PEO Open Enrollment: Simplify Your Benefits Enrollment Process
Open enrollment happens once a year, but for many small and mid-sized businesses, it can quickly become overwhelming. Time to review benefit plans, answer employee questions, communicate changes, and stay compliant. And, on top of that, nearly two-thirds of employees say their employer is not doing a good job explaining their benefits.
A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help make this easier through better PEO open enrollment communication, reducing the administrative headaches and helping with compliance.
Why Open Enrollment Matters
Open enrollment is the time of year when employees sign up for or alter their benefits at work. These benefits often include health insurance, dental and vision coverage, retirement plans, life insurance, and voluntary benefits. Although it may appear to be a back-office task, open enrollment directly influences employee satisfaction, retention, and overall workplace morale.
Unfortunately, the process has become increasingly complicated. Benefit plans offer more choices than ever, and employees often face the task of weighing deductibles, co-payments, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), and supplemental coverage. Without proper guidance, many employees will make quick decisions.
Common Open Enrollment Challenges for Employers
Employers often face several challenges during open enrollment, including:
Explaining Complex Benefit Options
Things like deductibles, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximums, and provider networks can get confusing really fast. When employees don’t have a full understanding of their options, they often delay decisions or pick plans that don’t fit their healthcare needs.
Keeping Communication Consistent
One email at the start of enrollment is rarely enough. Employees need reminders, educational materials, FAQs, and the chance to ask questions before making important decisions. Many businesses lack a formalized communication plan, which leads to increased confusion and decreased participation.
Managing Administrative Work
Employee benefits enrollment can take dozens of hours each enrollment season. HR teams are responsible for managing elections, verifying employee information, updating payroll deductions, working with insurance carriers, and ensuring deadlines are met correctly.
Staying Compliant
Open enrollment also carries regulatory responsibilities. Depending on the size and location of the company, employers may be subject to ACA, reporting requirements, COBRA administration, ERISA rules, and state employment laws. Missing deadlines or providing incorrect information can expose a business to unnecessary risk of non-compliance.
How a PEO Improves the Open Enrollment Process
Instead of treating enrollment as an annual administrative task, a PEO can help companies develop a structured process that is easier for employers and employees alike to navigate.
1. Planning Open Enrollment Before It Begins
A PEO helps employers get a head start on planning by reviewing their current benefit plans, identifying upcoming changes, setting enrollment deadlines, and creating a communication plan before enrollment opens.
Planning helps businesses:
- Review current health, dental, and vision plans
- Understand premium or contribution changes
- Prepare employee communication materials
- Schedule enrollment meetings or webinars
- Coordinate important enrollment deadlines
2. Making Employee Benefits Easier to Understand
Insurance terms like deductibles, copayments, HSAs, and out-of-pocket maximums can be confusing for employees very quickly. When employees don’t understand these concepts, they may choose plans that cost more than they need, or don’t provide the coverage their families need.
Instead of giving employees a lengthy benefits guide and expecting them to figure it out on their own, PEOs provide educational resources like:
- Benefits guides written in simple language
- Frequently asked questions
- Live webinars
- One-on-one benefits consultations
- Short educational videos
- Decision-support tools
3. Supporting Employees Throughout Enrollment
A PEO provides ongoing support throughout the employee benefits enrollment period by helping employees:
- Compare available plan options
- Understand coverage differences
- Review eligible dependents
- Complete enrollment correctly
- Resolve benefit-related questions
- Meet enrollment deadlines
4. Improving Benefits Communication
Employees need information more than once. The key to effective open enrollment management is to communicate information through multiple channels before, during, and after enrollment.
A PEO helps businesses build a communication strategy that may include:
- Enrollment announcement emails
- Reminder notifications
- Educational webinars
- Printed enrollment guides
- Online benefits portals
- Mobile-friendly resources
- Frequently asked questions
How Better Benefits Support Recruitment and Retention
Today, job hunters compare benefit packages as closely as they compare salaries. Health insurance, retirement plans, wellness programs, flexible spending accounts, and voluntary benefits play into how candidates size up an employer.
Open communication, educational resources, and ongoing support in employee benefits administration are more likely to help employees appreciate the full value of their compensation package. That understanding can build employee confidence, job satisfaction, and retention over the long term.
Is a PEO the Right Choice for Your Business?
You may benefit from PEO open enrollment support if your business is:
- Spending too much time managing benefits each year
- Growing quickly and hiring more employees
- Expanding into multiple states
- Looking to offer more competitive employee benefits
- Operating without a dedicated HR or benefits team
- Finding compliance requirements increasingly difficult to manage
Simplify Open Enrollment with OEM America
For more than 25 years, OEM America has been helping businesses manage PEO benefits administration and open enrollment more efficiently. We’re a proud Member of NAPEO and a BBB Accredited Business. We help employers reduce administrative work, communicate better with employees, and stay compliant. Request a free consultation to find out how we can relieve the stress of your next open enrollment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is PEO benefits administration?
A: PEO benefits administration refers to the ongoing management of employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and voluntary benefits, handled by a Professional Employer Organization on behalf of a client business.
Q: Why is the benefits enrollment process so confusing for employees?
A: Deductibles, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximums, and other jargon are not common parlance for most outside of insurance. The multitude of options available during enrollment can cause decision paralysis without clear guidance.
Q: What makes open enrollment services from a PEO different from doing it in-house?
A: Most small businesses can’t do that on their own, but PEOs have dedicated benefits specialists, multi-channel employee education, and the ability to negotiate with insurance carriers, which means better plans and a smoother process.
Q: Does employee benefits enrollment only happen once a year?
A: No. While open enrollment is the main annual event, employees also need support during new hire enrollment and qualifying life events like marriage, the birth of a child, or losing other coverage throughout the year.
Q: What compliance responsibilities does HR benefits administration cover?
A: This generally involves ACA reporting, ERISA plan administration, COBRA continuation coverage, and state-specific benefit laws. These are always changing, and if you miss one, it can be a financial risk
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