Healthcare Open Enrollment can be a stressful time for employers and employees alike. It can cause brokers and HR professionals an annual administrative headache. With so many options and changes to consider, it's difficult to keep track of everything. However, by monitoring what you are doing differently in comparison to your competitors, you can learn how to maximize your own performance during Open Enrollment. Here are four things that will give you that competitive edge:
Plan and Start Early
Many companies hold Open Enrollment periods at the end of the year, which can be a busy time for employees. To make the most of this time:
- Sit down with your team to review what worked and what didn’t work last year
- Prepare all documents needed in advance
- Determine when your company's Open Enrollment period will be and what benefits will be offered
- Survey to see if employees will be going through life changes. How will this impact your Open Enrollment strategy for the next year?
By taking these steps you will ensure that your company has a seamless, successful open enrollment.
Communicate Clearly
Employers spend countless hours and high costs annually on employee benefits, yet employees often report not understanding their benefits or how to use them. Create easy to understand information pieces, such as brochures and FAQ pages, to help your employees choose plans that fit their unique needs and budget. It's also wise to send out friendly and frequent reminders during all stages of Open Enrollment. Most people don't understand health insurance, so offering an open-door policy where employees can reach out with questions is crucial.
Put Together Support Materials
As the open enrollment season approaches, HR professionals know they’ll be busy. Employees often have questions about their health insurance options and other benefits, and it can be challenging to keep up with all inquiries. To make the process easier, it's helpful to start preparing in advance. One way to do this is to create a FAQ document that addresses common questions. This can save a lot of time and help ensure that employees get necessary information. Additionally, it can be helpful to create tools like a health plan comparison chart and a contact sheet for insurance carriers, your broker, and HR team.
Set Goals for Open Enrollment and Measure its Success
When Open Enrollment is over, it's time to take a step back and evaluate your efforts. By taking a close look at how things went, you'll be able to identify areas where you can make improvements, which will help you gain invaluable insights to improve future Open Enrollments. You'll better understand your employees' learning preferences, maximize your department's personnel and budgetary resources, optimize your benefits training and elections processes, and more. Focusing on collecting only the most relevant data will save time and energy. Your key metrics should help you set goals for next year.
With these steps, you can give your business a competitive edge when it comes time for Open Enrollment. This is excellent news because everyone involved with the process should have fewer headaches during this busy season!
Let's talk more about Open Enrollment solutions. SureCo's Enrollment Platform makes it simple for employees to evaluate and find health plans that fit their individual needs. See how to make Open Enrollment even more seamless.
