Engagement Plays a Pivotal Role in Open Enrollment Participation

Open enrollment demands extensive preparation from benefits professionals, including tasks such as updating the summary of benefits and coverage, Medicare creditable coverage disclosures, and payroll deduction files. While these technical tasks are essential, it’s equally important to focus on the customer service and human connection roles that HR can play during this period.
Implementing processes to increase employee engagement and participation is vital. Here are some tips for engaging employees in their enrollment processes, especially with an active or mandatory enrollment.

Before

• Find your partners: Internal teams like communications, payroll, HR business partners, and IT are crucial allies. Externally, vendors and brokers can provide both assistance and extra headcount. A good broker can answer individual employee questions or even provide group presentations on any changes for the following plan year. Brokers can also assist with data management work.
• Find your data: It’s difficult to gauge the success of any program without data and metrics. For benefit enrollment, most data will come from the enrollment portal. Enrollment reports with an effective date of the first day of the new plan year will provide a current tally of completed enrollments. The open enrollment team should be trained in accessing this data prior to open enrollment. If the data must be accessed on their behalf by a broker or other party, coordinate how frequently the data will be provided during open enrollment.
• Create and update self-service resources: Self-service resources, such as an intranet page, a benefits guide, or a third-party platform, can significantly reduce the workload on HR and supervisors. Review the information for any outdated vendors or vendor contact information, changes to the plan structure, or changes to employee and employer contributions to premiums. Creating a how-to guide for the enrollment process can also serve as tech support while employees are completing online enrollments.
• Communicate current enrollments: Employees who aren’t engaged in enrollment may not be engaged in their current benefits, either. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know which of your group medical plan options they’ve enrolled in or whether they have dental coverage for their spouse. Using an enrollment report for the current plan year, use mail merge to send an email or letter to all plan participants with their current enrollments.
• Host a benefits fair: Benefits fairs are an opportunity for vendors to speak directly to employees about the benefit options they provide. By partnering with vendors, you can have a high-impact, low-effort educational event. Vendors will often provide branded freebies, which is second only to free pizza for enticing attendance.

During

• Track progress using enrollment reports: Pull an enrollment report at least once per week to keep a running total of how many enrollments are completed. Groups of more than 200 plan participants should consider daily reports for more granular data.
• Target direct communications: The key is to communicate often enough that the message is received without overwhelming employees. This is another place where enrollment reports and mail merge can be helpful. Send a weekly reminder email only to those who have not yet enrolled, so that employees stop receiving reminders once they enroll. Effective reminders include the how, when, and where of enrollment and self-service resources.
• Engage leadership: Not everyone reads emails from HR. Engage with division leaders to cascade enrollment communications down their chain of command.
• Consider deskless workers: Employees without regular computer access at work require additional consideration. Bring enrollment to this population by establishing an enrollment station within the HR office or sending HR reps or brokers to offsite locations with a laptop or tablet. Provide enrollment reminders through multiple channels, such as intraoffice mail or bulletin boards, so employees who don’t use company email still receive reminders.
• Mobile access: Many households do not have a computer but do have smartphones and/or tablets. Ensure that self-service resources are mobile-friendly, and check with your broker to ensure the enrollment platform is accessible on a mobile device.
• Schedule enrollment assistance: Telling employees to “stop by anytime” during open enrollment can quickly overwhelm HR. Instead, set specific office hours for drop-in questions. For larger groups, consider tools like Microsoft Bookings or Google Appointment Scheduler, which allow employees to schedule appointments and reduce walk-in traffic.

After

• Medicare and Tricare exclusion HSA reminders: Employees enrolled in Medicare, Tricare, or other health care coverage that is not a high-deductible health plan are not eligible to contribute to a health savings account (HSA). Although individuals are responsible for their own eligibility, it’s in the employer’s best interest to help prevent errors. Use the final enrollment report to remind HSA enrollees of HSA eligibility rules, including steps to request changes if necessary.
• Qualified expenses reminders for DCAP: There are two types of flexible spending accounts (FSAs): health care FSA and dependent care FSA, also known as a DCAP. A DCAP is not for health care expenses but for limited child and adult care. Employees who contribute to a DCAP in error risk losing their contributions at the end of the plan year. Use the final enrollment report to remind DCAP enrollees of the account’s purpose, providing steps for requesting changes if necessary.
• Compare with previous data: If enrollment data is available from the prior open enrollment, compare the trends and final results to previous years. Was there a spike in enrollment after a particular enrollment event? Did enrollment in some divisions drag behind others? Use this data to identify successful events and opportunities for improvement.
• Celebrate a job well done: Remember the partners we found at the outset? Celebrate together, sharing your wins, enrollment numbers, and lessons learned. Where appropriate, a small token of appreciation goes a long way toward securing help for next year.

Open enrollment is more than just a busy HR season. It’s an opportunity to increase employee engagement with benefits and strengthen strategic relationships within the organization. With the right partners, the right data, and the right planning, you can make this year’s open enrollment your smoothest one yet.
Employers Council’s team of HR consultants can help members learn more about best practices during the open enrollment process.
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