text updates so you don’t miss the enrollment, or important information. Make sure your employer has loaded your number into the PlanSource system, by checking here [unique link], then text BENEFITS to 46659.
Confidential and proprietary 23
Open Enrollment Best Practices
Confidential and proprietary 24
L E T ’ S B E R E A L F O R A M O M E N T
Employees are clueless about their benefits and tend to wait until the last minute!
Confidential and proprietary 25
Map Out a Formal OE Communications PlanTreat your OE communications like a full-scale marketing campaign
C TA s F O C U S E D VA R I E T Y T E M P Oand deadlines and personalized
contentof communication
methodsand cadence of
messages
U S E M A R K E T I N G B E S T P R A C T I C E S
Confidential and proprietary 26
But you’re in HR, not marketing!
DON’T WORRY – WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED!
Confidential and proprietary 27
Free OE Digital Communications KitGet the resources at plansource.com/oekit
Best practicesRecommended timelineDesign templatesVideo postcardEmail and text messaging templatesEducational videosIn-system messaging
Confidential and proprietary 28
OE Communications TimelimeCheck out the full timeline at plansource.com/oekit
P L A N I N F O R M E N E R G I Z E F O L L O W - U P
2-6 months prior to the start of OE
2 weeks prior to the start of OE
Throughout OE period
Week after OE period
Pre-Open Enrollment Open Enrollment Post-Open Enrollment
Confidential and proprietary 29
S A M P L E E M A I L C O M M U N I C AT I O N C A D E N C E
Simple example for a 7-day open enrollment window
G E T I T O N T H E R A D A R
2+ weeks before OE start
date
P R E P A R E /E D U C A T E
1 week before OE start date
A N N O U N C E M E N TMorning of Day 1
R E M I N D E R 1Send in the afternoon
on the 2nd day
R E M I N D E R 2Send in the
afternoon of the 4th day
L A S T C H A N C E E M A I L
Morning of the last day of enrollment
F O L L O W - U P2+ weeks after OE end date with reminders for EOI, health incentive
programs, ID cards, etc.
Confidential and proprietary 30
Marketing 101 for OE Communications
W R I T E T O B E S C A N N E D
Write like no one wants to read
H U M A N I Z EDitch the lawyers, talk
conversationally
F O C U S O N N E E D S
What do your readers want, not what you need
to share
D R I V E A C T I O N
Reiterate your need or Call To Action
(CTA)
B E B O L DUse visual call outs to pull scanners to your
important info
M I N I M I Z E A N D C O N D E N S E
Short sentences, one point per paragraph, stay
focused
O P E N I N G H O O K
Your subject line or first sentence may be
the only thing they read
U S E H E A D L I N E S
Make an impact, it may be all they read
Confidential and proprietary 31
Place Educational Content at the Point of SalePlanSource provides optimized page content by product and carrier
PA R T I C I PAT I N G C A R R I E R S
Confidential and proprietary 32
Use a Theme for Open EnrollmentIt’s fun, memorable and ties your communications together
Confidential and proprietary 33
New Themes/Design Templates for 202015 free design templates and themes – go ahead, steal our ideas, we don’t mind
z
Confidential and proprietary 34
Augment Email Communications with Text Messaging
Free to existing and new PlanSource customers in 2020*
Great for reminders and notifications throughout open enrollment
Include links to enroll or to educational videos and benefit guides
Employees opt in by texting BENEFITS, BENEFIT or START to 46659
*Up to 10 campaigns per month or 100,000 text messages
9 8 % O P E N R AT E
z
Confidential and proprietary 35
Increase opt-in rates by asking everyone to opt in during an all-hands meeting and/or during your virtual OE meetings
Don’t bombard employees with generic messages!
Use a system that allows you to personalize these messages, or employees may opt out
Remind employees about critically important benefits they signed up for throughout the year, such as telemedicine and EAPs
Augment Email Communications with Text MessagingB E S T P R A C T I C E S
Confidential and proprietary 36
Viewers retain 95% of a messagewhen they watch it on video compared to only 10% when reading it in text.
Use video to increase employee knowledge and engagement during OE
Confidential and proprietary 37
Covers the important details of your benefits program with video
Provides instructions for logging in
Gives employees a quick look at the shopping and enrollment process
A consistent message to all employees
~3 minutes in length
Create an Open Enrollment VideoOr contact PlanSource to get a quote for us to create one for you
Confidential and proprietary 38
OE Video Postcard GiveawayAnnounce your open enrollment in a fresh new way
C U S T O M I Z E T H E V I D E O F O R Y O U R C O M P A N Y
T H R E E L U C K Y A T T E N D E E S W I L L W I N A N O E V I D E O P O S T C A R D !
Confidential and proprietary 39
F R E E T O D O W N L O A D
Use videos from the PlanSource video library in your communications
We love the PlanSource educational videos. They do a great job of explaining our benefits to our employees in a fun and relatable way.
– Christy Guilbault, Benefits Solutions Senior Manager for EP Cares (12,000 employees)
Confidential and proprietary 40
Provide a proactive, VIP approach to contact center supportAllowing people to schedule an appointment to enroll with assistance smooths volume, minimizing wait times for employees
Confidential and proprietary 41
A digital benefits fair will differentiate the experience for employeesR E G I S T R AT I O N
L I V E A N D O N - D E M A N D C O N T E N T
G U E S T S S P E A K E R S
G I V E A W AY S
P R O M O T I O N – S H A R E Y O U R A G E N D A
Confidential and proprietary 42
P O L L Q U E S T I O N
Which communication strategies are you considering for your next open enrollment? S E L E C T A L L T H AT A P P LY
a) Virtual OE meetings/webinarsb) Digital benefit fairsc) Email/Text messagingd) Custom OE videose) Employee Contact Center
Confidential and proprietary 43
Open Enrollment Success Stories
Confidential and proprietary 44
I N T R O D U C I N G H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S
2020 has been a busy year for this Midwest grocery store chain
A B O U T H E I N E N ’ S
Founded in 1929 with grocery stores in Cleveland and Chicago
3,500+ union and non-union associates
23 stores, 3 warehouses and headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio
Broker: USI
PlanSource customer since April 2018
B A C K G R O U N D
100% Paper-based prior to rollout of PlanSource in 2018
Many associates are in the stores or warehouses without access
to a computer
Previously relied on in-person meetings where associates could enroll
with assistance
Confidential and proprietary 45
A P P R O A C H T O O E F O R 2 0 2 0
Held a passive open enrollment
Kept their carriers and vendors the same to keep things simple!
Replaced costly in-person meetings with virtual meetings
Used all-digital communications (email, personalized reminders sent within PlanSource, a custom OE video and digital benefit guides)
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Open enrollment was held from April 13th to May 8th
S O , H O W D I D I T G O ?
“Even though we had to change our approach to open enrollment this year due to COVID, it was our best open
enrollment yet and night and day compared to what we used to
do via paper!”
– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
Confidential and proprietary 46
H O W D I D Y O U R A S S O C I AT E S R E S P O N D ?“It was our second year with PlanSource and our associates are comfortable
with the benefits shopping experience. It’s just like Amazon!
Our associates like self-service and reviewing the educational videos and benefit guides on their own.”– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Consumer-friendly benefits shopping with educational tools and decision support
Confidential and proprietary 47
H O W D I D Y O U C O M M U N I C AT E W I T H E M P L O Y E E S ?“We used PlanSource to send personalized, automated communications to
associates that had not completed OE.
At the end of open enrollment, we used PlanSource to automatically generate benefit confirmation statements for our associates. It was easy!”
– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Employees will respond more to targeted, personalized communications
Confidential and proprietary 48
H O W D I D Y O U U S E R E P O R T I N G D U R I N G O E ?“The reporting suite within PlanSource is great for ad-hoc use to be able to answer questions that come up during open enrollment and throughout the
year. I can easily see how many have enrolled or declined in each benefit and can use the reports to reconcile my carrier invoices.
– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Flexible reporting tools help busy HR teams oversee open enrollment
Confidential and proprietary 49
T O TA L C O M P E N S AT I O N S TAT E M E N T S
Online and print
Sent at the end of the year
Showcase the value of the investment in associates
Features benefits, 401k or pension, and even the employee discount card
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Help employees see the full value of your investments in them
Confidential and proprietary 50
H O W W O U L D Y O U D E S C R I B E T H E S U P P O R T Y O U R E C E I V E D ?
“I can’t say enough amazing things about our PlanSource Account Manager. We knew we were going to have a great OE despite the challenging
environment because we had her guiding and assisting us.”– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Support from your technology partner is more important than ever
Confidential and proprietary 51
W H AT A D V I C E D O Y O U H AV E F O R O T H E R H R T E A M S ?“If this year taught me anything, it’s that we don’t know what’s going to
happen. Remain flexible because things will change at the last minute. If you have a system as flexible as PlanSource, you can adjust! Also, test everything
in advance to make sure things look just like you want.”– Ashley Bales, Benefits and Leave Specialist
H E I N E N ’ S G R O C E RY S T O R E S O E S U C C E S S S T O R Y
It requires flexibility to respond to our changing environment
Confidential and proprietary 52
I N T R O D U C I N G V I C T O RY A U T O M O T I V E G R O U PThis dedicated HR team had always conducted an extensive OE roadshow each year
A B O U T V I C T O R Y A U T O M O T I V E
Car dealership with 40+ locations
Headquartered in Michigan with locations in 9 states
2,000+ employees
PlanSource customer since 2018
B A C K G R O U N D
Previously met with every location for OE each year
Open enrollment occurred in April right in the middle of the COVID lockdowns
Had moved all of their ancillary benefits to a new carrier AND introduced a new
Hospital Indemnity benefit
Confidential and proprietary 53
S O , H O W D I D I T G O ?
“We ended up with better benefits for a better price, had a successful Open
Enrollment AND saved a ton of time and money on travel.”
– Myrna Maddison, Director of Human Resources
A P P R O A C H T O O E F O R 2 0 2 0
Very nervous about missing the opportunity to meet in person
Conducted an active enrollment
Planned an aggressive communication campaign
Communicated via text messaging, email, videos, digital guides and more
V I C T O RY A U T O M O T I V E G R O U P O E M E T R I C S
Open enrollment occurred in April 2020 right in the middle of COVID lockdowns
Confidential and proprietary 54
V I C T O RY A U T O M O T I V E G R O U P O E M E T R I C S
Lower costs and higher employee participation and engagement
100% Digital ExperienceTransformed from in-person
roadshow to 100% digital, reducing travel costs substantially
92% Engagement92% of employees enrolled during
original 3-week window
34% Participationin new Hospital Indemnity benefit,
successful migration
8% Participation Increasein employee participation across all
voluntary benefits
Lower Costs5% reduction in premium costs,
25% reduction in technology cost due to PlanSource Boost
10% Increase in HDHPMet consumerism goal with 10%
more employees choosing the HDHP
T H E R E S U LT S S P E A K F O R T H E M S E LV E S !
Confidential and proprietary 55
I N T R O D U C I N G R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N YBetween COVID and complex state regulations, paper was no longer a viable option
A B O U T R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California
700 employees located in California and Hawaii
Commercial real estate brokerage
Benefits broker: USI
PlanSource customer since January 2020
B A C K G R O U N D
100% Paper-based prior to rollout of PlanSource in 2020!
Compliance with regulations specific to California and Hawaii add significant complexity (unique % of salary cost
configurations for each state)
Each open enrollment required a full-time effort for the entire team for weeks!
Confidential and proprietary 56
S O , H O W D I D I T G O ?“They had a great open enrollment and their HR team and employees
love PlanSource! Everybody bought into tech this year, and we improved participation in several key areas.”
– Daphne Laraneta, Assistant Vice President, USI
A P P R O A C H T O O E F O R 2 0 2 0First open enrollment with PlanSource!
Held a passive open enrollment, but encouraged employees to log in
Kept their carriers and vendors the same for this year
Replaced costly in-person meetings with virtual OE webinars in partnership with USI (one for Hawaii and one for California) offered multiple times and included partners
R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Open enrollment was held from June 8th to July 1st
R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Confidential and proprietary 57
H O W D I D Y O U R E M P L O Y E E S R E S P O N D ?“The leadership team was a little worried about how their employees would do since it was their first year, but their employee did fine! They
actually got 100% participation even though technically it was a passive enrollment.”
– Daphne Laraneta, Assistant Vice President, USI
R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Employees were engaged | 100% logged in to PlanSource even though it was optional
R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Confidential and proprietary 58
R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y S U C C E S S S T O R Y
They met several corporate objectives during this year’s open enrollment
Increase in employee participation in the Voluntary Life and
AD&D benefit
26% Shift in medical plan
selection to more affordable options; and
more participation in the full network
11% Employee
participation in open enrollment, even
though a passive style was used
100%
Confidential and proprietary 59
H O W D I D T H E S Y S T E M H A N D L E C O M P L E X I T Y ?“PlanSource is flexible and configurable to meet the unique regulations in
Hawaii and California (different plans, cost contributions, messaging).
We also configured a declination survey so employees could complete the required Hawaii DOL form right within PlanSource.
– Daphne Laraneta, Assistant Vice President, USI
R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y S U C C E S S S T O R Y
State-specific benefits and regulatory requirements were automated
R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Confidential and proprietary 60
W H AT A D V I C E D O Y O U H A V E F O R O T H E R H R T E A M S ?“Whether paper or electronic, you need to communicate more than you
think this year – not just with your employees but also with your carrier and technology partners like PlanSource.
It’s also a great idea to audit your data against carrier data prior to open enrollment, to make sure you are starting with clean data!”
– Daphne Laraneta, Assistant Vice President, USI
R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y S U C C E S S S T O R Y
Clear data and a comprehensive communications plan are key to success
R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Confidential and proprietary 61
A Q U I C K C O M PA R I S O N O F E M P L O Y E E B E H AV I O R
E N G A G E M E N T
19% % O N M O B I L E
T I M E S P E N T 10 MIN. 18 MIN.14 MIN.
16% 16%
R E A L E S T A T E C O M P A N Y
Confidential and proprietary 62
Q&AS H R M & H R C I C O D E S
H R C I : 5 3 1 5 8 3S H R M : 2 0 - E F 9 K E
plansource.com/oekit
E X T R A O R D I N A RY T I M E S , E X T R A O R D I N A RY M E A S U R E S :
Virtual Open Enrollment Survival Tips
A U G U S T 2 7 , 2 0 2 0