Why We’ll Miss Annual Enrollment
It seems that annual enrollment gets a lot of bad press—between articles listing what people would rather do than enroll in benefits to horror stories of enrollments gone wrong, there’s not a whole lot of positive hype regarding benefits during this time of year. Personally, we had a great annual enrollment and—call us crazy—are a little sad to see it go. Here are our top 5 reasons we’ll miss annual enrollment:
1. Unified goal
There isn’t a single person within our company that didn’t have their hands on some part of annual enrollment, making this time of year a true team effort. Looking from the outside in, the hours, sweat, and manpower behind the last few months might be enough to scare people away, but on the inside you’ll find dedication, commitment, and a single unified goal that brings everyone together (to survive annual enrollment). The fact that we’re all working towards the same goal gives us common ground to relate to and brings together teams that might not have formed otherwise.
2. Our Time to Shine
Annual enrollment is what we prepare for all year long. It’s our Super Bowl, our World Cup, our full-on marathon. It’s what we live for, work for, and when it’s done (and done right) there’s a mix of emotions that follow. First there’s the pride in knowing you delivered a job well done, followed by a slight emptiness from the sudden return to normal workloads. The rhythm changes throughout the office.
3. With Great Challenge Comes Great Reward
We realize that annual enrollment is a crazy time of year, which is why we like to put the crazy right back in its place. The last few months have been filled with costumes, prizes, award ceremonies, food—things that only happen during annual enrollment. Annual enrollment demands us all to be innovative, dedicated, and commited which is why we held weekly annual enrollment recognition ceremonies to recognize our peers that have gone above and beyond in delivering delight.
4. Spotlight on Delight
Annual enrollment is hands down the biggest obstacle an HR professional faces when it comes to benefits. We know this and embrace it, because rescuing HR from the big and daunting burden of annual enrollment is what we’re here for—it’s our calling, our time to deliver Delight! This time of year is our opportunity to show clients what we’re worth and deliver the Delight we’re oh so proud of. This is our time to SHOW what we’re really capable of rather than just tell. Hearing all the positive feedback throughout the enrollment season makes everything we do worth it.
5. It Gets Better Every Year
This isn’t our first rodeo, and it’s safe to say that practice makes perfect. With this being our 16th year in business, and 15th annual enrollment under our belt, we know the proccess gets better each and every year. The kinks, bumps, “surprises” and turns become more distant with every passing ear. Each year gives us new learning opportunities that teach us lessons that carry over to the next year. We feel confident that this annual enrollment season has been our best yet, and we’re excited for the trend to continue. Let the count down to 2016 AE begin!
