Open Enrollment – A Month or a Minute?

September 28, 2010

As we head into fall, employees will face major decisions during open enrollment:  which health plan to pick, adding supplemental life coverage, dental, and how much to set aside in next year’s FSA or HSA.  As an HR rep, you have probably devoted a substantial amount of time to put together your benefits communications and evaluating next year’s options.  But how much time do your employees dedicate to making their open enrollment decisions?

A recent Hewitt study claims that the average employee spends less than 1 hour choosing their options and completing their open enrollment paperwork.  Most employers offer up to a month for employees to complete their open enrollment packets, yet I would wager a bet that many employees wait until the very last day to even open the packet, and spend just minutes reviewing the information and making rash decisions that not only impact them, but also their family members.

So how can we get employees to take a more proactive approach instead of a last minute approach to making their elections?  I have seem that contests and incentives that motivate employees to run online benefits estimator calculators or answering trivia questions with prizes leading up to open enrollment work very well.  Benefits planning workshops are also another tool, not just reviewing the coverage, but really exploring how the choices the employee makes during open enrollment impacts their overall financial plan.

So this year, help your employees by motivating them to spend more time focused on their election options.