2. How important was the initial workplace assessment to the success of the communication campaign? What do you think would have happened if it had skipped that step of the process? Case 23 H . UT Despite employees' desire >> Better Health Care through Communication Fairview Health Services is a comprehensive, regional medical system headquartered in Minneapolis and employing more than 19,000 people across 200 different facilities throughout the state of Minnesota. In fall 2005, Fairview launched a new benefit program called Ultimate Choice-the latest step in an ongoing attempt to engage Fairview employees in personal health consumerism. Ultimate Choice included a create your own medical plan called MedChoice that offered employees more choices and flexibility in their health coverage. As part of this initiative, Fairview provided employees with an interactive tool that modeled the cost associated with the company's health plans. Employees were able to calculate various levels of 9 copays, deductibles, coinsurance, and pharmacy benefits for themselves and the family members they cover. For employees not covered by a union contract, Ultimate Choice also included a Rewards Budget that employees could use to purchase benefits, including medical, dental, life insurance, disability insurance, paid time off, and other benefits. Fairview also provided a health risk assessment for employees that encouraged employees to learn for greater benefit flexibility, more about their own personal health and how to manage their wellness. customizing a health plan Together, these initiatives encouraged Fairview employees to take a greater and enrolling online were role in assessing and using their major changes for people benefits A significant culture shift accustomed to receiving medical accompanied the Ultimate Choice benefits through standard program-online benefits enrollment Fairview facilitated this culture shift with a comprehensive communication minimal, if any, deductibles, campaign that provided remarkable results. More than 95 percent of the copays, or coinsurance. eligible workforce participated in the Ultimate Choice program and enrolled in their benefits via new online tools. A workforce assessment revealed that many Fairview employees had minimal benefits and computer literacy. As a result, the key to ensuring the success of Ultimate Choice and enrolling virtually all Fairview's diverse employee workforce online was a comprehensive education and communication campaign that began in advance of the late fall enrollment period. The communication campaign was launched seven weeks prior to the enrollment period and was initiated by sending a newsletter to employees. The newsletter reinforced the connection between benefits and total compensation and shared information about health care trends. The newsletter was the first step in preparing employees for the coming changes. The communication campaign was ongoing throughout the enrollment period and continued 5 weeks beyond the end of the enrollment period, for a total of 18 weeks. Continued on next page prepackaged plans that carried Chapter 2 / Communication Skills 45 and Fairview's need to respond to changing workforce demographics by providing more flexibility through Fairview recognized the need for different communication channels and methods to reach the entire workforce from organizationwide e-mail announcements to personalized communication with employees. It also developed a volunteer program through which "benefit tutors" met with and assisted employees with diverse learning and staft. These leaders were provided tools and resources to promote the benefits of Ultimate Choice and to Ultimate Choice was introduced by the chief executive officer and the senior vice president of human resources at a meeting of the Fairview System leadership team to ensure that all 800 leaders received the same message The senior vice president of human resources presented the business case for Ultimate Choice to the leadership team. The senior vice president of human resources also presented the plan design and implementation plan during this briefing. The business case for change included data on increasing employer health costs Continued from page 45 across support employees. needs and from various ethnic communities, using materials in six different languages. Need for Flexibility Because of varying needs, many Fairview employees asked for more flexibility in their benefit choices. And even though they had enjoyed first-rate coverage long after local competitors had adopted more restrictive plans, Fairview employees reported only moderate satisfaction with their benefits. Through a range of communication methods-from one-on-one coaching to eye-catching, professionally designed newsletters and fact sheets with clear, consistent messages-Fairview introduced and positioned Ultimate Choice as the response to employees' desire for more choice. At the same time, employees were made aware that Fairview was working hard to stabilize rising benefit costs for both employees and the organization- and to continue as a leader in the health care market. Despite employees' desire for greater benefit flexibility, customizing a health plan and enrolling online were major changes for people accustomed to receiving medical benefits through standard prepackaged plans that carried minimal, if any, deductibles, copays, or coinsurance To address that challenge in the months preceding the enrollment period all employees were given individual e-mail accounts and 24-hour access to the company intranet. Basic computer courses were offered to employees at no charge. Computer labs across the health system were staffed to accommodate employees on all three shifts and provide instruction to employees, and 20 computer kiosks were set up throughout Fairview facilities for A key component of the those without computer access. Because of the assistance and Ultimate Choice communication communication provided throughout campaign was developing strong the enrollment period, employees advocates and securing buy came to accept and embrace the online plan selection and enrollment, which allowed them to create up to 52 unique MedChoice plan combinations. leadership team-600 clinical Advocates for Change A key component of the Ultimate Choice communication campaign was developing strong advocates and securing buy-in from the Fairview System leadership team-600 clinical and administrative leaders from the organization-as well as from human resource directors in from the Fairview System and administrative leaders from across the organization- as well as from human resource directors and staff. innovative benefit options that helped employees not only to understand their benefits but to appreciate them as well. The business case also predicted that Ultimate Choice would better position Fairview as it competed for talent in an extremely tight labor market. The process of creating advocates among Fairview leaders continued after the general meeting. The core planning team-led by the senior vice president of human resources and made up of Fairview experts in human resources, benefits, compensation, employee services, information technology, and communication--held eight briefings with front-line supervisors in each of Fairview's divisions during which the new health plan was presented in greater detail. The goal of these meetings was to help managers think through how the change would impact their employees and what it would mean for managers in terms of supporting employees through the changes. Managers were not expected to become benefits experts but to facilitate the change process. Managers also were asked to be mindful that their employees might have complicated health care needs that weren't evident in the workplace. For example, an employee might have a chronic condition that they would like to keep private or a very ill child at home. Managers were encouraged to reach out to every employee so that each received the personal attention needed to make the right health plan decisions. Throughout the communication campaign, the leadership group was given a commitment that there would be no surprises; they would be given specific details about benefit changes at least one week before they were announced to employees. The core planning team pledged to provide resources to managers as needed, to follow up with employees who had questions about the changes, and to readily accept managers' requests for a meeting or assistance. The fundamental challenge to communicating this major change was that for the first time, employees would be required to understand and weigh the fundamentals of insurance. They needed to understand not only copays and deductibles but also what their employer must pay to provide each plan. To educate employees in these fundamentals, three core documents were used throughout the campaign: an intranet e-mail guide, a benefits glossary with explanations of important terms, and a benefits overview. These documents were critical in alerting employees to the nature of the change, instructing them on how to access technology, and helping them understand the terminology in the newsletters and other communication materials. Continued Communication Support Fairview's message to employees continues to be,"We are committed to providing you with the resources and information you need to make the most out of your benefits package." The success of Fairview's initiative in the face of many challenges-including the need to communicate to some of the most diverse audiences in the American workforce-demonstrates the effectiveness of a serious and thoughtful approach to benefits communication planning and execution. As employers seek additional approaches and technologies to encourage health consumerism, it will become even more important to communicate new initiatives effectively. With more choices comes more responsibility, and it is easy to imagine employees being overwhelmed by new, complex changes. The key to successful introduction and support of leading-edge benefits programs will continue to be a well-thought-out communication strategy. QUESTIONS 1. Why would Fairview want employees to take a greater role in assessing and using their benefits? 2. How important was the initial workplace assessment to the success of the communication campaign? What do you think would have happened if it had skipped that step of the process? 3. Which message do you think carried the greater impact for employees-that Fairview was working to control costs or that the company was responding to requests for greater choice in benefit options? Explain your answer. 4. What do you think was the most successful element of the communication campaign? Why? Source: Adapted from Crdy frutal and Water WedeCasting for Health Care Commons A Case Study." Compensation and Benefits Anine vol 0.5 200140