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Segal Benz  >  Lam Research HSA Transfer
Targeted communications help employees take action following change of account administrator.

From cutting-edge high-tech devices to children’s toys and kitchen appliances, if a product uses a computer chip, it’s using one built with Lam Research technology. Lam’s innovative wafer fabrication equipment allows chipmakers to build smaller, faster, and better-performing electronic devices in products that consumers use every day.

Lam offers employees a robust benefits program. It includes health plan options that come with a health savings account (HSA)—plus a generous annual company contribution to that account. Employees can stash pretax dollars in their HSAs to cover out-of-pocket health expenses. They can also take advantage of reimbursement accounts to save on expenses: a health care flexible spending account (FSA), a dependent care FSA, a commuter account, and a lifestyle reimbursement account.

3,284
Total number of HSA participants
3,214
Number of participants who completed active consent forms
98%
Success rate

Change Management Communication Helps Employees Understand Impact

Lam replaced the administrator for its HSA and reimbursement accounts with a new vendor, ConnectYourCare (CYC). The vendor change took effect on January 1, the first day of the new plan year, so information about the change was incorporated into the previous fall’s open enrollment communications. 

Employees using reimbursement accounts could expect a virtually seamless transition. They’d simply switch from using the previous administrator to CYC in the new year. 

The situation for employees with HSAs, however, was more complex, depending on whether they had investment accounts. All employees with HSAs were asked to complete an online HSA transfer consent form, and Lam wanted to ensure that employees understood why they should check “yes” or “no” on the form. If they failed to act, they’d have the hassle of two separate HSAs—and pay extra fees.

The Challenge: Communicating Different Messages to Different People at the Same Time

For most of Lam’s employees with HSAs, the challenge was to help them understand the  benefits of transferring their HSA balances and ensuring that they knew what to do during open enrollment.

But for those who had invested some or all of their HSA balances, the situation was more complicated. The previous HSA administrator offered investment opportunities through two brokerage platforms, which impacted what the participants could do with their balances going forward. Balances for employees using one brokerage platform would eventually be transferrable to CYC (although not right away), while employees using the other platform would need to keep their balances with the existing administrator.

Lam wanted to encourage employees with uninvested HSA savings to transfer their HSA funds to CYC. But the message for those with investments was the opposite: "It’s probably in your best interest to keep your HSA investments where they are for the time being." The reason? Transferring the invested balances to CYC at the start of the plan year would require liquidating the investments, which would create taxable income for any employees in Lam’s headquarters state of California.

 

Our Approach: Awareness to Action

When faced with change, people need time and information to understand what it means for them and what they should do. Our communication plan progressed from building awareness to deepening understanding and then to driving action over several weeks, with messages moving from general to targeted and specific.

We began communicating weeks before open enrollment that a change was coming for HSA account holders and that they’d need to take action. The goal: to raise awareness that they had to make a decision about transferring their funds to CYC. 

As open enrollment approached, our messaging shifted to create understanding of the benefits and implications of transferring HSA balances. We highlighted the different factors affecting those with HSA investments and those without.

Finally, during open enrollment, the focus was on getting people to act by completing the HSA transfer consent form. Separate communications were delivered to those with HSA investments to ensure they knew that liquidating their investments would result in tax liability and explaining that they would have different transfer options in the coming year that were not yet available.

Our communication plan:

  • Started to build awareness and understanding early, so employees would be ready to act during open enrollment
  • Shifted from general messaging to targeted messages with relevant education and specific calls to action
  • Featured layered communications, using multiple vehicles to reach employees and their family members, as appropriate
  • Included just-in-time communications when it was time to act
  • Integrated transition messaging and graphic design elements into open enrollment communications

To ensure employees didn’t overlook what they received in their mailboxes and online, all communications were designed to grab attention and inspire action. A sharp departure from Lam’s typical design style, they featured a bold graphic approach that signaled the change.

The multimedia campaign included:

  • Posters and digital signs
  • Postcards mailed to employees’ homes
  • Targeted emails
  • Promotional banners on the Lam benefits website
  • Dedicated transition microsite within the Lam benefits website
  • Separate HSA transfer decision guides targeted for those with and without investments
  • FAQ

Results: 98% Success Rate

  • Total number of HSA participants: 3,284 
  • Number of participants who completed active consent forms: 3,214
  • Success rate: 98%
It's always hard to get people to take action, especially on things they don't understand well. That's why we were so happy to see that these communications drove nearly all our employees to actively elect whether they wanted to transfer their HSA balance to our new administrator.
Ray Allsup, Senior Director, Global Benefits
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