Data‑Driven Decisions: How to Use Last Year’s OE Metrics to Drive This Year’s Strategy

Open Enrollment isn’t just a critical time for employees—it’s also a major opportunity for HR and benefits administrators to reflect, refine, and future-proof their strategy. Yet too often, decisions around plan design, communications, and support are made in a vacuum, without leveraging one of the most valuable tools available: data.

Consider this—a staggering 25% of open enrollment applications contain errors, and approximately 15% of benefit-carrier invoices include significant mistakes (eBen). These inefficiencies are not just inconvenient—they’re costly and avoidable.

Even more compelling, research shows that up to 80% of HR processes—benefits administration included—are automatable in public sector environments (McKinsey). That means smarter systems, better planning, and data-informed decisions can radically transform how teams prepare for Open Enrollment, improving accuracy, reducing burnout, and increasing employee satisfaction.

In this blog, we’ll explore how analyzing last year’s OE metrics can help your organization make better decisions this year, from communications to support strategy and beyond.

📈 1. Elevate Engagement: More Than Enrollment Rates

Track key indicators:

• Participation (login)

• Completion (final submission)

• Communication (email interaction, click-throughs)

Why it matters: Participation rates often mask deeper issues. A drop in completions could indicate confusion in communication, poor UX, or unaddressed employee needs.

For example, Benefitfocus reveals the importance of tracking “Email Open Rate” and “Participation Rate by Benefit Type” to understand where employees are engaged—or tuned out. By identifying where engagement drops off, HR teams can pivot messaging or create targeted campaigns to support decision-making.

Strategic Tip: Run pre-OE employee surveys to uncover common questions (e.g., “Should I shift to an HSA-qualified plan?”) and build reminders into the process right before major decisions are due.

💰 2. Protect Budget: Insights into Cost Shifts and ROI

Track key indicators:

• Premium trends (plan shifts)

• Employee payroll contributions

• Spending-per-employee vs. prior years

Why it matters: In public-sector settings, benefits often represent 20–30% of total employee compensation. This makes unchecked cost escalation an urgent budget risk.

A Mercer study shows steep cost increases in healthcare and retirement plans, forcing HR teams to make trade-offs between employee value and operational constraints.

For instance, a move toward high-deductible plans may reduce district expenses, but risk lower adoption unless paired with educational resources. Last year’s OE data on enrollment behaviors allows strategists to model fiscal vs employee outcomes more accurately.

⚠️ 3. Prevent Errors: Eliminate Manual Mistakes

Track key indicators:

• Support call volume

• Data inconsistencies

• Carrier file rejections

Why it matters: The Society for Human Resource Management reports organizations lose 2–5% of benefits costs annually to administrative errors. In government patterns of declining staff and stagnant onboarding, that loss becomes magnified.

A spike in inquiry calls could signal confusion within benefit plan descriptions or faulty enrollment interfaces—circumstances that OE metrics can help preempt.

Strategic Tip: Review call data and system error logs weekly through OE. Categorize calls by root cause and integrate fixes before they compound.

🔄 4. Compare Year-over-Year: Spotting Strategic Trends

Track key indicators:

• Plan migrations (e.g., PPO → HDHP)

• HSA/HRA uptake

• Dependent efficiencies

Why it matters: Year-over-year tracking reveals long-term behavioral shifts. A growing HDHP adoption year-over-year may signal a preference trend—one that HR should support with additional cost-awareness tools or financial assistance.

PlanSource notes that targeted auditing, like dependent eligibility reviews, can recapture $3,500 per 100 employees annually. Extending this audit into OE analytics ensures timely intervention.

Strategic Tip: Use the OE historical library to visualize shifts and empower finance teams with solid narratives at planning meetings and audits.

🧩 5. Define ROI Metrics and Track Outcomes

Track key indicators:

• Expense trend vs engagement

• Enrollment time per staff

• Compliance penalties (if any)

Why it matters: A data-backed OE strategy enables leadership to justify system investments—showing dollars not just saved, but reallocated toward strategic goals, like staff retention or learning tools.

In sectors like education or law enforcement, demonstrating impact becomes critical when budgets tighten.

Strategic Tip: Build a post-OE ROI report summarizing error reductions, time efficiency gains, and reimbursement tracking metrics to validate investment and support continuous improvement cycles.

Bringing it All Together: OE as a Strategic Launchpad

1. Build Cross‑Functional Dashboards – Combine analytics from finance (spending), HR (participation), IT (integration), and benefits (claims). Integrated dashboards ensure no stakeholder remains in the dark and promote aligned decision-making.’
2. Cascade Messaging With Precision – Use past OE patterns to shape messaging windows and maximize relevance. Target benefit reminders to subgroups: retirees, part-time staff, nurses, etc., based on their previous enrollment metrics.
3. Iterate, Don’t Switch – Rather than an annual overhaul, use OE data annually as a tuning mechanism. Small, timely updates—UX improvements, new guidance, button placement changes—can yield huge usability gains.

The Broader Implications for Public Sector Agencies

1. Boost Employee Satisfaction & Retention – Streamlined processes matched with data-informed communication reflects care. Public-sector staff often cite care and clarity as reasons to stay.

2. Fiscal Prudence & Transparency – With taxpayer funds under increasing scrutiny, finance teams can use OE metrics to demonstrate stewardship and justify decisions in stakeholder forums.

3. Compliance at Scale – Automating error detection and audit reports reduces burden and risk during audits. Consistent OE tracking builds documentation trails over time.

4. Support Mission‑Driven Culture – When HR aligns data insights with strategic goals, employees experience a purposeful workplace that empowers them beyond compliance or budget drivers.

Conclusion

In public-sector environments—where budgets are lean, scrutiny is intense, and employee well-being fuels mission success—OE should be more than an administrative duty. Done right, OE becomes a strategic asset: a chance to build alignment between systems, staff, and organizational purpose.

By leaning into data-driven OE practices, HR teams stand to:

• Elevate efficiency and cut wasted spending

• Enhance transparency and accountability

• Enrich employee experience with thoughtful design

• Align benefits strategies with mission-critical outcomes

Choose to lead OE by data—so your next budget season becomes not just manageable, but transformative.

Want to learn more about simplifying your open enrollment experience? Let’s talk!