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The High Performance Health Plan
← The Framework

Component 10

Employee Engagement, Communication & Measurement

Are employees using the plan the way it was designed—and can we prove the strategy is working?

Clear definition

Employee engagement, communication and measurement make benefits understandable and connect plan initiatives to defined financial, clinical and experience outcomes.

What to measure

Evidence before assumptions.

  • Benefits literacy
  • Program adoption
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Financial and clinical outcomes

Common mistakes

What weakens performance.

  • Concentrating communication at open enrollment
  • Launching programs without measurable objectives
  • Confusing utilization with successful engagement

High-performance practices

Build a deliberate approach.

01

Create year-round education tied to decisions employees face

02

Define KPIs before implementing major initiatives

03

Review outcomes and adjust programs based on evidence

Definitive employer guide

Employee communication is an operating system for benefit decisions, not a once-a-year enrollment campaign.

This guide gives plan leaders an operating model for making the component measurable, accountable and connected to the rest of the health-plan strategy. It is educational guidance and should be applied with appropriate legal, financial and clinical advisers.

Start with the decisions employees face

Plan communications around real actions: choosing care, filling a prescription, understanding a bill, getting help and using preventive services. Each message should make the next step clear and reduce unnecessary complexity.

Segment thoughtfully by workforce needs, location and access preferences without overwhelming people with vendor names or plan jargon.

Create an all-year cadence

Pair enrollment education with timely reminders and event-based outreach. The right message before a care decision can be more valuable than a larger packet sent months earlier.

Give managers and HR partners practical tools while preserving appropriate privacy boundaries.

Use trusted channels and voices

Test the mix of digital, print, live and peer-supported communications that reaches the workforce. Consistency matters: the brand, call to action and help path should match across channels.

Accessibility, language and device access are design requirements, not optional refinements.

Measure behavior and understanding

Look beyond open rates. Measure use of preferred programs, completed actions, help-seeking patterns and employee confidence, then connect those signals to plan outcomes where appropriate.

Use results to improve the next communication cycle and retire messages that add volume without improving decisions.

Five metrics every employer should monitor

Access and experience

Can employees and leaders use the intended path without avoidable friction?

Cost and utilization

What patterns show whether the strategy is changing the relevant drivers?

Vendor performance

Are partners meeting contracted commitments with usable reporting?

Decision cadence

Are results reviewed early enough to guide a decision?

Documented outcomes

What changed, what was learned and what action follows?

Maturity progression

Crawl. Walk. Run. Sprint.

Crawl

Basic information is available, but decisions remain largely renewal-driven.

Walk

Leaders have a defined owner, baseline measures and recurring review.

Run

Strategy, contracts and employee experience are connected through active governance.

Sprint

The organization tests assumptions, shares learning and continuously improves.

Ten questions to ask

  1. 01What decision are we trying to improve?
  2. 02Who is accountable for the result?
  3. 03Which baseline measures will guide us?
  4. 04What assumptions are we treating as facts?
  5. 05What data rights do we need?
  6. 06How does this connect to other plan components?
  7. 07What employee friction could undermine the strategy?
  8. 08What does the vendor contract require?
  9. 09What will we review in the next 90 days?
  10. 10How will we document progress and adjust?

What good looks like

Managed, not merely renewed.

A high-performing approach is transparent, actively governed and connected to employee experience. It gives leaders a repeatable way to test assumptions, make tradeoffs and improve outcomes over time.

Related Employer Benefits IQ tools

  • Health Plan Score: identify the current gap
  • Three-Year Health Plan Roadmap: sequence the work
  • Framework component workbook: assign evidence and owners

Frequently asked questions

Where should an employer begin?

Begin with a clear decision, an accountable owner and a baseline that makes improvement visible.

How often should leaders review this component?

Review the operating measures at least quarterly, with more frequent attention when a material decision or risk requires it.

Is this component separate from the rest of the Framework?

No. Each component affects the others, so priorities and vendor actions should be coordinated rather than managed in isolation.

Sources & references

Evidence that supports the work.

This guide combines the Framework methodology with primary government guidance and independent health-policy research. Sources are included for further review and are not legal, tax or clinical advice.

Reviewed / updated
Framework component
Employee Engagement, Communication & Measurement
Book connection
Chapters 25–29
Author
Corry Hull, REBC®, CSFS® — Vice President of Employee Benefits, BHC Insurance; Health Rosetta Advanced Advisor; author of The High Performance Health Plan.
U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration↗Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Transparency in Coverage↗U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — No Surprises Act↗Internal Revenue Service — Publication 15-B↗KFF — Employer Health Benefits Survey↗RAND — Hospital Prices Paid by Private Health Plans↗

Book connection

Chapters 25–29: Sustaining performance

Chapters 25–29

These chapters connect benefit communication to adoption, outcomes and a continuous measurement loop.

Explore the book

Health Plan Score connection

Employee Engagement & Measurement

Are communication, adoption and outcomes measured throughout the year—not only at enrollment?

A lower score suggests defining program KPIs and building employee communication around meaningful care moments.

Take the Health Plan Score

Decision-support documents

Put the strategy to work.

Employer Benefits IQresource

Benefits Communication Planner

A printable Employer Benefits IQ worksheet for defining the decision, evidence, accountable owner and review cadence.

Download the component workbook

Author perspective

Corry Hull, REBC®, CSFS® — Vice President of Employee Benefits Consulting at BHC Insurance, Health Rosetta Advanced Advisor, author of The High Performance Health Plan, founder of Employer Benefits IQ, 2026 Health Rosetta Rosie Award recipient, public speaker and employee benefits strategist.

Explore the Health Plan Score

Put the methodology to work

Apply the HPHP methodology with Employer Benefits IQ.

Employer Benefits IQ is the practical application platform for employers who want to use education, tools, data, vendor intelligence and decision support in real-world benefits decisions.

Use Employer Benefits IQ tools and decision support