The 2022 open enrollment season is approaching for many employers on a calendar-year benefit plan. Open enrollment is a great opportunity for employers to highlight their benefit offerings to ensure employees understand and use the benefits available to them.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center earlier this year showed that 43% or respondents cited benefits as a major or minor reason for leaving their job in 2021. While budget and financial constraints may impact an employer’s ability to lead the labor market in benefit offerings, one strategy all employers can try is to ensure they communicate with employees.

In today’s economic climate, employers are competing to attract and retain employees more than ever. Mainstream and social media are using terms like “quiet quitting” and “the great resignation” to describe employee attitudes toward their employers. Employee engagement is key to retaining and maintaining a productive workforce, and one way to improve engagement is to improve awareness and use of the employer’s benefits.

Awareness

Employees are often not fully aware of all the benefits available to them through their employers. For example, employees may know their employer offers long-term care insurance, but may not fully understand what this benefit includes and its potential value. Taking the time to provide meaningful information to employees about their benefits can help employees feel valued and prevent them from leaving for perceived “better” benefits elsewhere. 

Use

Increasing employees’ use of benefits can have positive outcomes for the employer. It can help with retention, since employees will be less likely to leave if the employer is offering a benefit they find valuable. Employees may also be more engaged at work if they use benefits that help alleviate burdens in their personal lives. For example, childcare is a major concern for many employees. Providing a childcare benefit can help alleviate the strain on the employee and allow them to be present at work, both physically and mentally.

Employers should analyze the participation rates for the benefits they offer to identify areas to highlight when communicating with employees. To encourage employees to prepare for open enrollment season, consider providing a checklist (such as this one) to employees. This type of checklist can help employees to identify their needs and proactively ask questions regarding benefit options. It can also help increase awareness as well as stimulate employees to enroll and use the employer's benefit offerings.