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Annual enrollment is here, but how you utilize the data collected afterward can play a significant role in the success of future benefits efforts.

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With annual enrollment season in full swing, many benefits professionals have one goal on their minds—to get all their employees enrolled in benefits before the period ends.  

There are so many factors that play into a successful annual enrollment. HR teams that take proper steps beforehand can maximize their strategy so next year’s AE is even smoother. 

While success metrics can look different depending on each organization’s objectives, the key to unlocking success year after year is gathering data and diving into it between annual enrollment seasons. 

Why should benefits teams analyze annual enrollment data?  

Creating a benefits program that is easy to navigate, understood by employees, and well-communicated can offer a significant payback for employers. From increased health outcomes to improved job satisfaction, employee benefits are critical to engagement throughout the year.  

A recent study showed that employees who feel engaged are 87% less likely to leave their companies than unengaged employees. This speaks volumes as to why having the right benefits and programs is essential for retaining talent. 

HR teams know this, and many of you already review offerings regularly and adjust accordingly. Employee feedback, often collected as data points, reveal which benefits changes resonated most with certain populations, allowing your strategies to improve a little each AE season.  

With a historic 47.4 million Americans leaving their jobs in 2021 and more into 2022, it’s more important than ever to keep employees engaged with their benefits. A successful annual enrollment not only furthers retention efforts, but also sets the stage for optimal health choices throughout the year. 

What data should HR professionals focus on post-annual enrollment?

Annual enrollment is arguably one of the best times for HR professionals to collect data that can be used to help shape a benefits strategy for the following year. Remember, the best data is easily accessible and focused on specific goals. 

Every year, Businessolver compiles a breakdown of the data collected from our MyChoice® Recommendation Engine. The information from over a half million users offers a peak into how well employees understood their benefits, what employees' risk tolerance looked like during annual enrollment, and how their finances were connected to their benefits elections. 

While you don’t have to be a MyChoice Recommendation Engine user to analyze this type of data, here are a few of the data points that are worthwhile to focus on this year: 

1. Workforce demographics 

Before analyzing any other data collected from annual enrollment, it’s vital to dive into your workforce demographics. Some main areas to focus on are age, marital status, covered dependents, earnings, and gender. These areas will help serve as the benchmark for the rest of your data analysis and can be used to help you determine if your benefits offerings align with your workforce population. For example, if your population tends towards young, hourly workers then you may want to consider a robust financial security plan.  

2. Benefits selections 

Many employers offer new benefits selections each year or aim to increase participation in specific areas. By looking at the data populated during annual enrollment and comparing it to previous years, HR professionals can get a good idea of how effective their benefits strategy was amongst employees. 

For example, data segmentation can help you determine what employee populations are enrolling in HSAs and compare that to the utilization of HSAs throughout the year. For benefits that are seeing fewer enrollments, you can also use this data to determine if the mark was missed on an offering. 

This process may reveal that your benefits are well-chosen, and instead, employee communications could do more to ease confusion.  

3. Decision factors

One of the most effective data areas to focus on is how employees came to their benefits decisions. Tools such as the MyChoice Recommendation Engine allows employees to fill out a short questionnaire that gives them personalized suggestions for which benefits options might be the best for their situation. Benefits professionals can also use this data to help understand why employees decided on their final benefits selections. 

Want to dive deeper into the data collected by MyChoice Recommendation Engine? Check out our latest 2022 Benefits Insights Report here.   

View all Posts by Marcy Klipfel