That time of year is almost here: Open enrollment season is about to begin and HR professionals at companies small and large should be in the planning and development stages, preparing to present 2016 benefit details as part of their 2016 open enrollment season.
In an article by Winston Benefits titled 6 Ways to Prepare for Open Enrollment Season, the organization highlighted 6 key elements of the open enrollment preparation stage. They are:
- Give yourself some lead time.
- Put together a package.
- Make everything clear.
- Test your systems
- Set up one-on-one meetings
- Highlight the value.
The article also featured this comment that is crucial to every successful open enrollment season. And it starts with HR teams working together in the planning and implementation process:
“Communicate, communicate, communicate,” said Steve Miranda, managing director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University. “The worst problems associated with open enrollment are usually not those caused by bad administration but those caused by poorly executed communication plans.” Keep in mind that even if the plans have not changed from the previous year, you may have new employees or those whose life situations have changed. “All employees need to be fully educated about their choices,” Miranda says.
What else can HR do now to prepare for open enrollment season? Craig Johnson, Partner at Mercer, a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments, provides 5 tips HR should consider now to help make the open enrollment process more efficient later.
Here are Johnson’s tips:
- Make sure all systems are go. Check with HRIT and your benefit administrator to ensure the enrollment application is all set to go and properly tested. Are there any system upgrades, is timing on track? If the enrollment application doesn’t work or launch on time, this failure will be all that is remembered during enrollment.
- Go mobile: If you haven’t already, introduce mobile or add more mobile into your enrollment communication campaign. This can be as simple as text messages to communicate enrollment dates or launching interactive, short, mobile-friendly educational videos. This will show that HR is tech-savvy and thinking about how end-users (not just millennials) prefer to receive information.
- Less is more: HR tends to over-do-it when it comes to content – having a media mix and providing a lot of educational material is okay, but HR tends to go too deep, be too technical and provide too much granular detail in communication deliverables. You don’t need to fill-up every square inch of PowerPoint slides or all white space in a newsletter, brochure or website. You should provide clear, crisp descriptions and overviews. If an end-user wants more information, direct them to the place where they can get that granular detail. Most end-users want good, clear, short and well-written overviews with charts and infographics. If your communication visually looks dense, it will stop some employees from even looking at it.
- Align and prepare your resources: Cascade key messages, FAQs, and talking points in a clear fashion with leaders, managers, field HR, the call center, your vendor partners, etc., before enrollment begins so they can be your allies and help with employee questions. Provide these resources with the guidance they need to help you get your messaging across in a clear, consistent manner.
- Be compliant but clear: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is complicated and there are compliant-based communications (Medicare Part D enrollment, etc.) that you need to distribute in a timely fashion. Stick to the deadlines but don’t lead your educational enrollment campaign with compliance-based materials. Several of these notices can be dense without much wiggle room to modify – they are important but they shouldn’t drive or be the center-piece of your communication campaign.
Open enrollment season is almost here. Is your HR team ready?
