A 2-Week Window with Year-Round Implications

Open enrollment pressure builds long before elections begin. Call volume, email volume, benefit materials, and system readiness all peak at once. When the workforce is mobile, as is the case with Eagle's over 800 truck drivers, that pressure multiplies. Drivers cannot stop by HR for a walk-up question, schedules often sit outside standard business hours, and spouses or partners frequently help make coverage decisions from home.

"Open enrollment for most HR professionals is pretty much year-round. Because it's all about being prepared and making sure that you have the right communications in front of your team members throughout the year in hopes that they will understand their benefits when they see them during open enrollment."

• Rena Cater, MBA, PHR, Vice President of Human Resources, Eagle Transport Corporation

Pharmacy benefits add another layer. Given pharmacy benefits are a non-elective benefit, without clear pre-communication, members discover gaps at the pharmacy counter come go-live. There’s a tremendous opportunity to educate members on pharmacy benefits, and other non-elective benefits, during open enrollment and year-round to help curb the volume of escalations that land on HR’s plate.

Key Strategies for a Smooth Open Enrollment

Run Benefits Education as a Year-Round Rhythm

Rena's team at Eagle Transport does not wait for open enrollment to start explaining benefits. The team spotlights two benefits each month, year-round, along with a weekly newsletter, to educate members on how they can make full use of their benefits. Information is delivered in an accessible, 'plain English' format, rather than 'insurance-ese.'

That cadence and format matter for non-elective benefits as much as for elective coverages. Members rarely understand the complex documentation legacy insurance providers hand over. They want a plain answer to two questions: what will I get at the pharmacy, and what will I pay. Year-round education reduces the volume of first-time explanations packed into a two-week window and helps open enrollment feel routine rather than high drama.

Reverse-Engineer the Timeline From the Plan Effective Date

Eagle’s plan effective date is July 1. Working backward, the team begins strategy at the end of the prior year, aims to finalize partners, programs, plan design, and enhancement decisions by the end of March, then uses April and May to assemble communications, update the benefit book, educate across channels, and mail handbooks. The enrollment window itself runs about two weeks, but good benefits partners will allow for a little wiggle room to accommodate employees who missed deadlines.

The operating goal is simple: finish the heavy decisions early enough that HR stress does not transfer to members. Last-minute fire drills create rushed materials, uneven outreach, and avoidable counter surprises.

Choose Benefit Partners on More Than Price Alone

Rena’s evaluation lens is direct. A polished presentation or the lowest sticker cost can hide tradeoffs in service quality. For a lean HR team supporting a mobile workforce, the better question is whether the pharmacy benefit partner will listen, flex to how the employer actually operates, and share the heavy lift through implementation and day-to-day member support.

“Somebody could have a beautiful presentation and somebody can be the least cost, but then what happens nine times out of ten in my experience is that something has to give there… partnership is the key term when you're going to be looking at somebody.”

• Rena Cater, Eagle Transport

The results of prioritizing partnership over misleading ‘discount’ promises are concrete. Eagle has partnered with SmithRx for more than four years in a carved-out pharmacy benefit model. Rena describes the switch as seamless, with negligible disruption and member feedback on lower out-of-pocket costs, including examples such as moving from $45 to $5 or from $50 to $0, and no transition complaints reported to HR.

Measure Success Beyond Completion Rates

Enrollment completion is necessary, not sufficient. Eagle also watches member satisfaction with choices, the stress load on HR, flexibility for mobile “stragglers” who missed an earlier touchpoint, and year-end enrollment and utilization data that reshapes next year’s communication focus.

"Success for me is having all of our employees satisfied with what they've chosen... really having my team get through it without being stressed completely out, and having the members satisfied with the choices that they had and receiving positive feedback."

• Rena Cater, Eagle Transport

A seamless open enrollment season is built months before the window opens. Continuous education, a reverse-engineered timeline and plain-language communication all contribute toward the process running smoothly.

Curious about how the right pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) partner can support HR teams and member experience year-round? Speak with one of our pharmacy benefit experts to learn more.

For more episodes, visit the Full Disclosure series homepage.

FAQs

What does a strong open enrollment experience look like for members?

Members can understand their benefits in plain language, find documentation quickly, complete enrollment easily or on the go, reach HR when needed, and review materials at home so family members can take part in decisions.

How should employers educate members on a non-elective PBM benefit?
Treat the PBM like any other benefit in the year-round calendar. Use multi-channel touch points and plain-language materials. Eagle spotlights two benefits monthly and layers screens, intranet posts, newsletters, and partner-supported education.