It's that time of year again—open enrollment season. As an HR professional, you know how crucial it is to effectively communicate benefits information to your employees. But let's be real: Most people would rather watch paint dry than read a dry, jargon-filled email about their health insurance options.
The challenge is getting employees to not only open and read your open enrollment email but to also understand the key information and take the necessary actions. It's a tall order, but don't stress—we've got you covered with tips and best practices for creating an engaging, action-oriented open enrollment email that will make the process as painless as possible for everyone involved.
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of crafting your email, let's take a step back and consider why this communication is so darn important in the first place:
Now that we've established why your open enrollment email is so critical let's break down the key components it should include:
Your subject line is the gatekeeper to your email's success. It needs to cut through the noise of a crowded inbox and convince employees to click. Some effective strategies include:
You've gotten employees to open your email—now you need to keep them reading. Your opening lines should be engaging and clearly communicate what the email is about and why it matters to the recipient. Some ideas:
Most people skim emails rather than reading every word, so it's important to format your content in a way that's easy to scan and digest. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and plenty of white space to break up the text. Headings and subheadings can also help organize the information and guide readers through the email.
What do you want employees to do after reading your email? Make sure you include a clear, specific call to action (CTA) that tells them exactly what steps to take next. Your CTA should be prominently placed and easy to spot—think a brightly colored button rather than a text link buried in a paragraph. Some examples:
In addition to your primary CTA, include links to other relevant resources that can help employees navigate the open enrollment process. This might include:
Benefits can feel like a dry, impersonal topic, but it doesn't have to be that way. Look for opportunities to infuse your email with a human touch and make it feel like it's coming from a real person rather than a faceless corporation. Some ideas:
So you've included all the key elements of an effective open enrollment email—you're done, right? Not so fast. To really take your email from good to great, you need to tap into the power of storytelling and emotional appeal.
At the end of the day, benefits decisions are deeply personal and often emotional. They're about people's health, financial security, and peace of mind. By weaving in storytelling elements and tugging at employees' heartstrings (in a genuine, non-manipulative way), you can create a more compelling and memorable email that inspires action.
Here are some ideas for incorporating storytelling and emotional appeal into your open enrollment email:
Has an employee had a positive experience with one of your benefits programs? With their permission, share a brief anecdote about how the benefit made a difference in their life. This could be anything from a health screening that caught a serious condition early to a financial wellness program that helped someone get out of debt.
What keeps your employees up at night when it comes to their benefits? Is it the fear of unexpected medical bills? Confusion about which plan to choose? Worry about not having enough money in retirement? Acknowledge these common concerns and position your benefits as a way to alleviate them.
Sometimes, benefits concepts can be tough to grasp in the abstract. Using a relatable metaphor or analogy can help make the information more concrete and memorable. For example, you might compare choosing a health plan to choosing a car—both require careful consideration of your needs, budget, and preferences.
Remind employees that they're part of a larger community and that their participation in open enrollment helps support the well-being of their coworkers and the company as a whole. You might include a quote from a company leader about the importance of benefits or share statistics about participation rates from previous years.
Without veering into fear-mongering territory, create a sense of urgency around the open enrollment deadline. Remind employees that this is their only chance to make changes to their benefits for the year ahead and that missing the deadline could have consequences. You might include a countdown timer or highlight key dates in bold.
A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. Including an image or two in your email can help create an emotional connection and make the content more memorable. Just be sure to choose visuals that are relevant, appropriate, and inclusive.
In addition to nailing the content of your email, there are a few technical best practices you can follow to increase the chances of your message being opened, read, and acted upon:
More than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices these days, so it's crucial that your email looks great and functions properly on smartphones and tablets. Use a responsive template that adapts to different screen sizes, and keep your design simple and streamlined.
Emails from a real person tend to perform better than those from a generic company account. If possible, send your email from the account of a member of your HR or benefits team, and include their name in the sender field.
Not all employees have the same benefits needs or preferences. Consider segmenting your email list based on factors like age, location, job level, or past enrollment behavior so you can tailor your messaging accordingly.
The subject line and call to action are two of the most important elements of your email, so it's worth testing different variations to see what performs best. Try A/B testing different subject lines with a small subset of your list before sending to everyone, and experiment with different CTA button colors and copy.
Ensure that employees with visual impairments or other disabilities can access and understand your email by following accessibility best practices. This includes using descriptive alt text for images, providing sufficient color contrast, and using headings and other structural elements to convey meaning.
Your open enrollment email shouldn't be a one-and-done communication. Follow up with reminder emails as the deadline approaches—and continue the conversation through other channels like your company intranet, team meetings, and posters or flyers around the office.
Crafting an engaging open enrollment email that educates, inspires action, and showcases your company's commitment to employee well-being is no small feat. But by following the tips and best practices outlined above—and injecting a healthy dose of creativity and personality—you can create a communication that stands out from the inbox clutter and sets the tone for a successful open enrollment season.
Remember, your open enrollment email is just one piece of the puzzle. To truly support employees in making informed benefits decisions, you'll need to provide ongoing education and resources throughout the year. But by starting off on the right foot with a killer email, you'll be well on your way to boosting participation, engagement, and overall employee satisfaction with your benefits programs.
So go forth and craft that email—and have fun with it!