The Top 5 Ways Benefits Professionals Can Improve Next Year’s Open Enrollment Process – Starting Today!
For benefits professionals, it often feels like the paint has hardly dried on the the prior year’s open enrollment before you have to take stock of the things that can be done to make next year even better. But it’s never too early! After all, the pains and frustrations associated with this most recent OE season are still fresh – so use them as inspiration to make your life easier the next time around. Here’s a quick roundup of process-improving priorities:
1. Leverage Data & Analytics
Ask your internal IT team and vendor partners what benefits-related data can be collected and who can work with you to extract actionable insights. Also, start work on a plan to solicit feedback from employees on their benefit expectations and experience to inform your benefits strategy and communications plan.
2. Remove the Pain from Administration
Your OE experience matters. Be honest about your biggest pain points. Maybe they include:
- Implementing new benefit options
- Incomplete employee records
- Configuring last-minute changes
- An inability to track enrollment completions and plan elections in real time
Take them all to your internal stakeholders and benefit partners and make the necessary changes to your process and tech. According to Gartner, 55% of HR leaders say their current technology solutions do not cover current and future business needs.
3. Provide a Modern Enrollment Experience
Rise to the expectations of today’s employees – and beat the table stakes of top employers. Introduce a mobile app, gamify benefits education, personalize communications and make them actionable. Your workforce will thank you for it, and you just might have a more successful OE season to boot.
Research from Dell Inc., found that 91% of Gen-Z say that "technology offered by an employer would be a factor in choosing among similar job offers. - Forbes
4. Improve Benefits Education
Simplify the complicated and crowded benefits landscape for employees by helping them understand, choose and use their benefits, all year long. Three ideas to consider:
- Replace jargon with relatable terms
- Enable them to estimate OOP costs for health plans based on actual claims
- Communicate with them about benefits on a regular basis.
Sixty percent of HR executives say “..the need for transparent HR communication across all levels has impacted success at their organization. However, only 45% say the HR leadership at their organization has taken a primary role in addressing it.” - Harvard Business Review Analytic Services
5. Plan for an Active (Not Passive) OE
Don’t give employees an option to stay on auto pilot with their benefits elections. Requiring them to review and update their benefits at least once a year (not including an official qualifying life event change), encourages them to consider how to align their benefits with their unique needs and life situation.
The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Benefitfocus does not act in a fiduciary capacity in providing products or services; any such fiduciary capacity is explicitly disclaimed. This summary is provided by a consultant to Benefitfocus.com, Inc., and any opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of Benefitfocus.com, Inc. or its affiliates and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any plan or individual. CN4407348_0427
