Want to Engage Workers During Enrollment? Try These Tips

Employees often say that a competitive benefits package is one of their top reasons for choosing a job. But there’s a counterintuitive fact: employees are often overwhelmed by benefits and on average spend just 18 minutes on benefits enrollment decisions. Comparatively, they spend some four hours choosing a new phone, explained Alyssa Zeff, vice president and head of the bswift Engagement Agency, a Chicago-based benefits platform, during a recent SHRM webinar.

“That’s insane,” she said. “There’s a really interesting dynamic here as to how important [benefits enrollment] is, yet how low engagement can feel to people, and how quickly they want to make these decisions.” 

That’s where better communication — along with other strategies — from employers can play a role.

“Communication alone can’t solve for this, but communication can help,” Zeff said. “It’s the front line. It is how employees learn about benefits. It is how you get their attention and keep their attention.” 

Here’s a look at some strategies for how employers can have a successful open enrollment.

Set Clear Objectives 

Successful open enrollment starts with defining specific, measurable communication goals. Rather than trying to accomplish everything at once, Zeff suggested focusing on objectives that fall into five key categories:

Awareness: What benefits do employees need to know exist? 
Comprehension: Which features require deeper understanding? 
Action: What specific enrollment steps must employees complete? 
Engagement: How can you encourage active participation? 
Satisfaction: What will make employees feel confident about their choices?

“Objectives are so important because that’s how you know if you’re succeeding, you are realistic. And it helps you prioritize,” she said. 

The idea is to replace vague goals with actionable targets, Zeff explained. For instance, instead of having a goal to “improve benefits communication,” be specific by having the goal be to, “Ensure 90% of employees understand new telehealth options through post-enrollment surveys.” This specificity helps you choose appropriate channels, measure success, and allocate resources effectively, she said.

Research: SHRM 2025 Employee Benefits Survey

Embrace Consumer Marketing

Another tip to improve enrollment, Zeff said: Borrow from principles of consumer marketing to make a dent regarding how employees view and understand benefits. 

“[Marketers] have proven that they know how to break through clutter. They know how to have messages that stick. They know how to drive action. They know how to drive engagement. It’s a proven formula,” she said, adding that employers should simply view employees as their consumers.

For instance, employers can do this by reframing how they talk about benefits. They can translate features into personal value, Zeff said. Instead of saying, “There is a 24/7 nurse line,” say, “Connect with a doctor from home anytime you need, at no extra cost.” 

Also, think beyond one-size-fits-all and break out communications and information about benefits into segments that make sense — such as groups in certain career stage and life circumstances, work location, and communication preferences.

“It’s really about making sure people understand the value: Why do I care about this benefit? What does this mean to me?” Zeff explained. “We have a tendency in HR communication to list all the things that it does and assume that people will translate that for themselves, but what we really should be doing more of is [looking at benefits] through their lens — what it means to them.” 

Related Article: 8 Ways to Sustain Employee Benefits Engagement Year-Round

Use the ‘Bite, Snack, Meal’ Approach 

Not all employees want the same depth of information, so employers can benefit from using the “Bite, Snack, Meal” approach when it comes to benefits communication. 

Bites are single-concept communications — a reminder via text message, a quick email, or a social media post highlighting one key deadline or benefit, such as, “Don’t forget — enrollment opens Monday!” These work well for awareness and action-oriented messages, Zeff explained. 

Snacks provide moderate detail. They might include a focused email explaining one benefit category or a brief video walkthrough of enrollment steps.

Meals offer comprehensive information — detailed guides, full benefit summaries, and comparison tools. These resources should be easily searchable and available on demand for employees who want complete information, Zeff explained. 

This approach recognizes that information becomes relevant to employees at different times and in different contexts. For instance, “The working parent doesn’t care about child care benefits until they need them, but when they do, they want complete details immediately accessible,” she said.

Embrace AI 

Artificial intelligence is changing the workplace in nearly every way — and benefits is no exception, said Trent York, vice president of product portfolio strategy at bswift.

HR and benefits leaders can help themselves save time and potentially reduce administrative errors by implementing AI into enrollment, York said, but AI also can help employees with understanding benefits options and making decisions. With AI, “employees [can] get real time guidance based off their preferences, their usage, their risk tolerance, what we know about them, what they tell us about themselves, and their goals and the things that are going to happen.” 

Still, there needs to be a human touch, added Eric Strom, senior vice president, service center, at bswift. 

“The human connection now is more important. The benefits ecosystem is messy; it’s complex; it’s hard for employees to navigate. Even with all the tech that’s supposed to make it easier, maybe it makes it more complicated,” Strom said. “It’s important to find that balance with human touch and technology because if you don’t have a spot for people to go to help, where they need it, how they need it, you’re going to run into a challenge.”