HR Pulse - Spring 2008 - (Page 60) [WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?—BEST PRACTICES FOR THE PRACTITIONER] Open Enrollment: Top 10 Ways to Reach Health Care Employees By Traci M. Ball E 60 HR Pulse Spring 2008 very year organizations gear up for open enrollment hoping this year will be more successful than last. The goal to reach more employees is always on the horizon: “What can we do this year to reach more employees?” Working for a health care system that includes six hospitals and a cancer center, I am challenged to find the best way to help all employees make the best benefits choices for their needs. As HR practitioners, we are responsible for reaching each and every employee; however, in a hospital setting in particular, we have to work around issues such as time and location. Time because a hospital is a 24/7 operation, requiring communication with employees around the clock. Location because not all employees are in one building, making it impractical to hold a benefits fair at one location. Every health care facility has unique obstacles in communicating benefits information. To help overcome some of those challenges, I have found 10 successful ways to reach hospital employees during open enrollment. The key idea with the 10 suggestions is to take the information to the employee. By reaching out to the employees through a combination of e-mail, night rounds, and site fairs, you can avoid Open Enrollment confusion. n Traci M. Ball is an HR Administrative Analyst for the Orlando Regional Healthcare, Orlando, Fla. 1. Have an on-site Benefits Fair. If you are a health system with several different hospitals, the most effective way to reach all of your employees is to go to them. Advertise ahead of time that you are coming and that you will have giveaways. If you have vendors coming, you also will want to mention that they will be there to answer any specific questions your employees might have. 2. Do night rounds to visit the hospital staff who work the third shift. If someone is working a 12-hour shift, and its 7 a.m. when they get off work, the last thing they will want to do is stop by Human Resources to enroll in benefits. When you go on night rounds, you can take your time and answer questions for the employees. 3. Have elevator meetings. If employees come down to the cafeteria or are heading home they will ride the elevator. Being right there when they get off the elevator to ask them if they have any questions about Open Enrollment is convenient for the employee. 4. Attend department meetings. Every department will have some type of meeting, whether it’s a huddle in the morning to discuss patients or in a support area, there might be a weekly meeting that you can attend to inform employees about the changes in benefits. 5. Send blast e-mails. Blast e-mails can be an effective way to communicate with employees and managers. By sending out a blast e-mail, you can remind your employees that it’s Open Enrollment, communicate the important deadlines, and tell them if and when you’ll be on site to answer questions. 6. Floor rounds. During Open Enrollment this also is a great way to reach employees who cannot leave their area. This is the day version of night rounds. By doing fl oor rounds you are bringing the information to the employees. 7. If your hospital has a weekly periodical, list information about Open Enrollment in it. By having the information in this format, they can easily read and have access to it when they have time. And other employees will see this, and it may spark conversation. This form of communication also will help reach the employees who do not have e-mail. 8. Send out the information to managers to discuss in meetings. It is important that managers communicate with their employees, even if it is just a brief meeting when rounds are switching. Information can be communicated to let employees know how to get in touch with HR or that HR will be on site to answer questions. 9. Mail postcards. You can do a mass mailing before Open Enrollment to let employees know what the dates of Open Enrollment are and who to contact if they have any questions about the new information. 10. List the information via the company’s Intranet site. In a 24/7 environment, this way of communicating important information to employees is perfect. They can access the Web site when it is suitable for them, since they will be at work, list your contact information and time you’ll be on site at the hospitals to answer questions in person.
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