How do you survive open enrollment season?

Barry Cohn

President, Really Great Employee Benefits 

4. Expect the unexpected

1. Plan and prepare as much as possible in advance of open enrollment — this will minimize last minute issues.

2.  There will still be last minute issues even though you do all the planning possible (Murphy's law was probably written during the fourth quarter).  Assign a point person to each employer as the problem solver/crisis manager.  Make sure they exchange contact data with the proper contacts at the employer, insurers, benefit admin vendors, or other third parties.

3. Take time to recognize your team and have fun doing it.  We have "thank you" snack carts we push through busy work areas offering snacks that are sugary, salty, or healthy — the associates choose what they like.  "Thanks a latte" days and pizza or sub sandwich lunches work, too.  It's amazing how a little recognition (and some calories or caffeine) helps relieve stress. 

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5. Be efficient

Every season is open enrollment season now. Each day is increasingly difficult, with many more complexities to manage. There's the constant struggle between juggling the demand of needing to offer so much more and the financial pressures of remaining profitable. The solution for us has been ensuring we have the right people in the right seats and obsessively hunting for operational efficiencies. Much time is spent understanding how we can automate our processes and make the lives of our incredible team easier. That and wine; lots and lots of wine.

See also: 9 tech tools to increase productivity

Sozon Vatikiotis

CEO, Alltrust Insurance 

6. Write it down

I usually switch to a paper calendar during open enrollment. Crazy, I know, but I've been burned by forgetting to set an alarm on my Outlook calendar. I'm an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of guy, so seeing each day on paper is a must.

I've also learned that procrastination kills during OE season, so I never put off what I can do today.

There's so much coordination with players in HR, payroll and agents/brokers, that you simply can't delay on the front end. Even with these good intentions and plans, around the first week in December, I find myself curled up in a ball in the corner, rocking back and forth and sucking my thumb…

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Brian Hicks

Benefits Selling columnist and author of "The Tinderbox Tapes"