Open enrollment season allows employees to accept or alter the benefits options provided by their company, such as health, dental and life insurance, as well as supplementary or optional benefits ranging from legal services to pet insurance. Open enrollment typically happens during the Fall, but with extenuating circumstances such as marriage, childbirth, family death, etc., employers may be eligible to enroll outside of the normal enrollment period. Below, Unity Insurance provides a breakdown of the open enrollment process and shares best practices to make this transition as smooth as possible.
Plan Ahead
Like most processes, preparation can make open enrollment go smoother for human resources departments as well as employees. Halfway through the year, construct a renewal timeline to keep your employees on track in the months preceding open enrollment. Planning ahead allows you to evaluate your company’s current benefits and implement improvements.
Communicate With Your Employees
Ensure that you’re openly communicating with employees about the benefits your company provides. Prior to beginning the open enrollment process, hosting a meeting with your employees can allow for insight into how employees utilize the benefits provided to them. Conducting an employee survey of existing benefits is also helpful in gauging where your employees may need assistance. Gathering employee feedback can allow you to better shape your company’s benefits to better suit your employees’ needs.
In addition, It’s important to be clear and concise when going over open enrollment and the benefits offered to ensure that you meet employee satisfaction. Ensure that employees are aware of what their benefits are currently, as well as what their options for additional benefits are. This will allow open enrollment to be less intimidating for employees.
Meet With An Insurance Broker
Consulting with an expert in the field can allow you to have a better understanding of what all of the options are for employee benefits. It may be beneficial to meet with an Insurance Broker to discuss the best options for your employees. They will be able to walk you through the different benefit options and help to create an effective and successful open enrollment process.
Schedule An Open Enrollment Period
After speaking with an experienced professional and receiving insurance prices, it is time to schedule your open enrollment period. Open enrollment typically lasts between two and four weeks. Once employees have made their choices and the open enrollment period for health insurance has ended, your human resources department notifies benefit providers.
Speak to a Professional at Unity Insurance Today
Conducting a successful and effective open enrollment process may be complex. The qualified and experienced benefits specialists at Unity Insurance are able to help you choose the perfect benefits plan based on your employees’ preferences, as well help to facilitate a smooth open enrollment process. Contact Unity Insurance today by calling (410) 539-6642 to learn more about open enrollment.