Messy Open Enrollment? Here’s How To Fix It For Next Year
Most businesses can relate to the following example. The annual open enrollment period finally arrives. HR teams think they’re prepared, but quickly find out that their supporting workflows and processes are inefficient for their needs.
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This continues to mount as deadlines fast approach, and what seemed like a relatively straightforward exercise has now consumed the HR team’s time and energy.
Unfortunately, this chaotic scenario is relatively common in most businesses and can lead to lost productivity and a higher rate of errors that take time to adjust. Thankfully, if your business also suffers from a messy open enrollment period, there are a number of helpful strategies you can put in place to streamline your supporting workflows and improve employee engagement.
Unfortunately, this chaotic scenario is relatively common in most businesses and can lead to lost productivity and a higher rate of errors that take time to adjust. Thankfully, if your business also suffers from a messy open enrollment period, there are a number of helpful strategies you can put in place to streamline your supporting workflows and improve employee engagement.
Uncover the Root Causes of the Issue
Disorganized open enrollment periods are rarely due to one specific issue and are usually a culmination of several issues that need to be diagnosed. Some of the typical reasons that organizations struggle through their open enrollment include:
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Outdated Systems — Being overly reliant on outdated legacy systems can often come at the price of reduced efficiency and more complicated enrollment activities. Many times this is why HR teams need to carry out more manual and time-consuming data entry processes than they need to. This can lead to more human error and a relatively fragmented experience for HR teams. -
Poor Communication — While open enrollment procedures may be clear to HR staff members, it can be a different story for employees. If communication isn’t clear when discussing employee benefits options, it can cause confusion or frustration in employees, limiting their motivation during the process and increasing the burden on HR teams. -
Confusing Enrollment Processes — Some organizations may have a larger number of benefits options for employees to choose from. If the forms or submission guidelines provided are complicated to navigate, it can also create unnecessary barriers to full cooperation from employees. -
Lack of Employee Benefits Education — Another challenge that businesses have to navigate is that not all employees may be fully aware of how their benefits work or why they’re valuable to them. If employees lack this understanding, it can make choosing between coverage options much more difficult. Many times this is simply due to a lack of available education resources that leads to this avoidable issue.
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When these issues are allowed to persist, they can lead to a disorganized enrollment process and cause a number of issues for HR teams. This is why it’s critical for organizations to carefully identify each potential issue and address them.
As each issue is identified, HR teams can start making positive changes in their open enrollment processes that create a more streamlined experience.
As each issue is identified, HR teams can start making positive changes in their open enrollment processes that create a more streamlined experience.
Leverage Best-of-Breed Benefits Technology
Best of breed benefits technology platforms come equipped with a wealth of features designed to streamline processes and enhance the enrollment experience. By taking the time to evaluate and select the right benefits and technology solutions, HR teams can benefit from the following:
Automation and Integration
Automated workflows are invaluable to HR teams and can eliminate manual data entry, reduce errors, and accelerate the enrollment process.
Best-of-breed benefits technology solutions offer seamless integration between your benefits providers and other connected HR systems, such as payroll systems. Data can then flow seamlessly between these platforms, minimizing the need for duplicate entries and ensuring consistency and accuracy across the board.
Best-of-breed benefits technology solutions offer seamless integration between your benefits providers and other connected HR systems, such as payroll systems. Data can then flow seamlessly between these platforms, minimizing the need for duplicate entries and ensuring consistency and accuracy across the board.
Data Analytics
Businesses and HR teams can leverage the data analytics capabilities of their benefits technology to gain important insights about their employee behavior and preferences when it comes to their benefits options.
Access to these relevant data points helps businesses to identify certain trends and provides visibility into the types of option employees are selecting and using. This gives organizations important information that can be used to make improvements in their benefits packages, by offering more coverage options that employees will actually use.
Access to these relevant data points helps businesses to identify certain trends and provides visibility into the types of option employees are selecting and using. This gives organizations important information that can be used to make improvements in their benefits packages, by offering more coverage options that employees will actually use.
Decision-Support Tools
Empowering employees to take ownership of their benefits enrollment by providing them with decision-support tools is essential.
Working with the right benefits technology partners can help businesses select platforms that include plan comparison calculators and mobile support tools that give employees more of the knowledge they need to make quicker decisions regarding their benefits and support their HR team's requests to meet certain deadlines.
Working with the right benefits technology partners can help businesses select platforms that include plan comparison calculators and mobile support tools that give employees more of the knowledge they need to make quicker decisions regarding their benefits and support their HR team's requests to meet certain deadlines.
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Create a Clear Benefits Communication Strategy
A successful open enrollment period often rests on how well HR teams communicate requirements to employees. Designing a clear, well-structured communication strategy can go a long way in ensuring employees understand all of their options and feel confident about the decisions they make.
This all begins by prioritizing education for employees about their benefits well before the enrollment period opens. This can be done using a variety of channels and formats to reach employees with different learning styles or preferences. For example, businesses could connect employees with benefits call centers to help answer any specific questions they may have.
Segmenting your employees based on their age or whether or not they have dependents can help create more customized communication strategies that can further improve employee engagement.
Remember that to consistently streamline your open enrollment activities, effective communication is an ongoing process that requires regular adjustment. By building a collaborative company culture and providing employees with the information they need, you can create a more positive enrollment experience for everyone.
This all begins by prioritizing education for employees about their benefits well before the enrollment period opens. This can be done using a variety of channels and formats to reach employees with different learning styles or preferences. For example, businesses could connect employees with benefits call centers to help answer any specific questions they may have.
Segmenting your employees based on their age or whether or not they have dependents can help create more customized communication strategies that can further improve employee engagement.
Remember that to consistently streamline your open enrollment activities, effective communication is an ongoing process that requires regular adjustment. By building a collaborative company culture and providing employees with the information they need, you can create a more positive enrollment experience for everyone.
Get Ready for Your Next Open Enrollment Period
Regardless of how used you are to having to navigate a hectic open enrollment period, this doesn’t have to be the case. By leveraging the right benefits technology solution and creating a clear communication and educational strategy for employees, you’ll be able to increase process efficiencies while getting full support from everyone to meet all necessary deadlines with time to spare.
- Frank MengertAuthorFrank Mengert continues to find success by spotting opportunities where others see nothing. As the founder and CEO of ebm a leading provider of employee benefits solutions, Frank has built the business by bridging the gap between insurance and technology-driven solutions for brokers, consultants, carriers, and employers nationwide.Image located below
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