The new year is still a few months away, but for your human resources department, it is approaching rapidly. Fall is open enrollment season, which means HR professionals are working hard to determine which workplace benefits are best suited to your facility and your employees in the coming year.
Open enrollment is a busy and often stressful time for HR, but it’s also an opportunity to make sure that your benefits plan reflects your center’s overall culture, values, and goals. How you support your employees has a long-term impact on your facility’s risk management, efficiency, and productivity.
Here are a few best practices to help you manage the open enrollment period smoothly and efficiently.
Keep Employees Informed
Share new benefits plan information with employees as early as possible, providing a straightforward summary and highlighting any major changes. Expect that people will have questions, and try to anticipate and mitigate any confusion.
Employees will want to know what their options are and what actions they will be responsible for. Distribute a comprehensive FAQ guide before open enrollment begins to answer common questions about coverage. For example:
- Do any government policy changes affect our benefits plan?
- What benefits are available (health, dental, vision, life insurance, etc.)?
- What new benefits are being offered (if any)?
- Have the shared costs changed since last year?
- What are the limitations on choosing healthcare providers?
Personalize the Process
Every employee has different circumstances and priorities that affect their benefits decisions. Encourage all employees to consider their personal situations carefully before open enrollment begins. For example, a recent relationship status change or a family illness might be a determining factor. Schedule individual meetings with employees who want to clarify policies or ask specific questions. Take time with each person to make sure everything is transparent and understandable.
Get Support
Administering open enrollment is arduous and time-consuming for HR, especially if your department is already overloaded. ASC managers surveyed by MedHQ said that managing benefits is one of their top HR concerns. If you share this concern, look for ways to enlist expert support outside your organization.
One of the simplest ways your facility can save money and time is by outsourcing the most burdensome HR services. At MedHQ, we use our deep knowledge of employee benefits to make sure your plan is competitive in your market without being too costly. Our team handles the heavy lifting of open enrollment preparation so your staff can focus on their essential day-to-day tasks.
Need help preparing for open enrollment? Get in touch with MedHQ.