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When you think of inclusivity, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s words like “diversity,” “belonging,” or “equity.” Perhaps you think about someone you care about or your own experiences.
No matter what comes up, I’d bet it’s personal to you. Inclusivity is more than just a buzzword—it’s about the people we lead and care about.
Many HR and benefits leaders worldwide strive to foster belonging and equity, but the open enrollment process often gets overlooked. And it’s so important to get inclusivity right during this period.
Open enrollment resources are all the tools, information, and support provided to employees annually when they can choose or change their benefits. They include detailed guides, informational webinars, decision-support tools, FAQs, and access to benefits counselors.
These resources ensure employees make informed decisions about their benefits and, ultimately, their well-being for the upcoming year.
Recognizing workforce diversity for inclusive open enrollment
Understanding the role and importance of diversity in the workplace is foundational to prioritizing inclusivity. Diversity in the workplace means having a mix of people with different backgrounds and perspectives.
This includes differences in race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and socioeconomic background. It also means recognizing cultural differences like language, values, beliefs, and traditions. Embracing this diversity is key to building an inclusive and dynamic workplace.
Employees have different needs and preferences based on their unique backgrounds. A one-size-fits-all approach can lead to misunderstanding and disengagement. By tailoring communication to reflect and respect this diversity, we ensure everyone is equally informed and can make the best choices for their circumstances, raising employee satisfaction and engagement.
Using inclusive imagery and language in open enrollment
Inclusive imagery and language in the open enrollment process help employees see themselves represented, fostering a sense of belonging. Inclusive language avoids bias and stereotypes, making the information respectful and accessible to all. You can achieve this by:
- Using diverse images and illustrations that show different races, genders, ages, abilities, and family structures.
- Keeping the language simple and avoiding technical jargon.
- Providing materials in multiple languages to meet the needs of your workforce.
- Using gender-neutral language and inclusive terms that reflect various family dynamics.
By implementing these filters into the development of your offered open enrollment resources, your current employees’ overall workplace satisfaction will likely increase as they (and their family members) feel seen and represented by your organization.
These filters may also attract future employee candidates to your workplace, especially younger candidates who are part of a generation to whom inclusivity matters deeply.
Incorporating cultural sensitivity and localized content
Culture plays a big role in how open enrollment benefits are communicated. Cultural norms and values influence how employees perceive and prioritize different benefits.
For example, some cultures might value family health benefits more, while others might focus on retirement savings. Understanding these cultural differences helps tailor communication strategies to better resonate with diverse employees.
By customizing the content of open enrollment communications as HR leaders of an organization, you are communicating that you value all cultural backgrounds present in your workplace.
While it may feel impossible to contextualize every resource for every cultural background, you can take a few easy steps to ensure that all employees can engage with the information you provide.
Offering resources in localized languages and implementing strategies for effective translation can help accomplish this. Utilizing these two methods demonstrates your commitment to inclusivity and strengthens the trust between the employee and the organization.
Cultural awareness is pivotal in fostering inclusivity and employee engagement in open enrollment resources for HR leaders.
Ensuring education level and accessibility in open enrollment
Simplifying complex information is key to ensuring that employees can make informed decisions about their benefits or feel equipped to communicate the offerings to the other people in their household to determine the best next steps. Consider using visual aids, infographics, and plain language in all resources.
Another way to prioritize diversity within open enrollment resources is to ensure materials are accessible to employees with disabilities. Ask, “Do all our materials comply with all accessibility standards (e.g., ADA, WCAG, etc.)?”
To successfully reach all “decision-makers” of each household, providing benefits information that employees can easily share with their families, such as brochures or online portals, can be helpful. You may also consider hosting family-friendly informational sessions where spouses or partners can attend.
Gathering and implementing employee feedback
Incorporating employee feedback into open enrollment resources is crucial for creating an inclusive and effective benefits program. Start by using anonymous surveys, including demographic questions, to spot trends. These questions should be optional to encourage participation, but over time, as trust is established, employees will be more likely to respond.
Additionally, hosting focus groups that bring together employees from diverse backgrounds, approaching these sessions without assumptions, and tailoring them to the demographics you’re aware of can be helpful tools for collecting feedback.
For on-site employees, consider placing a suggestion box where individuals can offer feedback they might feel uncomfortable sharing otherwise. Conducting one-on-one check-ins allows employees to share their thoughts directly with the appropriate team members, ensuring they feel heard even if they are hesitant to provide feedback in a group setting.
By leveraging these methods, you can gather comprehensive insights and continuously improve the open enrollment experience.
6 best practices for inclusive open enrollment
Prioritizing diversity and inclusivity is essential when navigating open enrollment communications and the resources that support it.
Here are six best practices we’ll be implementing during this year’s open enrollment period at Spring Health, that you can implement as well:
- Engage with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): Collaborate with ERGs to gain insights and ensure materials reflect diverse perspectives. Seek out all angles of diversity from ERGs, including race, ethnicity, gender, generational/age, or other shared interests.
- Conduct regular diversity audits: Review and update materials regularly to ensure they remain inclusive and relevant. Be intentional about who you are sourcing feedback from on all angles of diversity. Don’t forget about generational diversity, which is an incredible opportunity to give your Generation Z employees a voice at the table on something their generation highly values.
- Provide training for HR teams: Offer cultural competence and inclusive communication training to your HR and benefits teams. Culture is ever-changing. When we stop educating ourselves and others, we ultimately stand in the way of personal and organizational growth. Continued learning is essential to continued growth.
- Utilize inclusive design principles: Implement design principles that prioritize accessibility and representation. Who is depicted in design materials? Who isn’t depicted? Who needs to be? Have you asked a variety of people for their feedback on these assets? These are all important questions when creating designed assets for your open enrollment resources.
- Leverage technology: Use technology to offer personalized and localized content for employees. However, consider those in your workplace who may also benefit from a non-technology option for your resources.
- Foster an inclusive culture: Promote a culture of inclusion that extends beyond open enrollment, reinforcing your company’s commitment to diversity.
By ensuring benefits and resources are inclusive and accessible to all employees, we foster a sense of belonging and drive greater engagement and satisfaction within the workforce.
Taking the first step to boost inclusivity
Inclusive open enrollment resources are not a “nice to have,” but an essential tool for supporting our employees and their families in making informed choices regarding their benefits and overall well-being.
When inclusivity is elevated and a healthy workplace culture is the goal, you’ve successfully created an environment where employees and their families feel safe, supported, and cared for.
So, as you prepare for open enrollment, reflect on this question: What is the one step you’ll take to elevate inclusivity in the process?
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