Human resources professionals, benefits managers and executive management may long remember open enrollment 2021 as “the year of what’s coming next.”
How do we manage benefits enrollment if our employees are furloughed? Do we leave benefits status quo and encourage employees to just roll over their existing choices? Do we set up virtual benefits consultations? What’s the best way for employees to weigh their benefit options while they are simultaneously teaching their kids math and working from home?
With all of the uncertainty, we know one thing: Your benefits package can make a difference for a candidate to accept an offer or may be a tipping point for an employee to stay. Adding elements to your plan that are low-cost/high-value and that help your employees with preventive health measures, such as dental and vision insurance, may increase productivity. These affordable benefits are offered in many Iowa companies.
Employees who have dental and vision coverage are more likely to get regular checkups with their dentist and optometrist. These preventive visits increase productivity and decrease the likelihood of missing work for emergency issues like infections. In addition, regular checkups can spot signs or symptoms of chronic disease like cardiovascular issues, diabetes, cancer and more.
Even with the easy decision of including dental and vision insurance in your benefits package, your employees may still have a lot of questions. Here are some tips from Delta Dental of Iowa and DeltaVision to handle open enrollment season:
- Let’s talk: Utilize a variety of communication channels such as Zoom, FaceTime, YouTube, text messaging, company intranet, email, in-home mailings and more to connect with employees in mediums that work for them.
- Answer the obvious questions: Post a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ blog post or article on your company intranet or internal newsletter and keep it updated as questions roll in. Chances are good if one employee has a question about a particular benefit or terms of coverage, others will, too.
- Focus on the controllable elements: Encourage your employees to review and recognize preventive health insurance benefits that provide a solid value proposition – such as dental and vision, annual wellness exams and coverage for any existing health matters. Committing to proactive and preventive health measures should ultimately save money in the long run. And, studies show that employees using vision and dental benefits miss less work because they avoid emergency situations for themselves and their family members.
- Family matters: For those employees with family members, encourage them to consider the peace of mind that comes with knowing what a little research into their benefits now will mean in the event of an emergency. The stress of a knocked out tooth in a skateboard collision or a lost contact during a basketball tournament will be minimized if you know how your benefits will help you resolve the problem.
Don’t let social distancing prevent you from being available to answer your employees’ questions about their benefits package. Communicating early and often with employees – especially if they are working from home – will minimize the last-minute decision-making process and provide you valuable feedback on common questions.
Finally, help employees see the benefits of proactive and preventive health benefits that maximize their investment and minimize work disruptions. While nothing about 2020 has been normal, taking these steps may help normalize your employees’ benefits enrollment for 2021.
For more information on vision and dental benefits plans with Delta Dental of Iowa and DeltaVision, visit deltadentalia.com/employers.
April Schmaltz is Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, of Delta Dental of Iowa.
