From postcards to phone messages, University of Nebraska administrators are unleashing a phalanx of communication methods to inform employees about the annual NUFlex benefits enrollment period.

“The approaches we use to communicate NUFlex enrollment have expanded since the process went online a few years ago,” said Keith Dietze, director of university-wide benefits for the NU system. “Some employees have said it is a little bit much, but we would rather be on the safe side and communicate too much rather than too little.”

The annual NUFlex open enrollment period started Nov. 18 and closes at 5 p.m. Dec. 6. This period is the only time university employees can make benefits package changes during the year.

Dietze said the communications plan opened Nov. 1 with a general NUFlex enrollment postcard sent to all university employees’ home addresses. The campaign also includes the NUFlex newsletter, a series of six e-mail messages, and two pre-recorded phone messages.

And, while most of the methods are passively delivered, Dietze said the first phone call, issued Nov. 13, was designed to actively seek out a contact before leaving a voicemail message.

“You could have received up to three call attempts on that first phone message,” Dietze said. “The first call was to a home number. If there was no response, then an hour later it dialed to a cell phone number. If that didn’t reach the employee, then the system called the work number.

“The entire communications strategy is designed so that no employee can say they were unaware of the Dec. 6 deadline.”

Three of the NUFlex email messages have been delivered to employees, with three more to be issued. The message sent Nov. 20 encouraged employees to complete the Health Risk Assessment to activate enhanced wellness benefits.

On top of the communications, Dietze said NUFlex information sessions are being offered online at http://connect.unl.edu/nuflex. The final session is 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 25. Participants can ask questions and the sessions are archived on the NU benefits website.

Overall, and for the sixth time in eight years, health care premiums will not increase for full-time employees. Dental premiums are also unchanged. Only the vision care premium increases in 2014, up 2 percent as a result of provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

Employees who have questions about benefits should contact the UNL Benefits office at 402-472-2600 or in 32 Canfield Administration Building.