6 things to do after open enrollment ends
Key takeaways
After open enrollment ends, there are several things you should do to set yourself up for success next year and to ensure your employees are engaged in and satisfied with their benefits.
With open enrollment in your rearview mirror, are you ready to ease off the gas and hit cruise control until you have to do it all again next year?
Not so fast…
There are several important things you should do to set yourself up for success next year and to ensure your employees are engaged in and satisfied with their benefits.
That said, here are six things that should happen AFTER open enrollment ends.
1. Manage housekeeping
There are some important administrative tasks you’ll likely need to button up after open enrollment ends. For example, you may need to:
- Issue new documentation to employees.
- Review invoices issued by insurance carriers to verify accuracy of premiums, fees, and enrolled employees.
- Double-check payroll for the correct deductions.
- Ensure that employees receive their new ID cards within the specified timeframe.
- Verify your compliance with ERISA and Affordable Care Act (ACA) benefit regulations.
2. Get employee feedback and reflect on successes and areas of improvement
With open enrollment fresh in their memories, now’s a great time to survey employees and ask how they feel about the enrollment process. Here are some questions to help you get started:
- How helpful was our benefits communication?
- How would you rate your understanding of your plan options?
- How satisfied are you with your benefits?
- How confident do you feel about the decisions you made during open enrollment?
- How would you rate your overall enrollment experience?
- How confident are you when it comes to using your benefits?
- What can we do better next year?
With your employees’ answers—and your own reflection on employee engagement during open enrollment—you can ponder what worked and what you can do differently next year.
Related: What makes a good employee benefits package?
3. Keep communicating
Benefits communication should be a year-round task, not just in advance of open enrollment. That’s because the more employees know about and understand their benefits, the more likely they are to use and value them.
Touch base throughout the year using your employees’ preferred communication channels. Whether through emails, texts, webinars, printed materials, or online resources, it’s important to communicate with employees in a manner that will reach them where and when they’re available.
4. Provide benefits advocacy
Benefits advocacy is a service that helps employees maximize their coverage. Employees can call on a team of knowledgeable and experienced advocates who can answer benefits questions, provide procedural cost and quality reports, explain employees’ out-of-pocket costs, resolve claims issues and more. With access to a benefits advocacy service, employees can make more informed decisions that help improve health outcomes and lower spending.
5. Keep an eye on election results and understand how they could impact employee benefits
With 2024 being an election year, upcoming changes in leadership and policies could impact employee benefits. Depending on what policies are prioritized by elected officials, you may need to adapt your benefits package to comply with new laws and remain competitive. For example, if a new administration or Congress seeks to expand, repeal or change aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this could change your employer-sponsored health care requirements. Or if new regulations for classifying independent contractors are enacted, you may need to offer more traditional employee benefits to these workers.
6. Consider a benefits partner
Are you ready to ease the burden of open enrollment and pass these tasks off to someone else? A reputable benefits partner will have the expertise and technology to run enrollments, ensure compliance, communicate with and educate employees, and provide advocacy.
By teaming up with the right benefits partner, you could be able to boost employee satisfaction, save money, and focus more on what you do best.
Want more? Check out our blog, What your employees need to know when the plan year starts
Optavise is your benefits partner
Optavise is a trusted partner, guiding employers and their employees through healthcare choices including voluntary benefits, benefits administration, and year-round advocacy services that reduce costs and increase benefits engagement.