Your roadmap to better pre-enrollment communication

Much ink has been spilled over the need for better communication surrounding benefits. But, as with so many things, the devil is in the details. Saying you need better communication is one thing, but knowing how to execute it is another. And, while this year’s open enrollment season is coming to a close, it’s a great time to get ahead of planning for next year.



At Trustmark, we’ve conducted research into what works when it comes to pre-enrollment communication. There are a couple key statistics from our research which have guided our approach to developing a winning strategy.

• 73% of employees who receive 4 benefit communications touchpoints are likely or very likely to recommend their employer – more than twice as many as those who receive none!*
• The most commonly cited reasons for enrolling in benefits are emotional ones, with “it’s important to have for peace of mind” being the most common.*

With that in mind, here’s what we see as an effective pre-enrollment strategy. What we have below is more tactical and addresses the need for multiple communications, but don’t forget the importance of creating emotion-driven communication messaging for employees.

• 4-5 weeks before the start of enrollment – At this point, you should have your enrollment plans set in terms of the communication you want to use. You’ll also want to have production well in progress for the materials you’ll be using to communicate. Be sure to have pre-determined messaging to drive the specific behavior you want from employees (Seeing an enroller, attending a meeting, scheduling a call, etc.).
• 3 weeks before the start of enrollment – We recommend providing materials in more than one format to kick-off your awareness campaigns. Generally, kicking off an email campaign as well as placing display materials around the office such as posters or table tents in break rooms is a good way to start. These are both great tools to raise awareness and the email campaign can be a resource to link to more detailed information about plans and products being offered.
• 1-2 weeks before the start of enrollment – This is a good time to follow up with an email reminder of the upcoming enrollment. We also recommend providing a more direct, printed piece than the posters and table tents you might have used; things like desk drop postcards and payroll stuffers are a great tool to remind of the upcoming enrollment and share a little more information.
• Enrollment kickoff – At this point, you should send an email reminder and, if available provide some more detailed information that employees can reference while going through the enrollment process. While maintaining an emotional appeal, provide things like one-page flyers that will serve as reference points for employees to consult when making decisions.
• Mid-enrollment – Just because enrollment has started, doesn’t mean communication ends there. A mid-enrollment reminder via email or even text message (if that is an option) are a great way to ad urgency by letting employees know it’s their last chance to enroll.

With the tactics and tools outlined above, you’ll be able to achieve that multi-channel communication we referenced. Planning ahead, using an emotion-based message and reaching employees in a variety of formats are all essential tactics to setting the stage for your enrollment with communication.  

Now, clearly what we’re describing is an ideal situation and it’s generic. You don’t always have this much runway and you won’t always have employer support to perform this kind of communication. You’ll also want to take into account the employee demographics. But, with this approach as a roadmap, hopefully you can start to drive the conversation in the direction you need to use pre-enrollment communications to get the most out of enrollment. Best of all, a partner like Trustmark Voluntary Benefits can help make these strategies a reality for brokers and employers.

*Trustmark and Customer Benefit Analytics, “Who Buys Voluntary and Why: 2017 Enrollment Study.”