Everything You Need to Know About Managing Open Enrollment

Open enrollment isn’t a year-round topic for most HR organizations, but you should begin to think about it well before the enrollment period actually begins.

We’ve collected our best practices for open enrollment to help you get prepared for enrollment season’s challenges, so you can focus on what matters: helping your employees choose the health care options that work best for them.

5 Common Questions About Open Enrollment

Take the time to answer these five questions, and set your company up for a successful enrollment period.

It’s important to decide whether to have an active or passive enrollment well in advance of enrollment season. The decision could significantly change the resources you’ll need for open enrollment. You’ll need to plan for your desired combination of enrollment channels (self-service, phone and/or on-site) based on the active or passive enrollment status.

Getting Ready for Enrollment Season

5 Ways to Start Preparing for Open Enrollment

Now is the perfect time to start preparing for open enrollment to ensure you have the smoothest, most effective enrollment ever. This article offers five things you can do now to get ready.

How to Keep Open Enrollment Running Smoothly

Once open enrollment gets going, don’t just sit back and let it happen. Managing open enrollment will help ensure there aren’t any bumps and that everything stays on track. Key steps include delegating as much as possible and delaying other HR issues so you can focus on helping employees and working with your vendors during enrollment.

Tips to Streamline Enrollment Season for Everyone

How to Make Open Enrollment Easy on All Your Employees

If you’re not using an online benefits platform to enroll your employees, you may be wasting their time and effort — and their goodwill. Electronic benefits enrollment platforms are a huge improvement over paper enrollment forms, especially for larger employers.

5 Ways HR Pros Can Handle Open Enrollment Season Stress

If you took notes during open enrollment last year, now is the time to dig them out and go over them. Don’t trust only your memory; there are bound to be details you’ve forgotten. Determine what went well and what didn’t, and identify areas that need improvement — better communication, for example, or more staff members to help out.

The Best Strategies for Communication

The Pre-Open Enrollment Communication Employees Need

When sharing pre-enrollment information, always offer a few different communication channels, taking into account your employees’ preferences. Emails and printed communication at worksites are great options in general. You can supplement those with additional channels like texting and videos to reinforce your messaging. Some companies also share information in person, at “town hall” discussions or in employee information sessions.

Employees Want More Information About Benefits

Even after open enrollment season ends for the year, that doesn’t mean the conversation should be closed. Continuing to educate and communicate with employees throughout the year can help avoid anyone feeling overwhelmed when it comes time to make benefits selections.

Improving your Open Enrollment Rollout

Why You Might Want to Outsource Open Enrollment

Outsourcing lets you and your team do more with shrinking budgets and less staff. It can help reduce the complexity, costs and stress associated with implementing open enrollment.

What the Guardian Workplace Benefits Study Tells Us About Open Enrollment

By shifting benefits enrollment to more effective digital platforms, companies are helping employees save time and reduce stress — which allows them to focus more on their important work at hand.

How to Wrap Up Open Enrollment

A Checklist for Wrapping Up Open Enrollment

Even once enrollment is closed, your work isn’t quite finished. This checklist can help make sure you don’t miss any important follow-up steps.

Questions to Ask Your Benefits Partners After Open Enrollment

Your benefit partners are tuned in to what your company is doing. They’re also in the know about the industry as a whole, so be sure to seek their insight into strategies other companies are using to do more with less and to improve the overall enrollment experience.

Disclaimer:  This content is strictly informational and should not be used as specific advice on insurance products, legal, accounting, and/or tax related matters. Insureds should always contact the appropriate licensed professional for their insurance, legal, accounting, or tax needs.