Webinar Guidance on Effective Open Enrollment Communications

Open Enrollment, the fourth-quarter period when employees enroll in employer-sponsored group benefit programs, is “crunch time” for human resource managers and their staff. At a time when HR professionals’ plates are full of end-of-the-year tasks, anxious coworkers pile on with 11th-hour questions about benefit offerings and how to enroll. The key to avoiding this problem — or at least mitigating it — is Open Enrollment communications.

Alera Group invites you to join us for the next webinar in our Alera Engage series, “4 Practices That Can Make or Break Your Enrollment Communications.” Scheduled for Thursday, August 17, from 1-2 p.m. CT, the interactive session will cover proven best practices for preparing employees to make informed decisions on your organization’s benefit offerings — without that dreaded deadline panic.

As the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) wrote around this time last year in an article titled “Open Enrollment Success Relies on Effective Communications”:

“The need for effective open enrollment communications has never been more critical — or more complicated, given the rise of hybrid mixes of remote and onsite work arrangements. This requires a renewed focus on developing communications that meet employees' needs wherever they are and whenever they need to connect.”

For us, meeting employees’ needs wherever they are means not only recognizing their work location — onsite, home or hybrid arrangement — but also where they are in their careers and lives. People have different learning styles and different preferred means of acquiring information, and often those preferences are related to age. With as many as five generations currently employed in the workforce, organizations must diversify their communications and construct them with two common traits: clarity and simplicity.

Our webinar will take that same approach, clearly and succinctly explaining the four practices we see as vital to the success of your Open Enrollment rollout and offering you the opportunity to contribute comments and questions. We look forward to having you join us on August 17.

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About the Authors/Presenters

Mark Crowley

Sr. VP, Global Communications Practice Leader

Blue Communications, An Alera Group Company

For nearly 20 years, Mark has worked with industry-leading companies across a wide range of industries to develop and drive innovative communications programs. He is passionate about helping organizations create communications campaigns that engage, inspire and educate employees, customers, partners and communities alike. Mark believes that great company cultures start from the inside out and has focused much of his career helping organizations find new and creative ways to build stronger connections with their employees.

Brenna Hansen

Director of IT and Communications

Granite Group Benefits, An Alera Group Company

As Director of IT and Communications for Granite Group Benefits, Brenna manages systems and communications, oversees the Employee Benefit Lounge (EBL℠) platform and optimizes electronic documentation and communication policies and procedures. She works closely with clients to tailor Granite Group's solutions to their technological needs and to deliver professional, custom-branded communications. She also leads Alera Group’s Communications Impact Group, which brings together thought leaders from across the nation to develop advanced strategies, ideas and solutions.

Denise Stefanoff

VP of Client Service Delivery, Employee Benefits

Alera Group

Denise became Alera Group’s Vice President of Employee Benefits Client Service Delivery in March 2023 after almost 10 years in executive positions with Benefit Advisors Network (BAN). She is responsible for leading her team of national account executives in providing outstanding client experiences to Alera Group’s clients while strategically developing and managing relationships with preferred carriers.