Bulk Enrollment for Benefits

How can I update enrollment details for multiple employees at one time?

Purpose: To understand how to utilize the bulk enrollment tool in either Benefits Administration or Benefits Tracking to update benefit data for multiple employees at one time.

The bulk enrollment process explained in this help guide apply to both Benefits Administration and Benefits Tracking.


Do you prefer hands-on learning? Our interactive guides will guide you through different aspects of your BambooHR experience. We have an interactive guide specifically designed to show you how to handle open enrollment. You can use the link below to access this guide. All you need to do is modify the "REPLACEME" with your BambooHR subdomain, and you can get started!

https://REPLACEME.bamboohr.com/home?pendo=6VMZcLxQb3sCXlvyXL1u0uGCwHg 

Would you like to watch a video about this topic?


Enroll employees

We recommend creating all of your benefit plans (Benefits Tracking) / benefit plans (Benefits Administration) before you start enrolling employees because this feature only works if you do so. If you have multiple benefit plans under a benefit plan type, the system will automatically waive any employees enrolled in one plan from the other plans. 

To access the bulk enrollment tool, navigate to Settings > Benefits > Plans. If you have not enrolled employees in a benefit plan, click Enroll someone. If you already have employees enrolled, click on the status listed in the Status column (e.g., # Enrolled, # Not Enrolled/Waived).

Vision Insurance

After clicking on a status for a specific benefit plan, click Enroll Employees in the top right corner.

Step 1: Select Employees

Enroll Employees

Clicking Enroll Employees starts a three-step process, beginning with Select Employees. From the Available Employees list, choose which employees you need to enroll in the benefit plan and move them over to the Selected Employees list. After you have selected your employees, click Next Step.

You can filter the list of available employees by clicking on the dropdown arrow. Filters make it easy for you to find the employees who need to enroll in the benefit plan.

Step 2: Enrollment Details

Enroll Employees

Next, select when the benefit plan should go into effect for the selected employees. If you need to specify an effective date for each employee, you can do so in the next step. (See below about additional enrollment details for variable rate plans.) After you complete enrollment details, click Next Step. 

Variable rate plans
Enroll Employees

When using the bulk enrollment tool for a variable rate plan (e.g., 401k retirement plan), another section will appear under the Benefit Effective Date field. In the Default Benefits Details section, you can choose to enter a dollar or percentage amount in the Employee Pays and Company Pays fields. This provides you with a quicker and easier way to fill in enrollment data for employees enrolling in the benefit plan.

Benefits Administration: Adding coverage amounts is exclusive to the enrollment window workflow or importing. Coverage amounts are not editable when enrolling employees or editing their enrollments through the bulk enrollment tool or the Benefits tab on the employee profile. 

Step 3: Enrollment Information

Enroll Employees

The Enrollment Information step allows you to change the effective date for individual employees (if needed). The Who's Covered? column will reflect the coverage options* you have added to the benefit plan. Determine each employee's coverage level. If you add a comment about the enrollment, it will show up in the Benefit History table on the employee's Benefits tab.

Once you verify your employees' enrollments, click Save and Finish. 

Benefits Administration: *If you are using Benefits Administration, your coverage options will differ from the coverage options available in Benefits Tracking. The dropdown menu will show a list of dependents for each employee (if applicable), and as you select dependents, the system will infer the coverage level (e.g., Employee, Employee + Spouse, etc.). Click here to learn more about supported coverage options in Benefits Administration.

Scheduling enrollments for new hires

You can choose to schedule enrollments for new hires who have not yet started with your company. Make sure the effective date is on or after the new hire's hire date, and ensure that they have an active pay schedule assigned (found in their Compensation table).


Edit enrollments

To edit enrollments under a specific benefit plan, click on the plan's status in Settings > Benefits > Plans. Note the enrollment status tabs: Enrolled, Waived, and Eligible. You can choose any tab to view the employees in each status.

Enrolled

Vision Insurance

The Enrolled tab will show all employees currently enrolled in the benefit plan.

  1. To edit enrollment details for specific employees at one time, mark the checkbox next to the employee(s).
  2. If you want to edit all employees' enrollments, mark this checkbox, and the system will automatically select all employees.
  3. After making your selections, click Edit Selected. 
Vision Insurance

On the Edit Enrollment screen, you can then edit the enrollment details for each selected employee.

Coverage errors in Benefits Admin

If an employee enrolls in a benefit plan with multiple coverage levels but does not have dependents selected, an error message will show.

If you are on the Enrolled tab, hover your cursor over the coverage level to view additional information and then select the checkbox next to the employee's name and click Edit Selected.

On the Edit Enrollment page, you can update the employee's coverage level within their Who's Covered field.

Medical - Gold

If you move from Benefits Tracking to Benefits Administration, the system will take note of any discrepancies in coverage options, as indicated by "Unsupported Coverage." Select the employees you need to edit coverage options for and then click Edit Selected. On the Edit Enrollment screen, update the coverage level in the Who's Covered column.

Variable rate plans

401(k)

When editing enrollments under a variable rate plan, you can edit pay amounts on the Edit Enrollment screen.

Waived

Vision Insurance

The Waived tab shows you who has waived the benefit plan and when. To make changes, mark the box next to the employee(s). After making your selections, you can choose from one of the following options:

  1. Enroll: Clicking Enroll will bring up a new modal where you can fill out enrollment information for the employee(s) to enroll them in the benefit plan.
  2. Edit Status: Clicking Edit Status will bring up a new modal where you can update the employee's Enrolled status to something other than Enrolled (Eligible, Not Eligible, Terminated, or Withdrew).

Eligible

Vision Insurance

The Eligible tab shows you which employees are eligible for the benefit plan and when they are eligible. To make changes, mark the box next to the employee(s). After making your selections, you can choose from one of the following options:

  1. Enroll: Clicking Enroll will bring up a new modal where you can fill out enrollment information for the employee(s) to enroll them in the benefit plan.
  2. Waive: Clicking Waive will waive the benefit plan for the employee(s).