Health savings accounts (HSAs) offer employers and their employees a way to offset healthcare challenges. By providing an HSA, employers can provide their workers with a way to save for medical expenses while managing their bottom line. However, like you, we know that HSA participation could be improved. Fortunately, with the right HSA education tools and innovative technological solutions, brokers have an opportunity to show clients how to improve employee engagement during open enrollment and increase enrollment in HSAs. In this post we break down how technology impacts HSA participation and more HSA information, tips, and tricks.
Technology Gives Employers Accurate and Helpful HSA Information
Trying to optimize HSA participation without knowing how employees use HSAs is a bit like tossing a coin in the air and hoping it lands on heads except your chances for success are probably less than 50%. Fortunately, employers can now use technology and data segmentation to see how their employees are using HSAs. For example, they can see the extent to which employees are saving, spending, and investing. This information can then be used to tailor how your clients engage various groups of employees regarding HSAs.
Technology Makes Personalized Conversations Possible
Personalized communication has the power to optimize how employees use their HSAs. Once your clients understand how their employees use HSAs, they can create tailored communication and marketing campaigns that speak directly to the needs of their employees, building customized education sessions and assistance.
Your clients may benefit from creating the following campaigns based on how their employees are using HSAs:
Contribution Campaigns
Because technology makes it possible for employers to know whether employees are contributing enough to their HSAs, your clients can now create contribution campaigns to assist employees who need to add more money to their account. Your clients can help employees set specific contribution goals and help them monitor their progress.
Wealth-Building Campaigns
Many employees fail to realize that their HSA is a wealth-building tool. By evaluating how employees use their HSA account, your clients can learn where to intervene. Wealth-building campaigns can be used to show employees how to use their HSA as a retirement savings account.
Awareness Building Campaigns
An awareness building campaign is a great idea for clients who seem to have multiple issues to address where HSAs are concerned. Though these campaigns are designed to impart employees with general knowledge, they can still be tailored to address your clients’ most pressing needs.
Technology Prompts Employee Engagement
Employees who have received personalized and specific help are more willing to engage and learn more. By using technology to see where your client’s employees struggle, you can help your client engage employees more effectively.
The simple act of speaking directly to the needs of employees unlocks engagement across the board. Your client’s employees will be more likely to ask questions during Open Enrollment Season, and many will become savvy decision-makers.
Employees who are ready to engage during open enrollment will enjoy interacting with Emma. Emma is our interactive decision support tool. She asks employees a series of questions, and based on their answers, suggests a variety of appropriate plans. Emma is yet another example of how technological solutions positively impact benefit consumption.
Of course, we also provide a host of other benefits offerings that employees will find useful, such as our commuter benefits program and our NYC commuter benefits.
Stay Current. Be a Hero.
Technology is becoming an integral part of employee benefits. Brokers who are up to date with technological advances have a unique advantage—when you connect clients with technology that improves HSA participation and more, you become a hero. Bottom line: it’s worth investing in benefits technology and convincing your clients to do so as well.
