Let's face it – open enrollment is not a static event. It takes months of planning to execute a seamless and productive experience for employees. For many companies, open enrollment is the only time employees focus on reviewing their benefits package. Creating exceptional benefit solutions your employees need, want, and love is not just a science, it's an art.

Prior to the open enrollment event, HR managers should reflect and act on last year's wins and headaches – what worked and what did not.  Ideally this begins right after the conclusion of the open enrollment period but if you haven't had that luxury, do it now. There's always time to improve!

As benefits administrators and HR professionals, being open about how to improve internal processes will provide immeasurable value to employees and create a smooth experience all around. Each year is an opportunity to improve upon previous years and to deploy new marketing tools that help educate and support your employees.