Benefits open enrollment

Open enrollment has a date that does not move and a long list of people who must do something before it: carriers, the broker, Payroll, IT and every employee. It comes round each year, and each year the plan is rebuilt from last year's emails. Running it as a project gives you a checklist you can reuse.

Which template to use

• If you are moving to a new benefits system or carrier, start from the Startup HRIS rollout template. It has a Benefits workstream, an Integrations workstream for carrier feeds, a "Benefits enrollment" process map to fill in, and the exit criterion "Benefits carrier and ledger integrations tested". Remove the payroll criteria and the payroll readiness item if payroll is not changing.
• If you are running enrollment in the system you already have, the General project template is the simpler fit: Plan, Design, Build, Launch, with a gate at the end of each. Its workstreams are Planning, Design, Delivery and Communications.

Set the go-live date to the day the enrollment window opens. The Overview counts down to it.

A shape that works

Phase	What happens	Example exit criterion
Plan	Confirm plan changes, rates and dates with the broker and carriers	Plan designs and rates confirmed in writing
Design	Decide eligibility rules, default elections and the employee experience	Eligibility rules approved by HR and Legal
Build	Set up plans and rates in the system, build carrier files, draft communications	Test elections flow to the carrier file and to payroll deductions
Launch	Open the window, support employees, close, and send final files	Final elections sent to carriers and confirmed

These exit criteria are examples to add yourself. Ticking one records who ticked it and when.

Map the enrollment process

In Process maps, write how an employee enrolls today and how you want it to work this year. Flag pain points, such as paper forms or elections that someone re-keys for the carrier. Log gaps, such as a new plan that needs a new deduction code, and turn each into a task.

Test before the window opens

Log test problems in Issues with a severity and an owner. Keep employee names, dependents and health details out of the log. Write "Dependent coverage tier shows the wrong rate" and keep the details of who was affected in your benefits system.

Check readiness

Edit the readiness checklist so it reflects enrollment: rates loaded and checked, carrier files tested, payroll deductions tested, employee communications sent, help channel staffed. Give the testing items the most points. The project shows Go at 90% with no open critical issues.

Reuse it next year

When enrollment closes, save the project as a template. Next year's project starts with your own tasks, criteria and checklist, re-dated to the new window.

What to know

HRjects tracks the project. It does not hold elections or employee data, and it does not connect to carriers. Automatic reminders are planned and not available yet, so task owners need to check the board.