Three Things Scarier than the Open Enrollment Period

‘Tis the season. No, we’re not jumping the gun and referring to holiday cheer just yet. October is synonymous with the oh-so-scary haunted thoughts of impending Open Enrollment. That time of year when employees come out of the woodwork with zombie-like despair in an attempt to secure new benefits, change policies, and beat the clock in order to ensure coverage for the next 12 months.

For the unsuspecting HR Departments, the open enrollment period is nothing short of horrifying. With no HCM technology or plan in place to manage this process, you may be in for more than just a mere fright.

Three Things Scarier than the Open Enrollment Period

• Paper Pushing

  There’s NOTHING scarier than the thought of manual processes during the open enrollment period. Truth be told, without the support of an intuitive online platform, benefits enrollment spells out big trouble for HR professionals by way of human errors, labor-intensive processing, and duplicate entries. All terrifying factors that can contribute to incomplete filings, missed coverage, the risk of noncompliance, and critical tasks falling by the wayside due to excess operational hours spent on open enrollment. Scared yet? Don’t worry, you’ll find plenty of places to hide behind the mounds of paperwork that grow with each new enrollment period.

• How Do I…?

  Here they come. The barrage of benefits related questions that only HR can answer. Employee inquiries skyrocket during the open enrollment period. And, with nowhere else to turn, you can bet there will be a line a mile long in front of HR seeking help with all things coverage related. With only a small window of opportunity for the year, numerous options in which employees may, or may not qualify for, and new policies and changes to existing coverage, navigating the intense world of benefits administration is as scary for employees as the line is long in front of HR’s door. Without a streamlined management system in place, there’s no escaping the inevitable “how-do-I” requests to assist with open enrollment.

• Underused Policies

  Ok, maybe we spoke too soon. The ONE thing that may be more chilling than manual open enrollment facilitation, is the look on executives’ faces when they see just how much money has been wasted on underused benefits. If you’re still going about benefits administration with grassroots techniques, it’s a safe bet you don’t have the business intelligence and analytics in place to gauge the efficacy of your policies. And in turn, you’re not seeing the ROI. Paper pushing may be an unsettling thought, but the look on your boss’ face when you explain the over-expenditures and unjustified spending on company benefits will insight a fear that will have you wishing for HR reporting capabilities and the complete transparency to make better decisions.

Fear not. Netchex benefits management technology helps companies face open enrollment head on – without the panic. Our NetBenefits platform is all you need to make coverage easier for you and your team. Through a single login, employees access only the coverage they are qualified for. Step by step enrollment screens with required fields ensures that information is filled out completely and directly online.  No manual entry, no room for error.