Home > Insights > Workday Open Enrollment: A Comprehensive Guide to Employee Benefits
Open Enrollment is a crucial time for employees to choose, review, or modify their benefit plans for the upcoming year. Platforms like Workday have become key players in streamlining processes as organizations continue to digitize benefits enrollment processes and manage employee data in the cloud.
Understanding how to navigate the Workday Open Enrollment platform can help organizations across sectors limit errors, save time, and ensure employees make the best decisions for their healthcare, family, and financial needs.
Read on to learn more about Workday Open Enrollment and how our senior-level Workday consultants can help you maximize the efficiency of your benefits enrollment procedures.
What is Workday Open Enrollment?
The open enrollment period is a once-a-year event outside of mid-year life events (e.g., birth of a child, marriage, etc.) and onboarding procedures. It allows employees to modify their benefits plans, understand changes to eligibility rules, and ensure benefits plans are altered before the effective date of qualifying life events.
Workday Open Enrollment is a user-friendly platform created to streamline the process of selecting individual benefit options. By understanding the steps involved and appropriately preparing for the open enrollment period, employees can maximize their benefits packages and ensure they are fully covered for the next year.
Effectively utilizing Workday during the open enrollment period improves job satisfaction, enhances employee well-being, and maximizes the potential of individual benefit plans.
Preparing for an Open Enrollment Period
Review Current Selections
Before users begin making changes to their current benefit selections, employees should thoroughly review them. This includes understanding changes in their individual or familial circ*mstances or needs and their current coverage.
Understand Offerings
Employers typically revise core benefits packages every year. Employees should familiarize themselves with any changes to company plans, such as premium modifications, changes in coverage options, or available benefits for any new hire.
Collect Information
It’s key to ensure users have all the necessary information on hand, such as details on beneficiaries and dependents and any other documents required for verification.
What Can You Do During Open Enrollment?
1. Modify dental and medical plans.
2. Review dependent information.
- Have you gotten married?
- Were there any family changes?
- Did you get divorced?
- Do you need to add a child to dental?
- Employees must confirm that only qualifying dependents—children, spouse, and domestic partners—are listed on their benefits plans.
- Failing to remove an ineligible dependent could result in employees repaying any costs incurred during the period the dependent was not eligible.
3. Sign up for a tax-advantaged Flexible Spending Account for the upcoming year.
- DCAP for child and senior care costs
- MERP for medical costs
- TRP for parking and transit costs
4. Sign up for or add to your existing Supplemental Life Insurance policy.
Common Risks and Tips
Here are a few things to consider to achieve a successful open enrollment period :
Don’t Procrastinate: Begin the enrollment process early to avoid last-minute issues. Open Enrollment periods are limited, and missing the deadline could result in default or limited coverages.
Ask Questions: If anything is unclear, reach out to your HR department or benefits providers for clarification.
Leverage Resources: Many employers offer informational sessions, guides, or webinars about their unique benefits processes and requirements. Use these resources to make informed decisions.
How We Can Help
Whether you need help implementing a new Workday solution to streamline your benefits selection processes, additional project management support to ensure a successful implementation or migration, or an extra hand embarking on your journey with Workday Solutions, Surety Systems can help.
Our senior-level Workday consultants have the functional knowledge and expertise to help you conquer complex implementation or integration projects and maximize your technological investment.
Contact Us
Are you interested in learning more about the Workday Open Enrollment platform and how our senior-level Workday consulting services can help your organization make the most of the technology you already own?
Contact us today.
