Annual Open Enrollment Checklist

Annual open enrollment is the once-a-year opportunity for employees to review, elect and change their health insurance coverage, as well as adjust contributions to their savings, retirement and flexible spending options that their employers offer.

Open enrollment can be an extremely positive and rewarding experience for you and your employees by taking the following suggestions into consideration:

Pre-Enrollment Period

Plan ahead

Make a list of anything new and exciting that could enhance your open enrollment processes.
Consider online enrollment programs, software and implement them onto your company website.
Keep track of employee questions, their preferred communication method, trends in employees'
selections, etc.
Make necessary changes to your benefits offerings early on to avoid rushing at the last minute.
Customize your offerings to your employee population after surveying them to determine exactly what they seek.
Consider offering new benefits, even if they are 100 percent voluntary.

Know your benefits

Hold meetings with employees to review coverage options and changes. Also offer information about benefits in various formats to your employees – one-on-one meetings, benefit fairs, mailers or via Intranet tools.
If pamphlets or brochures are provided by your carrier or third-party administrator, deliver them to employees.
Communicate helpful 800 numbers and websites to employees looking for additional resources.

Know your audience

Be prepared to answer questions that employees asked most frequently last year.
Create a frequently-asked-questions-and-answers sheet to distribute, post or e-mail to employees.
Provide answers to basic questions, such as how much premiums will increase, new coverage options, etc.

Enrollment

Make sure employees have received all enrollment materials including:

Open Enrollment Schedule
Statement of Current Coverage
Plan-Specific Changes and Rates
Plan-Specific Summaries
Open Enrollment Booklet and Forms
Deadline for Open Enrollment
Resource Contact Information

Be kind to your employees

Provide employees with materials and give them time to review them.
Offer generous deadlines, with frequent reminders.
Remind everyone the day before the deadline.
Remain available via various mediums for employees to contact with questions and clarification.

Post-Enrollment

Did you…

Check enrollment forms for any missing information?
Submit all enrollment forms to carrier?
Follow-up to make sure all employees received their ID cards?

Also consider offering a second, off- cycle enrollment period for employees, featuring atypical benefits that are often over-shadowed by medical benefits and retirement options during open enrollment. This second enrollment will provide employees the opportunity to focus on other areas of their life; those of which are overshadowed during open enrollment.

Click here to download this checklist as a Word document.