2020 is a year that will go down in history books. And who knows, we probably won’t even have physical textbooks much longer. Everything is going virtual – from virtual graduations and online learning to working from home and never-ending video conferences.
Covid-19 has changed the way we live, work, and play. And planning for virtual benefits open enrollment is no exception. In past years, employers invited their employees to an in-person meeting so they could explain any new changes to the next year’s insurance benefits and plan options. A slide-show presentation would be shared with employees, and then agents assisted employees with setting up their new insurance plans.
This year is different. With social distancing and restrictions on how large gathering can be, open enrollment is going virtual. A recent study found that because of the pandemic, 63% of employers are leaning more heavily on digital resources – such as mobile apps – during this year’s open enrollment period.
You can still engage and educate employees with an effective virtual strategy. Here are 7 tips for reaching employees during virtual enrollment this year:
Provide a virtual enrollment cheat sheet
When you go virtual, you need to provide clear instructions to employees on how to navigate the open enrollment experience. Create a visually appealing one-page document that promotes your most important benefits and resources to help guide employees through open enrollment.
Share an FAQ page
Even if you provide detailed steps outlining the enrollment process, employees will still have questions. Answering those questions may take a lot of our HR team’s time. A link to an FAQ website can answer some of these questions, so that employees won’t need to ask for real live human help.
Consider a chatbot
Chatbots and other self-service tools can improve real-time service and customer communication. These digital assistants can simulate conversations with humans and can expedite questions that employees might have during the virtual open enrollment period.
Create a digital benefits guide
This year, think of your benefits guide as a digital asset, as well as part of a mobile-first platform. A mobile-first guide can interact with employees and help them walk through the virtual enrollment process.
Set up virtual office hours
With many employees working from home, it may be harder to connect with you. Provide employees with your email address and phone number so they can reach out to you and get one-on-one benefits guidance and advice.
Enroll online
Make it easy to enroll online. With a mobile app, the enrollment process can be completed directly on the employee’s smartphone. By providing a Virtual Enrollment Guide with clear directions, employees can review their current benefits and follow step-by-step instructions for setting up their new benefits plan. Employees can also use self-service options, such as an FAQ website, a chatbot, or reaching out to their agent with any questions.
READ MORE: What Does Generation Z Want In A Mobile App?
Consider an enterprise mobile app
With an enterprise mobile app, employees can review their current benefits and then choose the best benefits plan and options for them. In addition, a mobile app gives employees a “mobile enrollment experience” that allows for family participation. Employees can access information from home and include the important people in their lives in the decision-making process.
At CatalystXL, we want to help you quickly and easily share information and foster collaboration across your entire organization. We can deliver a no code, custom branded enterprise mobile app that unlocks answers and provides insights via our Cardware™ platform — sharing categorized content in a powerful flashcard format. Our mobile app fosters a community of collaboration, engagement, and connectedness for your employees – both in and out of the office.
Book a demo today.