6 Ways Producers Can Help Clients Enhance Benefits Communication

Knowing your client’s business and understanding their needs are two critical steps for producers to succeed. Many issues weigh heavy on the minds of business leaders in every industry. Attracting and retaining talented employees are at the top of the list. Employees today want benefits that support their well-being needs.

However, most workers don’t understand their benefit options. They want employers to educate them to make the right choices. Often employers do not have the time, but you can help. Consider six ways producers can enhance benefits communication.

Track benefits use

Most employees use only certain features in their benefits plans. For some, it’s coverage for urgent care and catastrophic injuries. For others, it’s preventive care, such as health screenings and dental exams. That means there are many options that employees don’t use, and they may not be aware the coverage is available.

Review how employees currently use their insurance benefits. Create charts showing coverage preferences and features rarely used, like any mental health benefits. Discuss these trends with your client to gather insights. They may have received feedback from employees in meetings, emails or surveys about the plan features. Ask them to prioritize three to five plan features that employees value and need to understand better. Then incorporate this information into their benefits communications.

Ask for feedback

Employees want benefits that fit their needs, so it’s important to ask them for feedback. This information will help you know the coverage and features to include in benefits packages.

Work with your client to conduct confidential employee surveys to understand the problems and issues they face.

Identify message topics

Develop a list of benefits communication topics. Review their various insurance benefits for ideas. Touch on information about plan features that employees find confusing and difficult to understand. Include topics that employees need to know like costs, coverage levels and plan options. Add topics from the employee survey feedback.

Create messages with charts and statistics that help explain insurance terms and the information in ways employees will understand. Show the differences between plan features and coverage levels. Most people choose the same benefits year after year because they don’t understand the differences between plan options or how plan costs can change.

Make a plan

Work with a carrier to develop an annual benefits communication strategy with a checklist of the key messages to share with employees. Take specific pain points from the employee survey and address those with specific benefits or features. Supply resources to the client that they can use to educate their employees on these more difficult topics throughout the year.

Coordinate the plan with your client to communicate information to different employee age groups. Design the messages to be short and simple to keep the descriptions easy for all employees to understand.

Share tips

As a producer, you have valuable benefits information to help your client and their employees. Work with insurance carriers to provide advice and information to share with employees to help them choose the right plan.

Review and educate

Many employees dread reviewing and enrolling in benefits. If they have questions about coverage options, they don’t know who to contact to discuss their choices. Host online and in-person benefits meetings where employees can ask questions and discuss benefit and coverage choices. Encourage employees to set up appointments to discuss questions and concerns about their benefits throughout the year.

When talking with employees, share examples of ways employees use their plans to stay healthy throughout the year. These stories provide examples of how benefits can make a difference in improving workers’ health outcomes. Talk with clients about using the resources you provide throughout the year but especially at enrollment time to support benefits education.

Sources and References:
CNBC
BenefitsPro