Some companies still see value in creating the full library of acronyms and documents during Open Enrollment — guides, SMMs, BaaGs, SBCs, etc. Many, though, rely on two key communications: an evergreen benefits guide and accompanying Open Enrollment newsletters.
If you haven’t considered the value of a newsletter, spend a couple minutes reading why more and more companies benefit from them. Plus, see some examples for inspiration.
The Practical (and Technical) Reasons
- It’s your SMM. An OE newsletter serves as your summary of material modifications each year. It’s where you mention all the benefit changes…the good and the not-so-good.
- Your benefits guide is “evergreen.” The content about Open Enrollment can make a benefits guide seem outdated in the new year. With your OE information pulled into a separate newsletter, your benefits guide can be used year-round — for welcoming new hires and as a reference guide for existing employees.
The Communications Rationale
- All OE info in one short document. When it comes time to choose benefits, employees want to know three main things: what’s changing, how much it costs, and how to enroll. This information is all in the newsletter, which is far shorter than the full benefits guide. And you can reference and link to the guide throughout the newsletter.
- More space for news. Your benefits guide might be tight on space, so you can’t fit all the details of a great new program, or explain why a big change is happening. But the newsletter is wide open for announcements and explanations.
- Space for reminders and promos. The newsletter is a great place to remind employees they need to name beneficiaries, elect HSA contributions, enroll in FSAs, etc. It’s also another opportunity to promote poorly utilized but extremely valuable benefits.
Examples of Companies Using Newsletters Today
At Write On Target, we’ve created OE newsletters for many, many clients. We’re sharing three with you, all still active today.
- The #1 global leader in the celebrations marketplace
- The #2 international education and technology company
- The world’s leader in high-quality luxury products
We can’t share every page of each newsletter, but you’ll get a clear picture of how information is organized and communicated.
