Many employers and benefit managers with calendar-year plans are wading into the thick of enrollment season, filling their time with employee meetings and tracking the sign-ups.  Enrollment, however, can be more than just presentations and forms -- it can serve as a great opportunity to reconnect and communicate to employees the value of their compensation and benefits, experts say.

"In this difficult economic environment, there may be many reasons employee morale has not bounced back," said Bill Dalicandro, vice president at Unum, in a recent report by the Society for Human Resource Management. "But our research shows that benefits education can be a highly effective, low-cost way to boost engagement."

A study by Unum, however, suggests that many employers are missing the mark when it comes to enrollment communication. Data from the 2010 enrollment season show that nearly a third of workers said the benefit education materials from their employer was inadequate. Only about half of employees said they received printed materials about their benefits, the survey found.  Slightly more than a third of poll respondents said their company sponsored some kind of question-and-answer session about their benefits.

To get the most out of enrollment, employers need to start with a plan, according to a recent article by Robert Ellerbrock of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP. Ellerbrock suggests employers create checklists of all tasks and make sure they have enough time to train any staff members who would be responsible for answering employees' questions.

Ellerbrock said employers should try to announce benefit meetings about three or four weeks in advance and should consider individual meetings, if that is possible.  He warned employers about using electronic materials to promote benefit education. "Many employers find the idea of electronic enrollment appealing," Ellerbrock wrote. "However, it is important to remember that providing benefit information electronically is subject to significant regulations."

In addition to fostering morale and worker satisfaction, enrollment serves as a good time to distribute required employee notices.

Mary Bauman of the law firm Miller Johnson recently highlighted a number of notices that should be considered for an enrollment packet:

Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act: This is an annual notice that can be issued as part of a summary plan description (SPD), as long as the SPD is reissued each year.

HIPAA: This notice, to be distributed every three years, explains an employee's health information privacy rights.

CHIPRA: (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act). Employees have the right to enroll in an employer's health plan if the participant becomes eligible for a state premium assistance subsidy under Medicaid or the CHIP.

PPACA Grandfathered Status: Employers with plans that are exempt from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because they are grandfathered must notify participants of that exemption and must include contact information for questions.

Rising health care costs and a tough economy can make health care benefits a primary focus for employees during benefit enrollment time. But experts advise that income-protecting benefits, such as life and disability insurance, deserve some attention, as well.

According to a new report by Prudential, workers are expressing interest in life (83 percent), disability (66 percent) and long-term care insurance (21 percent) this enrollment season.

"While the life insurance enrollment rate is reassuring, many Americans are not electing sufficient coverage to maintain their families' standard of living in the event of an untimely death, or taking the time to really think through their benefit elections," said Lori High, president of Prudential Group Insurance, in a report by insurancenewsnet.com.

Disability can be a particularly hard sell for employers because many workers think they'll never need it, experts say. A disabling condition, however, can spring from more than a fall at work, Barry Lundquist, president of the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), told Kaiser Health News. While many people assume accidents are the main cause of disability claims, 90 percent of all claims actually stem from illnesses, including musculoskeletal conditions and cancer, Lundquist said.

The CDA noted in a 2010 poll that 30 percent of Americans entering the workforce today will become disabled before they reach retirement. Only about a third of American workers have some sort of disability insurance, Lundquist said.

Unfortunately, fewer employers these days are offering the benefit, according to a LIMRA study published by KHN. Only 47 percent of employers offer long-term disability benefits, the study found. Of those companies that offered coverage in 2010, only 37 percent paid the entire premium, a decrease from 49 percent in 2002. When employers don't pay any of the premium, only 40 percent of workers elect the benefit, Lundquist said.

The need for disability coverage will continue to grow as the U.S. workforce ages, experts say. By 2050, people over the age of 60 will outnumber those in younger generations, according to a news report by the Society for Human Resource Management.

"Workplaces must be ready to accommodate these employees, or there will be more disability claims," said Susanne M. Bruyere of Cornell University in a recent webinar.

While Bruyere said companies shouldn't make broad assumptions about the health and productivity of older workers, she noted that statistically the rates of disability increase with age.

Bruyere called for better education of employers about how they can make accommodations for the disabled and aging. She also suggested that employers examine their policies and procedures to ensure that they can accommodate these workers.

The telltale signs of autumn have arrived for many in the U.S. The temperature is cooler, the leaves are changing color -- and the sounds of sneezes and coughs echoing through the office hallways may not be far behind.

The fall months traditionally serve as a time to promote flu prevention, and employers can play a key role in keeping their workforce -- and their entire community -- healthy as winter approaches.

Recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that 13 percent of the population gets sick from the flu bug in an average year, with nearly 20 percent (62 million people) being infected during an active flu season, according to a PLANSPONSOR report.  For U.S. businesses, loss of productivity from flu-related illness can cost more than $10 billion, according to several studies.

For employers, the highly contagious influenza virus can be especially dangerous because many workers try to "tough it out" and come to work when ill, a new poll finds. Seventy percent of employees admit they've gone to work sick, according to a Staples Advantage survey reported by PLANSPONSOR. These workers can pose a serious risk to the rest of the workforce by spreading sickness and may worsen the effects of a rough flu season.

If employees get ill, the company should provide them time off to encourage them to stay home and recover fully, said Alan Baker of the American Public Health Association in a recent BNA report. This is especially vital for companies with employees who interact in person with the public, Baker said.

Another key asset in combatting a flu outbreak is to prevent it from happening by promoting vaccinations and making them convenient, Roslyn Stone of Corporate Wellness Inc. told BNA. The best course of action, Stone said, involves creating a free, on-site clinic and allowing workers to get the vaccination on company time.

Cigna Medical Group, a division of Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, has aggressively promoted flu shots with positive results, according to the BNA report. Marianne Young and Marcia Hick, who chair the company's flu committee, said their program achieved a staff immunization level of 49 percent last year. About 30 percent is considered a good rate, according to Stone.

"This is the secret," Hick and Young wrote BNA. "We go to the employee. Even in our health care centers, we have carts travel from department to department, or set up in a convenient location. There is no cost. Wait times are usually less than five to 10 minutes."

If an on-site clinic is not feasible, Stone suggests mailing "flu gift cards" that allow workers to get the vaccination off-site at a time of their choosing.

Unfortunately, flu clinics cannot stamp out the risks entirely.  Experts suggest promoting a few other healthy habits among workers, such as:

• Using hand sanitizers and washing hands frequently.
• Cleaning work areas, including keyboards. The Staples study noted that only 15 percent of employees clean their work area at least once a day, and less than 10 percent said they used disinfectants to clean their surfaces.
• Appointing someone to be a "flu champion" who can educate their fellow workers and drum up participation rates for vaccinations.
• Making managers lead by example. If they get sick, they should stay home, as well.