2021 Signature Awards - Promoting Participation

This category includes education campaigns and communications that promote employee participation – to save, or to save more, for retirement. Entries were both complete campaigns or singular one-time communications efforts focused on overall participation, increasing savings rates, or both.

1^st Place – Mission Health with Transamerica
Mission Health, located in North Carolina, has 9,100 employees and is the leader for cardiology services in the region. The campaign focused on encouraging deferral increases for employees to maximize the employer match, thus saving more for their future. With almost 100 percent of the workforce signed up to receive electronic communications, an interactive email was used. It was sent to employees contributing at less than match levels asking them to contribute 1 percent more. The email included a call-to-action button with a direct link to sign into their account and increase their contribution rate. Plus, it had a link to a 1 percent difference video, which showed the long-term impact of increasing contributions by as little as 1 percent. There was also a link to a payroll deductions comparison calculator to show the impact on take-home pay. A reminder to employees to make the most of the employer match by not leaving money on the table was also included. The email had a 26.42 percent click-to-open rate, above the industry average of 18.13 percent. Of the participants who opened the email nearly five percent of them increased their contribution rate. Within 30 days of receiving the email, the average pre-tax contribution rate increased from 5.4 percent to 7.3 percent and the average Roth contribution rate increased by 2.6 percentage points. Using a simple concept and message made taking action manageable for employees, created great results, and made this campaign a winner.

2^nd Place – Westchester Medical Center Health Network with Empower Retirement
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) headquartered in Valhalla, New York employs more than 12,000 people and is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare inthe Hudson Valley. The plan participation rate has historically hovered around 50 percent and the goal is to increase that number as high as possible over the next few years. To accomplish this, WMCHealth launched a location-based retirement savings week campaign during open enrollment focused primarily on getting started and on missing out on the employer match. WMCHealth has a quick enroll setup to make it easy for non-contributors to start contributing with a minimal number of decision points. The default enrollment flow maximizes the employer match and recommends the plan’s QDIA as the investment option. Different media were used to promote the ease of enrollment or making a deferral change. The materials included emails, mailers, posters, and digital messages on the participant website and company intranet. Each HR rep gave their input ahead of the campaign start so it was modified based on the needs of each facility. Each hospital location has a different atmosphere and culture so it was necessary to have some customization. The campaigns metric goals were to have a five percent response rate and increase overall plan participation by one percent. Their goals were exceeded with a 13 percent response rate and a two percent increase in participation. Plus, 530 employees engaged with retirement representatives. This campaign won because materials were easy to understand and had a strong call to action. Devoting a week for the campaign was very successful in more than meeting the goals.

3^rd Place – Cheyenne Regional Medical Center with Empower Retirement
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center began in 1867 as a frontier “tent” hospital, constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad to treat workers who were injured building the transcontinental railroad. Today the medical center employs 3,300 people at one main location and more than 25 clinics in the area surrounding Cheyenne, WY. In 2020 the focus for the retirement plan was on non-participants, divided into two groups: those under age 30 and those age 30 and older. Emails and postcards were sent. Two themes were used. “Your Retirement Party” had an image of balloons, streamers, and confetti and a tagline of “Don’t be late for your own party!” The second theme was a flying pig with a stethoscope and a save-now message: “Don’t wait until pigs fly to start saving!” The under 30 group had a 5.1 percent open rate, a 5.0 percent action rate, and a 4.8 percent average contribution increase. The 30 and older group had a 21.3 percent open rate, 2.5 percent action rate, and a 1.7 percent average contribution increase. They won because they used a simple, focused campaign with a fun factor that produced good results.