If you’re in charge of your company’s benefits plan and everything has a 1/1 effective date, you’re keenly aware of the truth behind the statement “Time is money.”
With so much to do (and so little time) here are three steps to help you hit the ground running in January.
Step 1: Update your plans
Updating all of your plans probably feels like a task of Herculean proportions. In many cases, updating your plans will only be one part of the process. If you are offering new plans this year, you’ll have to add those in to your presentations and intranets as well. And don’t forget to include annual changes like new contribution limits for 2021. (Feeling overwhelmed yet?)
The devil really is in the details. Thankfully, you don’t have to do it all alone. Any TPA worth its salt will have a team of people who are ready, willing and able to assist you. At BRI, we call them Client Specialists. They can verify what information might affect plans you’re offering in the coming year. They can also provide links, documents and reminders about where to find specific information.
We all get by with a little help from our friends. (Or, sometimes, our Client Specialist).
Once your priority one items have been updated, it’s time to gear up for Open Enrollment.
Step 2: Hold Open Enrollment
Every company’s approach is a little bit different, but one thing you’ll want to do is see if your TPA offers any automatic systems to help with Open Enrollment. Like the BRI Insights tool.
This platform gives employees the lowdown on all the plans you’re offering (including insurance options) and uses personalized data to walk them through their options and best selections. You can also sign up to have your employees sent reminders throughout Open Enrollment, reminding them to sign up and save.
If you’re trying to reach remote employees this year, make sure you’re following the 5-step communication plan outlined in our Remote Work Guide. But if you have some folks at the office, there are strategies to reach them, too.
Step 3: Send off your enrollments
Finally, once Open Enrollment is done (good job), you’ll want to send over the enrollment and funding files to your provider. Your provider may require specific formatting for these files.
If you work with BRI, you can reach out to your Specialist to request an Enrollment File template. Your time is precious. With the formatting laid out in advance, you protect yourself from wasting time by only working on data that matters.
Work smarter, not harder
Throughout the entire process, you might be getting inundated with questions from confused employees. What if you could pause the noise and give employees access to a database that answered their most common questions? A single source of truth where they could easily look up information instead of asking you?
There is. The Resource Center was developed to provide employees the information they need during Open Enrollment. It lets you work smarter, not harder, by freeing up your time and giving employees all the answers they need in one place. Share it with your employees today.
