Human resources · Open enrollment

A virtual receptionist for open enrollment season

For two or three weeks a year, the HR line rings nonstop: what changed, when the window closes, how to log in, what it takes to add a spouse. Your AI virtual receptionist answers those questions from your enrollment guide, day and night, and sends anything that needs a person to your benefits team. It never tells anyone which plan to choose.

Hear it answer — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Why enrollment season swamps HR

Every employee has to act, the deadline is fixed, and the questions repeat.

Nearly 7 in 10 employees want more information about their benefits, and 37% want to talk to a person about enrollment, while only 28% of employers offer that (Aflac WorkForces Report 2025–2026, reported by HR Dive). So they call HR, often in the last few days, often outside office hours.

Most of those calls ask the same dozen things: when the window closes, what changed this year, how to log in, which documents add a dependent, what happens if they miss it. Your enrollment guide already answers them. The virtual receptionist reads those answers to every caller, at any hour, and keeps a list of who still needs a person.

It doesn’t pick a plan for anyone

It won’t say which plan is better, estimate what someone will pay for care or decide whether a dependent is eligible. Those questions go to your benefits team, your broker or the decision-support tool you provide.

What it answers during open enrollment

Enrollment dates, the deadline and what your guide says happens if someone misses it
What changed this year: carriers, plans and contributions, in your words
How to log in to the benefits portal and reset access
Which documents add a spouse or dependent, as your plan requires
Where to find plan summaries, rate sheets and the decision tool you provide
HSA, FSA and HRA basics and this year’s limits, from your approved text
When enrollment meetings are, and requests for a one-on-one with your benefits team or broker
Carrier numbers and websites for questions about a doctor or a claim

Informs, never decides

It answers from information you approve and records what callers tell it. It never approves or denies anything, never decides eligibility, never changes pay or records, and never investigates or judges. When a caller asks for a decision, it says so plainly and passes the call or a complete message to the right person on your team.

Example enrollment call rules

Example call-handling rules during open enrollment
Caller asks	Handled as	What happens
When does enrollment close?	Answer	Date and time from your guide
Which plan should I pick?	Hand-off	Offers a one-on-one request with your benefits team or broker, or points to your decision tool
Is my 26-year-old still eligible?	Hand-off	Eligibility question sent to the benefits team with the details
I can’t log in	Answer, then log	Reset steps read out; logged in case the employee is still locked out
I missed the deadline	Hand-off	Same-day message to your benefits lead
Is my doctor in the network?	Redirect	The carrier’s provider search and phone number

Examples only. You set the rules during onboarding.

When a caller asks for advice

A sample call. The agent gives the facts in the guide and hands the choice back to the people who should help with it.

Sample call · Harbor Logistics (example employer)

AI receptionistThanks for calling Harbor Logistics HR. I’m the HR team’s AI virtual receptionist. This call is recorded and transcribed so we can handle your request. How can I help?
CallerI’m trying to decide between the PPO and the high-deductible plan. Which one should I take?
AI receptionistI can’t recommend a plan, because it depends on your situation. I can tell you what the guide says about each, or take a request for a one-on-one with our benefits broker this week.
CallerWhat’s the deductible on the high-deductible plan?
AI receptionistThe guide lists it as $1,700 for employee-only coverage, and the plan comes with a health savings account. Would you like the one-on-one as well?
CallerYes, Thursday afternoon if possible.
AI receptionistI’ll send that request to the benefits team for Thursday afternoon. Enrollment closes Friday at 5 PM.

Your enrollment window, in numbers

Calls per employee are much higher during the window. Change any value to match your company.

Employees

Everyone who might call HR, across all locations and shifts.

Calls to HR per employee during the window

1.5 means most employees call once and some call twice.

Share that are routine questions

Answered from information you already publish: plan details, dates, forms, where to go.

Average call length (minutes)

Talk time only.

Minutes lost getting back to work after each call

Finding the answer, then picking up where you left off. Set 0 to count talk time only.

HR staff cost per hour, with benefits (USD)

Salary plus benefits and payroll taxes, divided by working hours.

HR hours spent on routine calls each month

Routine calls a month450

What that HR time costs a month$2,100

HR hours back each year630

365vox to answer those calls, at $0.75/min (USD)$1,350

Talk through your HR calls with us

An estimate from the numbers above, not a guarantee. The virtual receptionist answers routine questions from information you approve; everything that needs a decision still goes to your HR team. Here the figures cover the enrollment window, not a month.

Illustrative example

A 400-person employer with a one-person benefits team

Enrollment runs for three weeks in November. Last year the benefits coordinator spent most of it on the phone, and late-shift workers left voicemails that waited until morning.

The guide, this year’s changes and last year’s most-asked questions are loaded before the window opens
The virtual receptionist takes overflow and after-hours calls for the whole window
Calls that need a person arrive as one daily list, with one-on-one requests on top
Plan advice stays with the broker; eligibility with the benefits coordinator

The numbers, worked out

Calls during the window: 600
Routine questions (75%): 450
HR time those calls took: 53 hours
That time at $40 an hour: $2,100

365vox for the window$1,350

Illustrative example, not a 365vox customer result. Assumptions: 400 employees, 1.5 calls each during the three-week window, 75% routine, 4 minutes a call plus 3 minutes to get back to work, $40 an hour with benefits. 365vox cost: routine calls × 4 minutes × $0.75.

Get ready before the window opens

Send this year’s guide
The enrollment guide, the list of changes, the dates, and your broker’s and carriers’ contacts.
Review the answers
We turn them into approved answers. Your team reads them and corrects anything before employees hear it.
Set the hand-offs
Who gets eligibility questions, who takes one-on-one requests, and who hears about missed deadlines.
Draft them with the escalation builder
Go live before day one
Forward the HR line after hours and when busy, or for the whole window. Update the answers any time something changes.

Comparing virtual receptionist services?

Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.

The virtual receptionist, minus the call center

Open enrollment FAQs

Can it help employees choose a plan?

No. It reads what your guide says about each plan and points employees to your benefits team, broker or decision tool. It never recommends a plan or estimates someone’s costs.

Can it handle the rush on the first and last days?

Yes. It answers many calls at once, so nobody waits on hold or reaches voicemail during the busiest hours.

How does it know what changed this year?

From the guide and change list you send us. It answers only from that content, and you can update it during the window.

What happens when someone misses the deadline?

It reads your guide’s wording on missed deadlines and sends your benefits lead a same-day message. Whether an exception is possible is your team’s decision.

Can it answer questions about HSA and FSA limits?

Yes, from the figures you approve. The IRS changes some limits every year, so we update them with your new plan year.

Can our benefits broker receive the calls that need a person?

Yes. You choose who gets each kind of call: your benefits team, your broker’s service desk or a carrier.

What does it cost for the enrollment window?

$0.75 USD per conversation minute, billed by the second, with no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. See pricing.

How long does setup take?

About five business days: we turn your guides and policies into approved answers, set your routing rules and test with your team before employees reach it. You can try it free for 7 days.

Every enrollment question answered, even the night before the deadline.

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.Just forward your phone line — we'll handle the rest.

Or hear it first — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Not ready to start your free trial? Book a no-obligation discovery call.