How to Answer: During open enrollment, the team's workload increases significantly. What would you do to manage this?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Benefits Specialist job interview.
7. During open enrollment, the team's workload increases significantly. What would you do to manage this?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
The interviewer wants to know how you prioritize your workload when you have extra tasks added to your plate. They also want to know if you can work under pressure.
Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 16th, 2022
How to Answer
If you have experience working through a busy open enrollment season, talk about what it was like and how you managed your workload. If you have only experienced open enrollment where a vendor managed it, or if you have never been through open enrollment, tell the interviewer instead about a time you had to manage a high workload.
Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 16th, 2022
Answer Example
"I haven't been through a busy open enrollment season myself, since at my current job we have a third-party vendor who manages it. I have gone through periods of time when a lot of extra work was added to my plate though. A couple of years ago, a team member quit without any notice. It took about two months for a replacement to be hired and in the meantime, a lot of her work fell to me due to us having similar skills. I couldn't manage everything from my desk and hers, so I had to prioritize. I put together a list of everything we had both been doing and then I went through and labeled each one.
For example, some were necessary for compliance purposes, some were being counted on by another department, and some I labeled "nice but not necessary." Those were tasks that I could put on hold or drop altogether without it causing any negative repercussions to our department or anyone else in the company. I still had a lot of work to get done and ended up putting in some extra hours, but cutting out unnecessary tasks made it manageable and I was able to go back and catch some of them back up once the new team member was ready to get started."
Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 16th, 2022