Each year, there’s a small window of opportunity to obtain new health coverage, or amend current benefits. Thus, the open enrollment period ends up being a hectic time for HR administrators and employees alike. To avoid bottlenecks, mounds of paperwork, and excess operational hours being taken from critical tasks, companies are implementing HCM platforms with the tools to streamline the open enrollment process.
Open Enrollment Features Companies Can’t Live Without
Communication Resources
One of the most important tasks prior to, all the way to post open enrollment are the communications and information that are conveyed to your employees. Templated, scheduled, and automated email workflows are one tool that can help avoid missed or time-sensitive information, and minimize the direct questions for HR. In the weeks leading up to open enrollment, announcements of open dates, deadlines, policy changes, and new coverage information will help the process run more smoothly. Automating emails to employees who have started, but did not complete the process, will remind them of outstanding tasks. Once the enrollment period has passed, keeping the lines of communication going and providing insight as to where to find policy information online will foster more independence of employee benefits management.
Connected, Mobile Accessibility
Navigating the complexities of benefits coverage, and the decision-making process it entails, may not be one that employees can make in a single sitting. Therefore, giving employees the flexibility to enroll, or review and compare policies online on their own time through a benefits portal can take the pressure off of the enrollment process. Plus, the on-demand accessibility to view coverage details, payroll deductions to date, and policy changes from any connected device is a tool that can provide the instant answers today’s employees on-the-go need to questions that arise throughout the year.
Customized API / Solution Integration
While reporting and analytics make the short list, this can only be achieved through HCM solution integration. Connecting payroll and time tracking systems to pass information to and from your benefits platform provides the reporting information needed for compliance and improved decision-making. In addition, it eliminates the operational hours needed to re-enter data, as well as the errors that accompany duplicate entries. Full HR integration with a benefits solution will offer both in-depth, and at-a-glance data that could take hundreds of hours to compile manually. It’s a tool that can help yield greater ROI, by analyzing policy usage, and automating data pulls will make FTE and end-of-year reporting a breeze.
Netchex helps more businesses each year implement online services that streamline processes and make employees lives easier. Our comprehensive benefits administration portal, couples powerful capabilities with user-friendly features that gets employees up and running with their chosen coverage faster. Contact us to learn how your company can implement Netchex solutions and benefit from cutting-edge technology that cuts the open enrollment workload in half.