Communicating benefits change results in 97 percent compliance

Making changes to benefits is fraught with peril, even when the changes are a net positive. Suspicion and confusion frequently mar what should be a smooth transition. Bank of America’s communicators and their partners understood this when facing the migration of more than 32,000 retirees from a Medicare Supplement plan to a newer Medicare Advantage plan. Its solution has won first place in the “Benefits Communication” category of Ragan’s 2018 Employee Communications Awards.

Complicating matters was the fact this audience had not faced a significant benefits change in some time. To understand the implications for communication, the team conducted interviews of colleagues at other financial services firms, medical carriers and benefits consulting firms.

Bank of America’s team partnered with Fidelity Investments to produce the communication while tapping into the expertise at United Healthcare and SilverScript—which shared the same audience—to ensure employees received personalized information to reflect their own circumstances.

The team conducted nearly 50 group meetings for plan participants and engaged in well-conceived and executed communication, helping participants through the process and resulting in 97 percent making the transition successfully, a remarkable compliance achievement. Anecdotal feedback from the in-person meetings confirmed the effectiveness of the effort.

Congratulations to Bank of America’s Terese Bouzos, Joshua Bassinger and Kelli Fowler, as well as Michelle Keefe, Juan Carlos Navarro and Candace Wells from Fidelity Investments.