Most employees find benefits confusing. In fact, 1/3 of Americans don’t understand the benefits they picked during open enrollment. Further, it is incredibly challenging to keep employees’ attention long enough for them to understand their benefits. If employees do not engage with their benefits materials within 15 seconds, they will move on to another task. The result is that employees are often over- or under-insured relative to their health needs, driving up costs for themselves and for the plan, and decreasing employee satisfaction and engagement.  

Although effective benefits communication is challenging, employees do have the desire to learn and understand. More than half of employees wish their employer would help them understand the benefits that they have elected. Traditional benefits communications - PDF benefit guides, mailers, and email campaigns - just haven’t been able to provide the depth of education that employees need to clearly understand the value of their benefits.

Benefits communications can and should evolve to better support employees, and drive more informed benefits decision-making. Modern tools like benefits apps and microsites streamline benefits communications by offering a centralized location for health plan explanations, enrollment procedures, wellness initiatives, retirement plans, instructional videos, paperwork, forms, and more. At the same time, they allow for interactive education with rich assets and comprehensive decisioning support so employees can choose the right plan for their needs and know how to best utilize it throughout the plan year.

So, why should you consider a tool like a microsite versus a PDF benefits guide? Let’s take a look at the benefits:

1. User-friendly: Benefit microsites are visually appealing, easy to access, and simple to navigate. A clear and organized structure, along with navigational tools, enables employees to locate answers promptly. Additionally, the microsite can be customized to align with your company's unique brand or benefit campaign theme. A recognizable design creates an inviting and comfortable user experience. These microsites can employ QR codes to link to various resources such as emails, benefits guides, company intranets, or postcards. With a dedicated benefits website, employees will always know where to find answers and obtain the resources necessary to make informed decisions, during onboarding, open enrollment, or throughout the year.
2. Keep Employees Up-to-Date: Since open enrollment details, FAQs, and other pertinent benefit reminders can change throughout the year, microsites are an efficient way to ensure that information is always accessible and up to date. They enable you to highlight information that remains relevant throughout the year as well as to periodically update the site with new or updated benefits, announcements, open enrollment dates, and more.
3. Decisioning Support: Given the complexity of benefits and the importance of making informed benefits decisions, employees need comprehensive decisioning support. PlanYear’s digital benefits guide solution, for example, provides a plan recommendation tool that gives employees a personalized estimate of the total cost of care under each of the available plan options based on their actual health needs. Employees can also reference an updated list of doctors in their network via doctor search tools. Lastly, employees can schedule personalized benefits consultations on PlanYear’s microsite, guaranteeing year-round access to answers for any inquiries. An employer can keep effortlessly keep the microsite up-to-date, allowing employees to access the most recent benefits information at any time.
4. On-Demand Access: With many employees working remotely, it is crucial to ensure that all employees, including those who are not physically present in the office, receive healthcare benefits communications. Microsites offer 24/7 accessibility from any device, providing employees with the necessary resources precisely when they require them. Moreover, as benefit microsites generally do not contain confidential or sensitive data, they can be located outside the company's firewall and do not necessarily require password protection (unless an employer would like it). This accessibility allows both employees and their spouses to benefit from the organization's health and wellness resources, extending the value to the entire family. Microsites can also address accessibility obstacles, such as those faced by individuals with hearing, vision, or other challenges to website access. By providing solutions to ADA challenges, microsites create equitable access to healthcare benefits for all employees.
   
   

With an intuitive benefits microsite that is personalized to an employer’s unique benefits program, brand, and company culture, employers can:

1. Improve employee experience
2. Ensure that employees select the right plan for their unique healthcare needs
3. Give employees the information they need to effectively utilize their benefits, and
4. Increase overall satisfaction with the benefits program

Unlike a PDF, benefits microsites are a living resource that can be accessed on demand and updated on an ongoing basis based on the feedback and questions that are coming from employees. By evolving benefits communications to suit modern employees’ needs, we can drive better health and financial outcomes for employees and employers.