Human Resources & Financial Consulting

Change management

By Leslie Stevens-Huffman

David Kang
Texas Communication Practice Leader
Watson Wyatt Worldwide

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The rising cost of healthcare has driven an increasing number of companies toward high deductible health plans (HDHP). In 2002, just 2 percent of companies opted for HDHPs, according to data collected by Watson Wyatt Worldwide; by 2008, 47 percent of the surveyed companies had switched to the plans or added an HDHP to the their medical plan offering.

Current 2008 health savings account (HSA) requirements for HDHPs feature high annual deductibles, a minimum of $1,100 for individuals and $2,200 for families, but they also differ fundamentally from traditional plans, because they require employees to be savvy health care consumers and to take responsibility for their own wellness. Those new responsibilities just add to the change management challenge for employers.

“Health insurance is constantly evolving in an effort to manage rising costs, and HDHPs are a growing cost control approach,” says David Kang, Texas Communication Practice Leader for Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Smart Business spoke with Kang about how to create and execute an effective communication strategy around the change to HDHPs.

What are employee concerns about HDHPs?

Unless employees understand why the change is necessary and how it may benefit them, most tend to see the move to HDHPs as a reduction in total rewards. This leads to low morale, possible work force unionization, but most importantly, low engagement, which reduces employee productivity and company profits. It can also result in the turnover of key employees, who might turn to another company with a similar plan but a better communication approach to its benefit programs.

What constitutes an effective communication plan?

An effective communication plan will have specific goals that are aligned to a company’s HR strategy and key business imperatives. The next step is to establish a communication process and identify the media that will reach the targeted audience, execute and then measure the plan’s effectiveness.

With HDHP plans, much of the communication needs to be centered around employee education and managing employee expectations, because you’re teaching people new concepts and a plan design that may be quite unfamiliar to them.

Employees need to understand three key components: the health plan design, how to be smart health care consumers and how to manage their own wellness. To communicate these components to employees effectively, you need a comprehensive plan.

What are the best communication tactics?

Initially, the CEO should announce the change to the company and explain the reasons behind it, and have his or her senior leadership team on board with the concept. Next, HR should lead the education process with the support of line managers. Based on our research and experience, face-to-face communication invites personal interaction and opportunities to field employee follow-up questions to effectively manage the education process.

Employees won’t grasp all the new concepts and nuances at once, so employers must be prepared to provide educational tools not just prior to enrollment, but throughout the year. We find electronic media such as: videos, Flash videos and Podcasts to be very effective channels to reinforce key messages and sustain the ongoing employee education process. Post these materials on the company intranet if possible since people learn at different paces and they may need to review the materials again.

What’s the timing for the communications plan?

Ideally, launch the marketing aspects of the plan one year before open enrollment. Train your managers first so they can be the change agents and educate employees with HR’s support. Once the new plan is in place, CEOs can monitor the plan’s effectiveness by reviewing employee HDHP adoption rates and their participation rates in complementary behavior change and risk assessment programs. Conduct focus groups and include questions about HDHPs in the company’s employee satisfaction survey to gauge the plan’s effectiveness and employee attitudes about the change.

What messages should be communicated to employees about HDHPs?

Start with the positives. Preventive care is often fully covered and employees’ health care premiums may even decrease. Employees should feel more empowered to manage their own health with an HDHP, and if you provide employee incentives around weight loss and smoking cessation as part of the program, they should feel supported in their quest to live long, healthy lives. Effective communication is not a silver bullet for the rising cost of health care, but it will educate employees and help them understand the reasons behind the change to an HDHP.

DAVID KANG is the Texas Communication Practice Leader for Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Reach him at (214) 530-4201 or david.kang@watsonwyatt.com.