Engaging Employees in HR Decision-Support Tools – Web Site Techniques

Serwar AhmedPacific Business Group on Health

Consumer Engagement ForumFebruary 27, 2008

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Engaging employees in health benefits decision support online*

PBGH Member Practices

Navigation to & from decision support

Organization of tools & informationLearn: education content

Consider trade-offs: decision support engagement

Do: choice transactions

* Please see slide notes below

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Navigation to decision support tools using PBGH Plan Chooser

Example 1 – through Open Enrollment Site

Decision support tools organized in “toolkit menu”

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Navigation to decision support tools using PBGH Plan Chooser

Example 2 – Through “MyBENEFITS” Portal

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Chooser proximity to benefits home page

How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? (Answer = 3)

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Chooser proximity to open enrollment site

6 of 8 employers had a chooser link somewhere on the Open Enrollment page. In many cases other decision support tools occupied the same real

estate on the pages.

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Benefits page: ways to organize and promote decision support tools Estimate Your Life Insurance Needs Medical Plan Chooser Tool Compare Your Dental Options

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Organizing placement of decision support tools

3 candidate locations for placing a link to the decision support tools on the benefits page

In a toolbar/ sidebar of main page

In the main content area of page

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Organizing placement of decision support tools

In the navigation bar at the top of the main page

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Promotion text to attract user to open the decision support tool Options to prompt user to open/investigate the decision

support tool How does the promotion of the tool add value to the user? How does it factor in a decision to open the tool?

A brief and short description or phrase

A detailed description – tell user value to them

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Promotion text to attract user to open the decision support tool

No description (only the title of the link)

Link is placed on a toolbar/ sidebar

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Moving from decision support to choice transactions: The “Do” phase

How many clicks/pages does it take to get from the link to the Chooser to the link/page to enroll in a plan?

ENROLLENROLL

* 0 indicates the enrollment link and Chooser link was on the same page

ENROLLENROLL

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Moving from decision support to choice transactions: The “Do” phase

Examples of guiding the individual from decision support to completing transactions

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Wrapping it up

PBGH members considered different approaches in presenting decision support tools on their websites

Fundamental premise is to:EducateAllow employee to compare, make trade-offsGuide them to execute