Once the Employee Benefits Strategy and Plan Design decisions have been made by the Employer - working with the Broker(s) - it is imperative to make the best possible decision on who will handle the Enrollment Processes and what Enrollment Company or Services to use! The Enrollment Process decisions should include:
How to Educate the Employees and their Families.
How to best Communicate the "Choices" of Plans, Programs and Services.
What form of Enrollment will be used - One-On-One, Group Meetings, Paper Based Forms, Call Center, Internet Based, or a Combination of these strategies.
How the Data will be managed once the "Choices" have been made by the Employees and their Families. A number of parties may require this information in a timely manor, including: Insurance and Non-Insurance Providers of Plans, Programs, and Services; TPAs; Payroll; etc.

The best Strategies and Designs for the Employee Benefits, including:
Fully Funded Plans
Partially Self-Funded Plans
Self-Funded Plans
Defined Contribution (DC) for the above Plans
will collapse and fail without a well planned strategy of the Enrollment Processes.

The following is a list of "Tips" for Brokers and Employers as they begin selecting the Methods and Strategies for Employee Benefits Enrollment:.

A) Know the Group's Demographics
Number of Employees Eligible?
Access to Employee Contact Information?
Language(s) Spoken By Employees and their Families?
Number and Times of Work Shifts?
Distribution of Employees?
Number of Locations?
Ease of Access to Employees?
Level of Employee Knowledge about the Plans, Programs, and Services to be offered?
Internet and Mobile Access to Employees?
B) Know The Plan Design - Including:
Core Benefits to be offered, ie. Health Plan(s), Dental Plan(s), Vision Plan(s), Life Plan(s), Long Term Disability (LTD), etc?
Voluntary/Worksite Plans to be offered, ie. Limited Health Plans; Short Term Disability (STD); Long Term Disability (LTD); Long Term Care (LTCI); Dental; Vision; Critical Illness (CI); Hospital Income (HI); Life - UL, WL, Term, Annuities; Cancer, Pet; Legal; etc?
Tax Advantaged Plans to be offered, as applicable - Section 125; Medical/Health, Dependent Care, and Transportation Reimbursement Accounts; HRAs, HSAs, etc?
Eligibility - Full Time and Part Time Employees?
Eligibility Period - When a "New Hires" or "Change in Status" Employees become eligible?
Length of Enrollment Period?
Documents Required - to be signed by Employees?
When and how "Retirement Plan" choices will be explained and enrolled?
C) Type of Enrollment Desired?
One-On-One
At a Group Setting
Internet Based
Call Center Based
Mix of the Above
D) Will and Should the Enrollment Team be Affiliated with a Carrier? (Many Voluntary Benefit Carriers offer "Free" Enrollment Services if the Employer offers one-or-more of the Carrier's Plans.
E) How is the Enrollment Company Paid? Brokers may be able to negotiate with the Providers/Carriers of Plans, Programs, and Services to share in the cost of the Enrollment.
F) How are the Enrollers Compensated for a One-On-One Enrollment, ie. Commissioned from Plans Sold, Salaried, Per Diem, Per Hour?
G) Will the Enrollment Company provide, or participate in, the Employee Education Process?
H) How will the Enrollment Company monitor the Enrollment Process?
I) How will the Employer and Broker(s) be kept posted on the Progress of the Enrollment?
J) How will the Enrollment Company monitor "Problems" reported by Employees, Department Heads, and Managers?
K) Will the Enrollment Company be responsible for distributing the Employee's "Selections" and "Payroll Deductions" to the appropriate parties, ie. Carriers, TPAs, Payroll, etc?
L) Will Representatives of the Enrollment Company be available when the "Paychecks" are issued following the first new Employee Deductions?
M) How will the Enrollment Company handle New Hires, Changes In Eligibility, etc?

If the Employer and Broker(s) work together to address the above questions - and are careful in selecting the Enrollment Company or Service - the potential for a successful enrollment will increase dramatically.

For questions and suggestions Email - max@benefitplace.biz or Call Phil - 216.577.5579. We invite you to Join our Linkedin Group, Insurance Forum. To Join Go To -
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