How participant education improved service outcomes and saved time
High-volume support issues are often treated like a cost of doing business—but what if you could prevent the most common questions before they ever arise?
In this post, I’ll walk through how analyzing participant support data led to meaningful improvements in communication, participant confidence, and team efficiency.
During peak enrollment periods, our Customer Service team faced overwhelming volume:
1,300+ participant emails per week
200+ calls per employer per day
Despite a fully staffed support center, we couldn’t keep up. Repetition was the norm—questions like:
“What’s covered under my benefit card?”
“Why can’t I use funds for my spouse’s appointment?”
“I didn’t know I had to submit a receipt—now what?”
These weren’t one-off issues. They were patterns.
Using Excel and case logs, I categorized support requests by:
Topic (eligibility, documentation, deadlines, etc.)
Plan type (FSA, HSA, Commuter, etc.)
Escalation tier
Time of year
Top Confusion Points:
Eligibility rules (who counts as a dependent)
Expense eligibility (why some things are reimbursed and others aren’t)
Terminology mismatch (e.g., “prepaid benefit card” vs “debit card”)
Submission timing and documentation requirements
Impact:
Higher repeat calls
Participant frustration
Support team burnout
Misuse or underuse of benefits
Armed with data, I pitched a proactive education strategy to senior leadership. My proposal included:
Internal Training: Regular education meetings for our Customer Service team focused on top confusion areas identified in the data.
Resource Development: Clear, friendly templates for common participant questions.
Participant Campaigns: Pre-OE emails and portal messages with visuals and plain-language tips, targeting the most misunderstood plan rules.
I also implemented ongoing ticket analysis to keep refining our messaging as participant behavior evolved.
After implementing the education plan:
Fewer Repeat Inquiries
- 30% drop in duplicate questions within a single OE cycle.
Improved Participant Confidence
- Survey feedback reflected clearer understanding of plan use, especially regarding card usage and dependent eligibility.
Better Internal Support
- Fewer escalations meant more time for complex cases—and less burnout for the team.
Clear communication isn’t fluff—it’s a risk mitigation tool. Preventable confusion wastes time, increases liability, and erodes trust.
By using data to guide support content, we didn’t just reduce volume. We helped people use their benefits better.
That’s good for participants, good for business—and very good for compliance.