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Euiex was engaged by an employee health benefits insurance broker to gather quantitative and qualitative feedback on Benefits Open Enrollment communication materials for a client in the private golf and country club industry. The client, a self-funded healthcare benefits provider, sought to reduce medical claims costs through higher employee participation in three key benefits. However, the client faced challenges due to a lack of a strategic communication plan, underdeveloped audience personas, inconsistent messaging, and ineffective communication channels. Euiex addressed these issues by conducting input sessions with employees, sourcing industry best practices, and creating a tailored communication strategy that included updated materials and a phased approach to engagement. This comprehensive strategy aimed to improve employee understanding and participation, ultimately driving cost savings and reducing communication breakdowns that could otherwise lead to significant financial losses.
As a self-funded healthcare benefits provider, the client’s primary objective was reducing medical care claims costs for the upcoming year. This would be achieved through the successful election of/participation in three key benefits across a large portion of their diverse employee population.
Euiex was engaged to conduct targeted input sessions across the country club organization’s employee population, aiming to provide a comprehensive blend of qualitative and quantitative analysis of their understanding and impressions of the Benefit Resources presented.
The engagement was extended beyond conducting the sessions to also creating and refining additional Digital Benefit Resources materials.
The goal was to present the Benefits Resources materials and information in a way that encouraged direct engagement and allowed respondents to provide thoughtful, constructive feedback.
An employee health benefits insurance broker needed assistance gathering quantitative and qualitative feedback from current employees on their upcoming Benefits Open Enrollment communication materials for a client that owns and operates private golf and country clubs in North America.
The overarching challenge in this engagement was the absence of a strategic communication or change management plan for the upcoming Benefits Open Enrollment cycle; and, the entire Benefits Program. Current efforts across the organization were underwhelming, uncoordinated, and ineffective due to a lack of coordinated strategy and effective deployment across desired communication channels. A more strategic approach, focusing on personalization and employee experience, was needed.
The landscape was one in which the client took existing materials and tried to fit them into their current strategy, instead of developing a tailored approach that focuses on audience identification, key messaging, optimal channel selection, a robust delivery strategy, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Audience - Segmentation, Persona Development
The client provided three audience segments that were identified by broad categories of age/family make-up (e.g. single man in his twenties, a family with school-age children, and a senior couple). These segments are high-level, rudimentary, and out-of-date practices. Personas to fit those broad categories were in process, but not available until late in the project.
Key Messages
Consistent Key Messages for the three desired outcomes were not developed by the client. The lack of consistent Key messages creates confusion and reduces comprehension and retention of the information being presented.
Measurement Mechanisms
Key performance metrics to measure the impact of the communication efforts were not identified.
Benefits Resource Materials
Benefits Resources materials from the previous year were re-purposed for the current year. Some new materials, such as the three personas, were in process at the outset of the project, but incomplete.
Input Session Attendee Pool
The client was hesitant to require attendance or engage leadership and to encourage attendance and support the execution of the input sessions.
Other Challenges
Scheduling conflicts with major internal events on the client side, multiple reschedulings by the Client due to workload and ability to review materials on a tight deadline, plus, the Open Enrollment Period start date constraints led to a compressed timeline and challenges in scheduling the Input Sessions.
To ensure that the data gathered from the Benefits Resources input sessions would effectively enable the client to make informed, strategic decisions, Euiex went beyond traditional analysis to ensure the client was up-to-date on more current and effective best practices.
The latest reports and insights from a range of respected industry leaders, including Aon, SHRM, Gartner, Harvard Business Review, Inspirus, NEEBC, the 2024 State of Business Communication report, Lyra Health, and others were sourced. By incorporating these insights, Euiex aimed to provide the most current and relevant best practices for employee benefit communication.
This approach not only addressed the current state of employee engagement from the input sessions but also offered forward-looking strategies to adapt to future trends, ensuring the client stayed ahead in a competitive market by utilizing current best practices in their approach.
The ultimate goal of leveraging these best practices was to move the needle on the three key performance indicators critical to the client’s success.
Alongside industry best practices and based on data documented and recorded from the input sessions, Euiex provided recommendations to achieve the client’s outcomes with a tailored approach that focuses on audience identification, key messaging, optimal channel selection, a robust delivery strategy tailored to personas and audience segments, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
A high-level, phased strategy outline and roadmap were provided in addition to the new Benefits Resource materials created during the engagement.
One size does not fit all personas. By adopting a comprehensive communication strategy and executing a phased approach that allows for preparation, education, active engagement for the Open Enrollment period as well as continuous support and sustained engagement throughout the year, the client can ensure that employees feel supported, informed, and empowered to make the best decisions regarding their benefits.
Clear, accessible, and engaging communication is crucial for driving employee satisfaction and engagement. As previously illustrated, ineffective communication, on the other hand, can be costly. Industry data indicates that U.S. companies lose an estimated $12,506 per employee annually due to communication breakdowns, resulting in misunderstandings, decreased productivity, and inefficient use of resources. For the client organization, this translates to significant potential losses (an estimated $250M in potential losses assuming an effective communication strategy is not deployed).
On the other hand, by implementing the industry's best practices and strategic recommendations outlined, companies can mitigate these risks, leading to higher engagement, reduced turnover, and substantial cost savings. Effective benefits communication will not only improve employee experiences but also help reclaim productivity and efficiency lost to poor communication, positioning the organization as a leader in fostering a culture of transparency, care, and employee advocacy.
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