Tipsheets
Tips for Communicating
Health Benefit Information to Employees
Communicate often — Do not just
communicate with employees once a year during open enrollment, because
employees often have questions throughout the year. They are also continually
receiving a lot of health information from other sources, including health care
providers, pharmacists, friends, and the media. Employers need to make sure
their messages are heard and that means continually communicating with
employees.
Use a variety of media — Use
different methods to communicate with employees, including e-mail, automated
telephone systems, a company intranet, kiosks, payroll stuffers, and other
written material delivered at the workplace and to home addresses.
Use materials that are easy to
understand — Make sure employees can understand the health
benefit options. This might mean producing materials in other languages because
you employee a large number of individuals for whom English is not their native
language. You might have to develop materials at lower reading levels because
some employees may not have higher education levels.
Tell employees what is in it for them
— Employees are less interested in how a new health benefit is saving the
company money than they are in learning how it will benefit them
personally.
Hold individual and group information meetings
and workshops — Give employees the opportunity to review benefit
options and ask questions either in person, by video or Web conference, or by
phone with human resource or benefits managers.
Use interactive materials to ensure employee
understanding
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