Deconstructing Open Enrollment: The Key Components of a Successful Benefits Renewal
A we enter Q4, many leadership teams are gearing up for one of the most time-intensive – and most expensive – times of the year. In the coming quarter, employees will be evaluated for end of year bonuses and salary increases alike. While these processes are hugely central, also looming ahead is one of the most important initiatives a company undertakes: its annual benefits renewal.
Whether the renewal takes place at year-end or mid-year, the time, money, and energy a that goes into a successful benefits renewal is unparalleled.
So, what exactly goes into a successful benefits renewal? Let’s start at the beginning. Several months ahead of the new benefits plan year, a company will be quoted on their benefits renewal with their current carriers. During this process, insurance carriers review a company’s claims experience in comparison with the cost of their plan. If the claims costs exceed the current cost of the plan itself, amongst a variety of other factors, companies will often experience an increase in their benefits costs – which may be passed on to the employees. In instances where there is a substantial increase, many employers will choose market their plan in hopes that other carriers will bid on them with more competitive rates. This process can take several weeks to months to complete.
What to Know About Open Enrollment Period
Once plan rates are in place, it’s time to prepare for open enrollment. There are different types of enrollments that affect employees in different ways. For example, a passive open enrollment might mean there are few changes to the benefit plans, and unless an employee actively makes a change, existing coverages will roll over as is into the new year. An active open enrollment typically means there is a large scale change, such as moving to a new carrier or adding a new plan, and employees are required to actively select a plan in order to maintain coverages.
When introducing bigger changes to benefit plans, communication is critical. Employers should begin by ensuring employees know exactly when open enrollment is taking place, and how they should make their elections. Many employers will choose to kick off open enrollment with a series of presentations explaining the plans and may even invite representatives from the insurance carriers to come in and review some of the details.
This is a good opportunity to remind employees that benefits are a critical component of the overall compensation package – highlighting what makes your offering competitive and appealing! It’s also a good reminder to educate employees on how to use their insurance, and how to be advocates for themselves and their families when navigating a complicated healthcare landscape. Feeling anxiety about conducting open enrollment? The Flex HR team is here to guide employers and employees alike during open enrollment process, and is available to take the burden off of leadership when navigating this critically important time.
Get Proper HR Support When Selecting Benefit Plans
It’s important to turn to HR experts when your company is selecting their benefit plans for your staff. Flex HR supports employers to navigate increasingly complex compliance concerns when offering and administering benefit plans. Employers must be aware of changing healthcare policy, along with the increasing number of states with new paid leave laws.
In addition to traditional medical benefits, paying close attention to paid leave laws across the country, especially when operating across multiple states, has become paramount. It’s also important to consider these other benefits as they apply to your entire organization, like parental leave (both maternal and paternal), adoption support, life insurance and estate planning, as they can differentiate your company from competitors.
Open enrollment is also a great time to reintroduce wellness to your organization. As health and wellbeing are on everyone’s mind during the open enrollment period, highlighting wellness benefits can be a great way to keep colleagues engaged in their healthcare. When employees work toward better health, it can collectively drive down healthcare costs across the organization. Finding opportunities to promote wellbeing, such as through gym membership reimbursements, incentivizing wellness goals (i.e. walking challenges), or even offering yoga and mindfulness trainings onsite, demonstrates that wellness is a priority. This is not only beneficial to the employee but can also contribute to reduced healthcare costs across the company as well as to employee retention.
The benefits renewal and corresponding open enrollment period can be overwhelming, time-consuming and high touch process for many organizations. It requires considerable planning, clear and concise communication, and logistical savvy to ensure its success. If the thought of implementing a successful benefits renewal and open enrollment overwhelms you, Flex HR’s team of seasoned benefits experts are able to conduct your organization’s benefits renewal and seamlessly execute your open enrollment period. Reach out today for all of your benefits open enrollment needs!
Contact Flex HR today to be your HR support at info@FlexHR.com.