2022 Signature Awards - Plan Changes

Change – even change for the better – can be difficult for workers to absorb and embrace. Plan Changes involve announcing and facilitating changes in a way that is easy to understand, educational, and engaging to employees. These communications effectively explain how the change benefits the employee or effectively handle changes that may not be improvements to the participant.

1st Place – Oshkosh Corporation with Empower
Oshkosh Corporation builds some of the industry's toughest specialty trucks and access equipment and employs 12,400 people. The company was transitioning to a new plan provider and they wanted to get their participants excited about the new recordkeeper and re-engage them in the 401(k) plan. Because the plan was with the prior recordkeeper for a very long time, focus groups were held and "change champions" were used for feedback before the transition. Sixty percent of the employees are manufacturing without access to email at work and although they request education, they have a tough time accessing it. A variety of communication materials were used such as an announcement email and mailer, a brochure, a vanity URL, FAQs, digital boards, table tents, a go live email and postcard, an Empower magnet and multi-tool, a microsite, and a raffle. The efforts resulted in the following: in the corporate plan three months after transition the average deferral rate went from 9.50 percent to 10 percent and beneficiary capture went from 46 percent to 49 percent. In the two union plans, the average deferral rate went from 8.2 percent to 9 percent and from 7.61 percent to 8 percent, and beneficiary capture went from 35 percent to 57 percent. Using multiple touchpoints and consistent communications for a tentative audience, a language other than English (Mandarin), plus a fun component with the raffle, they created great results, which made them a winner.
 

2nd Place – AutoNation with Voya Financial
AutoNation is a Fortune 500^© company with more than 21,000 Associates and 300+ locations across 18 states. After a successful recordkeeper change in 2020 and the addition of Roth contributions to the 401(k) plan, in 2021 the company wanted to increase overall awareness of the Roth option. AutoNation knows its brand and creatively taps into it each year for plan communications. In fact, they often win a Signature Award for their campaigns. This year was no exception. A tagline of “Flying cars? Not Yet. Tax-free income? You bet!” with an image of a flying car as an attention-grabber. The theme continued through mobile-responsive emails for a young audience and a message of “You could soar into retirement with tax-free income” to promote a downloadable and printable Roth 401(k) guide. A microsite with an animated video was added to the main website. Participants related to the messaging with an email open rate of 20 percent. Following the initial e-mail Roth usage doubled and by the end of 2021 usage tripled. Overall, the plan’s participation rate rose by two percent. This company won because they did a great job reaching their targeted participants at all the locations and engaging them. The materials were clear, educational, creative, and provided nice resources.
 

3rd Place – The Coca-Cola Company with Transamerica
The Coca-Cola Company, one of the world’s most iconic and respected brands, has 9,000 U.S. employees. Their goal was to inform, educate, and encourage employee action on several enhancements being made to the 401(k) plan, which has a 96 percent participation rate. The changes being made included adding Roth, increasing the maximum deferral limit, increasing the auto-enrollment rate, removal of vesting, and the addition of separate bonus deferrals. A theme of “Retirement Refreshed” was chosen and used on materials that included a custom website, a video, and how-to info. They created print communications in the form of postcards mailed to homes and posters with a QR code for plant locations. Digital communications of an email with a calendar link to take action, a one-on-one meeting scheduler and updates to the new hire guide were provided. The initial email had an open rate of 41.58 percent. Nearly a thousand participants increased their pretax contribution rate, with an average deferral of 3.93 percent, 384 elected Roth contributions with an average deferral of 8.65 percent, 209 added a Roth bonus contribution and 356 named or updated their beneficiary including 187 first-time elections. This entry won because it was a multi-faceted campaign with a fun title that was relevant to the participants, the initiative to hold focus groups was impressive for such a large target audience, and the higher than standard open rates elicited a high action rate.