Making the Most of Open Enrollment Season with PlanSource

While enrolling in benefits is a vital process, many employees dread going through open enrollment. The terminology can be confusing, and people are concerned about overlooking important details that could cost them down the road.

HR teams should do everything in their power to make sure that the process is simple, straightforward, and stress free. This is easier said than done. To make this process more straightforward, PlanSource has outlined some key tips and metrics that can help companies ensure open enrollment is as painless as possible.

Streamlining Open Enrollment

Be Proactive – Proactivity is one of the most important tools that HR teams can use to make open enrollment season a success. Letting employees know when open enrollment starts ahead of time and educating them on the process can boost participation and allow them to make better decisions.

Multiple Outreach Channels – Organizations should also ensure that they can reach out to employees in multiple ways – emails, texts, and alerts on mobile apps help keep employees informed. They should also provide multiple types of resources that help employees make coverage decisions, such as informative videos that walk them through their option. PlanSource provides an Open Enrollment Planning Playbook to help HR teams get a head start with templates and ideas.

Leverage Automation – Open enrollment requires significant paperwork, so anything companies can do to cut down on manual work is crucial. Organizations can leverage automation tools like PlanSource’s Automated EOI to process evidence of insurability documents automatically, simplifying the process both for HR professionals and employees alike. PlanSource can also help HR professionals with streamlining dependent verification, ensuring that only eligible dependents are on your plans.

Measuring for Success

With processes like open enrollment, it may seem like getting all employees signed up with a plan that makes sense for them is the sole responsibility. However, PlanSource highlighted six different metrics that HR teams can track to ensure that the open enrollment process improves year over year.

HR teams should use these metrics:

• Year-Over-Year Increase in HDHP and HSA Participation – Pairing High deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) can help defray health care costs. If more and more employees participate in these programs, this demonstrates that HR teams are educating workers on these programs successfully.
• Total Participation Rate by Benefit Type – Tracking which types of benefits are most sought after can help organizations better tailor their offerings to meet demand.
• Percent of Premium Cost Contribution for Employer Versus Employee – Understanding the share of premium cost that an employer pays is a useful metric to benchmark how competitive a benefits package is. Not knowing this figure and how it compares to other businesses in the industry may cause a company to be less desirable to prospective hires.
• Cost Breakdown by Benefit Type – Employers should know which parts of their benefits package are the most expensive so they can determine which aspects are worth retaining year over year and which are driving up costs.
• Dependent Eligibility Rate – Ensuring that only qualified dependents receive benefits is one of the best ways to reduce costs for HR teams.
• Number of Incomplete Enrollments – In a perfect world, there would be zero incomplete enrollments. Yet some employees do not follow through on enrollment. Companies should be able to identify who did not complete the task and find out why.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Open enrollment can be a stressful time for employers and employees alike. Organizations should be proactive in sharing information and best practices with employees that helps them quickly sign up for the benefits that help themselves and their families.

To overcome some of the issues that have plagued open enrollment season for years, many SAP organizations are turning to the HR experts at PlanSource for help with planning and automating essential parts of the open enrollment process.