Annual Enrollment

These two words strike fear and loathing into the hearts of individuals involved in the HR and employee benefits world. Why - you might ask. Then again - you might not. (People generally detest thinking about insurance in any shape form or fashion)

What is it? Well it's the time, each year, that most employee benefit plans make changes for the coming year. It's also the time when employees are offered the opportunity make changes to their personal coverages - think health insurance, dental insurance, disability, life, cancer insurance, etc. So most people who know me, know that I kind of go underground during the month of September preparing for the fourth quarter Annual Enrollment that my client goes through. I moan and groan about it a lot more than I should because a)it always means job security for me and b)I sorta like it! (don't tell). I am so busy - which suits me very well. I get to do a lot of process planning and implementation - this year more than any other thus far. And I get to problem solve - problems that I haven't had a hand in creating, that is. The remainder of the calendar year, I'm generally solving problems I help create!

My client is a large health care company which employees approx 4500 fulltime benefit eligible people throughout seven states. And we enroll each of them. I don't travel out to their locations during this time (I do travel to see them during the first half of the year). But I direct their enrollment, enrollers and workflow to our half dozen or so insurance carriers. It's crazy but very interesting.

What's that??? Snoring I hear - oh come - someone's got to do it. Seriously, do you really want to have to read each and every insurance form and booklet you're given from your HR department??? Yeah, didn't think so..