When it comes to benefits, employers pour significant dollars into offerings they hope will attract and retain talent. Yet many employees—educated, capable professionals—still find themselves forwarding a PDF to a friend or Googling “Which health plan should I pick?” the night before open enrollment closes. 

If that scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In our recent webinar, Selerix VP of Business Development Jasper Purvis and Aflac technology leader Kevin McFadden unpacked why this disconnect persists—and what brokers can do to help clients turn communication into a true benefits powerhouse.  

The Real Battleground: Year-Round Engagement 

Open enrollment grabs all the headlines, but as Jasper put it, “the real battleground begins the other 11 months of the year.” Employees don’t live by enrollment timelines—they care about benefits when life happens: a new baby, a medical claim, a job change. 

Takeaway for brokers: 

Encourage clients to move away from “announce it and forget it” communication. Help them build year-round campaigns that deliver the right message at the right time. This not only supports employees but reduces avoidable questions and boosts ROI on their benefits spend. 

Underused Tools = Unrealized Value 

According to a Selerix poll, only 39% of employers regularly use their communication tools outside of open enrollment. Many have powerful capabilities already embedded in their current systems, but they’re underutilized—leading to confusion, missed claims, and even loss of employee trust. 

Broker opportunity: 
Audit what clients already have before suggesting new tools. As Kevin noted, “Clients don’t need more solutions—they need more support and navigation.” Guide them in activating what’s available, eliminating duplications, and aligning partners so everyone is pulling in the same direction. 

Beware the Point Solution Trap 

Adding another shiny platform to “fix” engagement often backfires. Layering tools can create a paradox: more technology, less clarity. Multiple portals and vendors confuse employees and drain HR resources. 

What to do instead: 
Start small. Map the communication ecosystem, define ownership, and build a repeatable playbook with clients. Focus on clarity and consolidation rather than piling on new tech. 

Engagement Isn’t Communication 

Here’s a hard truth: sending more emails isn’t the same as engaging employees. Jasper compared it the classic line, “You’re hearing me, but you’re not really listening.” To drive engagement, messages must be timely, targeted, and actionable—and their impact needs to be measured. 

Action item: 
Help clients use embedded analytics to grade campaigns. If something isn’t working, change it. Treat benefits communication like a marketing campaign—test, refine, and build stories that resonate. 

Partners Matter 

Finally, partnerships—between brokers, carriers, and technology providers—must be intentional. Aligning early on goals, responsibilities, and tools prevents competing priorities and wasted efforts. As Kevin put it, “Audit in order to activate.” 

The Bottom Line for Brokers 

Employees want to understand their benefits, and employers want to see a return on their investment. The missing link? Smarter, year-round communication that engages employees where they are. 

Your role as a broker: 

• Audit first – know what’s already in place before adding anything new. 
• Guide activation – help clients actually use the tools they’re paying for. 
• Think campaigns, not announcements – deliver small, strategic stories that build understanding over time. 
• Align partners – ensure everyone is working toward the same goals with a clear plan. 

When brokers lead clients through this shift, they don’t just sell benefits—they help clients create a benefits experience that works harder, earns trust, and delivers real value. Coming to the conversation with clients with this knowledge and strategy can position them to become the broker of record, sealing that trust through expertise.  

Watch the full webinar here!

See how Selerix can help automate benefits communication, without point-solution fatigue. Selerix Engage works seamlessly with our BenSelect benefits administration platform so a life event never goes unnoticed, HR teams can build their campaigns and stay compliant. 

Meet the Benefits Experts:

Jasper Purvis: Jasper Purvis serves as Vice President of Business Development at Selerix, bringing over 20 years of experience in sales, business strategy, and technology enablement. He specializes in helping organizations align business and IT strategies to drive growth and prepare for the future. Throughout his career, Jasper has held leadership roles across financial services, technology strategy, and consulting. He has successfully led large-scale technology initiatives, improved collaboration between business units and IT, and driven revenue growth with operational efficiency. At Selerix, he focuses on fostering partnerships with insurance carriers and advancing innovative benefits technology solutions. 

Kevin McFadden: Kevin brings over 15 years of experience in benefits technology and group insurance to his role at Aflac. He leads sales enablement strategies and drives growth for Aflac’s third-party platform relationships through the Digital Distribution Center of Excellence, while also overseeing the company’s HCM and technology practice to streamline processes and deliver value to clients and broker partners. With a background spanning sales, enrollment, marketing, and broker-focused strategies, Kevin has advanced into technology leadership, managing key platform relationships and developing innovative support models that set new standards in the industry.