Open Enrollment Tips for the Upcoming Season
Though the temperatures in much of the country continue to feel summer-like, the 2024 open enrollment season is around the corner for many employers. With an ever growing remote and hybrid workforce, communications and benefits education can be a challenge. Below are some tips to set you up for success:
Don’t Delay: Even before your plan designs and final contributions are set, make sure you have a reached out to your carrier contacts and Benefits Administration vendor so that everyone is on the same page regarding the required time to build file feeds and to ensure that all enrollments are received and processed well ahead of the new plan year.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Make sure employees receive clear and concise information regarding your upcoming Open Enrollment. Don’t let any delays in final plan decisions hold up your communications process, schedule your meetings and info sessions ahead of time, and have your content drafts ready early. Slight changes to final contribution levels or minor co-pay adjustments can be edited later and shouldn’t hold up the drafting process. Direct employees to an easily accessible repository of your communications, plan information and benefits summaries (this will also be a handy tool for HR teams to use to answer employees’ questions).
Meet Employees Where They Are: Successful Open Enrollments are tailored to reach the entire workforce; consider the best ways to assemble an engaged audience. Do you have shift workers? Make sure those employees are not left out and have resources available outside of standard business hours. Employers with Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) may want to consider giving those employees the opportunity to schedule one-on-one sessions so they can find a convenient time to set aside for Open Enrollment. Utilizing technology and Decision Support tools can also help employees learn about your benefits on their own time.
Follow Up: Use the time between the end of Open Enrollment and the start of the new plan year to follow up with your carriers and vendors to make sure your enrollment rosters are accurate, your proper rates are loaded, your benefits are installed correctly, and ID cards will be received ahead of the new plan year. A little bit of extra attention during this time will go a long way towards creating a seamless experience for your employees in the new plan year.
Setting up a plan to execute on these four tips will help keep you ahead of any obstacles thrown your way during the upcoming busy season and keep the focus on educating and engaging employees for a successful Open Enrollment.