Tag Archive for 'open enrollment'

Top 5 List: Why You Should Use Video to Communicate Complex Benefits

Have you ever watched a video to learn how to close a baby stroller, lose your love handles, shop for a blender or invest in the stock market?

Nearly everyone with a computer has turned to online video at some point as a key source for information, especially when it comes to complex subjects. Unlike long detailed documents, online video provides a quick and easy way for viewers to understand complex topics and ideas in a format that is easy to watch and absorb.

Smart companies are taking advantage of this trend by leveraging online video to effectively communicate with consumers, but what about with employees?

Published by bbenedict on May 22, 2012

Have You Seen Our New Demo Videos?

Health and Financial Benefits, New Employment Orientation and Open Enrollment Covered

GuideSpark’s brilliant Content Development team has designed five new demo videos to give you a better idea of how you could be using video to engage your employees on benefits-related topics. All of these topics are covered in the GuideSpark Benefit Video Library.

High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HSA) – shows employees how HSAs can be a good way to get the right health benefits while saving money.
401(k) – discusses contribution matching, traditional vs Roth, investment options and more.
Making Your Money Work – covers basic information on Credit Scores, how they affect financial wellness and how to improve them.

Published by bbenedict on March 27, 2012

Consistent Benefits Communication Saves Money

Delivering consistent messaging is not just good communication, it saves time and money. This is surely an obvious statement, but how well do you implement it in your organization?

Are your informational events well attended?
Is everyone who wants to attend able to do so?
Do your support call numbers rise after a series of seminars?
Are many of the questions about confirming facts or clearing up discrepancies between presenters?
Do you feel that live seminars are an efficient use of resources?

With employee benefits videos, you can ensure that the same clear message is delivered to all of your employees–regardless of what location they work out of, what shift they’re on or whether or not they (or their family decision maker) can attend your seminar.

Published by bbenedict on March 16, 2012

7 Steps for Deciding What to Include in Your Employee Benefits Video

Here’s another tidbit from our new video course: Transform Benefits Education with On-demand Video.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that we’ve touched on which benefits videos to start with to get the most interest and involvement from your viewers. Will it be your Consumer Directed Health Plan or your 401(k)? You will also have learned what to include in an Open Enrollment video, which is a powerful place to start engaging employees.

Once you’ve decided on which topic to cover, here’s a plan for pulling together everything you COULD talk about and, from that, how to work out what to actually include in your video and what to provide through supporting documents.

Published by bbenedict on October 28, 2011

Top 5 List: Most Viewed Employee Benefits Videos

If you are incorporating benefits videos into your communications strategy, how do you decide which videos to invest in first?

GuideSpark has created a new video course to assist HR departments making the exciting leap into video communication. In this course, our director of Content Development and Video expert extraordinaire, Joseph Larocque, explains that topics which are more complex or require careful explanation are natural places to start. Good candidates are core benefits, Open Enrollment changes and tough messages such as a premium increase.

“Video can really help people understand how these plans work, how they compare, and why they are compelling,” says Larocque. “If you are introducing one of these in the upcoming year, starting your video communications here will drive adoption.”

Published by bbenedict on October 21, 2011

Top 5 List: What to Include in Your Open Enrollment Video to Reduce Support Calls

Benefits communication videos aren’t rocket science, but it can sure help to have some experience with what works and what doesn’t.

In his new video course–Transform Benefits Education with Video–Joseph Larocque, GuideSpark’s Director of Content Development and video expert extraordinaire, recommends including these five pieces of basic information:

Open Enrollment process and deadlines
Open Enrollment events
Changes to your plan
How to enroll in benefits
Where to get help

It may sound simple but HR departments are frequently tempted to include large amounts of detail in an Open Enrollment video. The key message here is NOT to give viewers everything they could possibly want to know. Just touch on the main points and tell the viewer where to go for more information.

Published by bbenedict on October 14, 2011

GuideSpark offers innovative video white paper to enhance the benefits education experience for employees

New instructional video gives HR organizations a timely resource to develop customizable benefits communication videos for open enrollment

GuideSpark, delivering the latest web solutions for HR communications and training, introduces a video white paper to aid HR organizations in the development and launch of their own, customized benefits communication videos.

GuideSpark’s instructional video white paper provides HR organizations with a simple step-by-step process to create and launch customized employee benefits videos. By incorporating video into benefits education, HR organizations can engage employees and increase benefits adoption during open enrollment while saving time and resources. According to GuideSpark’s customer surveys, using rich video content typically garners an overall 98 percent satisfaction rate among employees who praise the “easy to follow,” “convenient” and cost-effective benefits communication videos.

Published by bbenedict on September 15, 2011

Impact 401(k) Participation with Open Enrollment

Connecting retirement benefits to the health benefit open enrollment period can dramatically increase 401(k) participation, found Bank of America Merrill Lynch. By providing easy “one-click” access to enroll in or make

Drive 401(k) participation by tying to Open Enrollment

contribution changes to 401(k) plans during open enrollment, employers have seen an increase in participation. The study showed an 11% year-over-year increase in the number of employees making a change to their retirement plan election as a result of the association with the health care open enrollment period. And nearly all of these election changes were positive (93%), meaning employees started or increased contributions to a plan.

Published by bbenedict on March 9, 2011

Open Enrollment: How Will You Communicate Medical Care Cost Increases?

While this likely won’t come as a shock to many reading this post, it appears

Benefits Communications for Delicate News

that medical care costs will once again rise at near double-digit rates in 2011. According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute, medical care costs are expected to increase by 9% in 2011, a slight deceleration from the 9.5% rise posted in 2010.

Cost sharing has become a critical tool to help keep medical care costs affordable for both employer and employee. 2011 will be no different. Here are the key findings of the PwC report:

42% of employers intend to increase employee contributions for health insurance coverage

Published by bbenedict on June 17, 2010

Financial Wellness in 2010 – Open Enrollment Tips

As November fast approaches, you are likely beginning to receive important communications about Open Enrollment. If you’re like many employees, you may have already decided to just stick with your current elections – after all, they seem to have worked out well enough. This year, more than others in the past, taking a passive approach to Open Enrollment may be an expensive decision.

Published by bbenedict on October 25, 2009

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