A Strategic Guide to Open Enrollment for Nonprofit Hospitals

For HR leaders in nonprofit hospitals, open enrollment season isn't just about forms and deadlines—it's a unique opportunity to reinforce your mission, support retention goals, and increase benefit participation, especially for underutilized programs like:

• Student Loan Repayment Support
  
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Guidance
  
• Tuition Reimbursement
  
• Financial Wellness Coaching

If you want to improve open enrollment engagement in a healthcare setting, especially among clinical staff, this strategic guide is for you.

Step 1: Audit Last Year’s Participation Data

Start by analyzing which benefits were underused, which teams were least engaged, and where communications may have fallen flat.

Questions to ask:

• What % of nurses opted into tuition reimbursement?
  
• Did financial wellness tools see engagement from part-time or night shift staff?
  
• Were some roles (like environmental services or techs) completely missed?

Tip: Combine usage data with exit survey responses to identify what benefits staff didn’t know about or understand.

📎 Related Resource: Why Nurses Aren’t Using Your Benefits (And How to Change That)

Step 2: Build a Role-Specific Benefits Communication Plan

Generic emails won’t cut it. You need a communication strategy that accounts for:

• Job role (e.g., nurses vs. admin vs. techs)
• Schedule (day shift vs. night shift)
  Pain points (e.g., student debt, child care, career advancement)

Tactics:

• Use plain language with real-life examples: “Enroll in PSLF coaching and save up to $300/month.”
• Offer mobile-friendly formats and visuals
• Avoid jargon like “IDR” or “SLRA”—explain benefits in terms of outcomes

Step 3: Empower Trusted Messengers

In nonprofit hospital systems, peer-to-peer influence drives behavior change.

• Recruit nurse ambassadors or early adopters to share stories
• Collaborate with union reps or team leads to deliver key messages
• Use trusted formats like town halls, huddles, and one-on-one conversations

🚩 Don’t rely solely on HR emails—clinical staff often miss them.

Step 4: Highlight High-Impact, Underused Benefits

Your most powerful retention tools are often the most overlooked. Focus on:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility and support
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance (SLRA) and tax-advantaged usage
• Tuition Reimbursement, especially for dependents or career advancement
• Financial coaching for long-term stability and reduced burnout

Tell stories. For example:

“I never realized I qualified for PSLF until I joined the webinar. Now I’m on a plan to full forgiveness in five years.”

📎 Related Resource: Addressing Burnout With Better Benefits

Step 5: Use Live and On-Demand Education to Drive Action

Offer short, high-impact webinars tailored to your audience:

• 15–20 minute sessions with expert Q&A
• Topics: “How PSLF Works for Nurses” or “Maximizing Tuition Reimbursement”
• Record replays for night shift and weekend staff
• Embed video links in follow-up emails or internal portals

🧠 Tip: Pre-schedule sessions at common shift changeover times for best attendance.

Step 6: Automate and Personalize Follow-Up

After initial outreach, keep momentum going:

• Send reminders based on eligibility (e.g., new hires, student loan holders)
• Use SMS or push notifications for time-sensitive deadlines
• Personalize messages with benefit summaries that match life stages

📬 Example: “Lisa, you may be eligible for student loan forgiveness. Join our live info session Tuesday at 2 PM.”

Step 7: Track, Report, and Celebrate Success

Don’t let your efforts disappear after enrollment ends. Track:

• Open rates and participation by department
  Opt-in metrics for specific benefits like PSLF, TR, and SLRA
• Feedback via surveys or informal feedback loops

Report wins to your CHRO or CFO with a one-page visual summary. Include:

• Year-over-year comparison
• ROI estimates based on reduced turnover
• Engagement highlights (e.g., “Webinar views up 240%”)

Turn Enrollment Season into an Engagement Engine

With the right strategy, open enrollment becomes more than a checkbox—it becomes your annual opportunity to align benefits with what really matters to your employees.

By educating, personalizing, and tracking your benefit communications, you help ensure that more nurses, techs, and clinical teams see and use the programs that reduce their stress, increase their loyalty, and improve your organization’s retention goals.

📞 Let’s Make Your Open Enrollment More Impactful

Want to boost engagement in high-value benefits like student loan support, tuition reimbursement, and PSLF—without overwhelming your team?

🎯 Schedule a 20-minute discovery call to learn how PeopleJoy can help you:

• Highlight the benefits that matter most to nurses and clinical staff
• Increase utilization of underused financial wellness programs
• Support your HR goals during open enrollment and beyond

Your benefits deserve to be seen—and your employees deserve to feel supported.

👉 Book Your Strategy Call Now