Earlier this summer, we had a blast escaping to the (virtual) woods with some of our favorite HR pals for Camp Engage, an open enrollment crash course.
Led by industry experts and HR leaders, it was an opportunity to connect with peers, gain insights on the shifting landscape of the workforce, and learn better HR survival skills to support your people during open enrollment. We did a few arts and crafts, navigated a ropes course, and even took an archery lesson. Friends were made, fun was had, and we’re still scrubbing the dirt off of our hiking boots.
But if you missed it, don’t worry! We left a few trail markers for you and put together full recaps of each session. Check them out!
Mile 1: Untangling our Top HR Priorities Halfway Through 2023
If you’ve ever finished a high ropes course, you might already know what 2023 has felt like for HR pros. Twists and turns at every corner, trial and error as we test uncharted waters, and a rush of excitement when our efforts take us closer to the end of the zipline.
2023 hasn’t been for the faint of heart. But it has also driven a new level of innovation, inspiration, and achievement for benefits pros across the country. That’s why we caught up with three HR leaders from various industries to learn more about what they’ve learned this year, and what their biggest priorities will be in the next six months. Here’s what they shared with us.
Learn what HR pros are prioritizing for the rest of 2023.
Mile 2: How to Make Your Benefits Messages Stick
“Hello? (Hellooooo…hellooo…helloooo…) Is anybody out there? (Out there…out there…out there…)”
If you’re an HR pro, it might feel like you’re shouting into a cavernous void every time open enrollment rolls around. It’s our most important time of year, when we’re tasked with sharing allll of our benefits materials with each and every employee, in an effort to provide them with the resources they need to stay happy and healthy. But what happens when we’re met with radio silence?
During Camp Engage, we asked Maddison Grigsby of Gallagher that very question. In turn, she shared her best strategies and tactics for making your benefits messages stick every time—to drive engagement, action, and appreciation for your organization’s total rewards package.
Gain valuable tips on how to make your benefits communication resonate with employees.
Mile 3: Getting Creative with Open Enrollment
How is open enrollment like an art project?
Well, as you might have experienced in the past few years, connecting the right employees with the right benefits requires a lot more creativity than it used to. With five different generations in the workforce, more benefits offerings than ever, and employees spread out across the country (or world), it takes a crafty benefits pro to develop open enrollment messaging that resonates and drives action.
But if you’re lacking inspiration as 2024 open enrollment approaches, don’t worry. We turned to the artists themselves—Katie Richards of Corewell Health, and Matthew Pettit of Wawa—to find out how they’re coloring outside the lines to drive greater benefits engagement.
Open enrollment is a lot of work. Learn how these HR pros are driving greater benefits engagement in their organizations.
Mile 4: Supporting Employees at Every Stage of Life
The benefits of having a multi-generational workforce definitely outweigh the cons. But it has shown us that benefits communication needs to change to better resonate with our age-diverse population. And as open enrollment quickly approaches, HR and benefits pros face a whole new challenge: how can we create an inclusive benefits experience for every employee, no matter their stage of life?
That task is no easy walk in the woods, which is why we caught up with a few experts at Camp Engage who have successfully supported their workforces at every step of their careers. Here are their best tips for driving benefits engagement with every generation during this year’s open enrollment.
Hear from other HR pros and how they support their multi-generational workforces.
Mile 5: Blending Tech & Human Touch for a Vibrant Employee Experience
Are aliens invading the planet? Are robots taking over? Is AI coming for our jobs? These days, everything’s feeling…well, a little less human. And while the expansion of technology offers many benefits, there’s also reasonable cause for concern, especially in our world of HR.
After all, our employees are still looking for human connections at work. No robot can substitute a coworker’s hug, a boss’s word of encouragement, or a fun happy hour after a long day. And especially when it comes to navigating those complicated benefits questions, employees still want guidance from a trusted expert.
So how can we take the best of what technology has to offer and combine it with a human touch? We explored that question during Camp Engage and heard from real-life experts about how they’re strengthening the employer-employee relationship.
